Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (808 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
A 34-amino acid polypeptide antibiotic produced by Streptococcus lactis. It has been used as a food preservative in canned fruits and vegetables, and cheese.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Peptides, Cyclic; Bacteriocins
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 1,942 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Nisin” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 435 of them (22.4%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 621 records.
Reviews account for 92 records (4.7%) and meta-analyses for 0. Randomized controlled trials number 6 (0.3%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 368 |
| 2000-2009 | 518 |
| 2010-2019 | 621 |
| 2020 onward | 435 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 92 | 4.7% |
| Meta-analyses | 0 | 0.0% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 6 | 0.3% |
Method: PubMed query "Nisin"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in drugs and chemicals
Studies of a chemical or drug can answer very different questions: what it is and how it behaves in cells and animals, how the body handles it, and whether it changes outcomes in people. Laboratory and animal findings often do not carry over to patients, and observational studies of exposures are confounded by who uses a substance and why. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use, avoid, start or stop any substance or medicine; talk to a qualified clinician or pharmacist about your own situation. Check the dose, the species, the comparison group and whether a patient-relevant outcome was measured.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nisin, an apoptogenic bacteriocin and food preservative, attenuates HNSCC tumorigenesis via CHAC1 | 2012 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 184 | cc by PMID 23342279 · DOI · PMC3544465 |
| Nisin ZP, a Bacteriocin and Food Preservative, Inhibits Head and Neck Cancer Tumorigenesis and Prolongs Survival | 2015 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 134 | cc by PMID 26132406 · DOI · PMC4489501 |
| After a century of nisin research - where are we now? | 2023 | Review article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 106 | cc by PMID 37300874 · DOI · PMC10257480 |
| Nisin and rutin as potential coating agents for iron oxide nanoparticles for enhanced theranostic applications against cancer | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 0 | cc by PMID 42067522 · DOI · PMC13134951 |
Nisin, an apoptogenic bacteriocin and food preservative, attenuates HNSCC tumorigenesis via CHAC1 [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Nisin, a bacteriocin and commonly used food preservative, may serve as a novel potential therapeutic for treating head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), as it induces preferential apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and reduces cell proliferation in HNSCC cells, compared with primary keratinocytes.
- Closing excerpt
- These findings support the use of nisin as a potentially novel therapeutic for HNSCC, and as nisin is safe for human consumption and currently used in food preservation, its translation into a clinical setting may be facilitated.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (191 words)
Nisin, a bacteriocin and commonly used food preservative, may serve as a novel potential therapeutic for treating head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), as it induces preferential apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and reduces cell proliferation in HNSCC cells, compared with primary keratinocytes. Nisin also reduces HNSCC tumorigenesis in vivo. Mechanistically, nisin exerts these effects on HNSCC, in part, through CHAC1, a proapoptotic cation transport regulator, and through a concomitant CHAC1-independent influx of extracellular calcium. In addition, although CHAC1 is known as an apoptotic mediator, its effects on cancer cell apoptosis have not been examined. Our studies are the first to report CHAC1's new role in promoting cancer cell apoptosis under nisin treatment. These data support the concept that nisin decreases HNSCC tumorigenesis in vitro and in vivo by inducing increased cell apoptosis and decreased cell proliferation; effects that are mediated by activation of CHAC1, increased calcium influxes, and induction of cell cycle arrest. These findings support the use of nisin as a potentially novel therapeutic for HNSCC, and as nisin is safe for human consumption and currently used in food preservation, its translation into a clinical setting may be facilitated.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 23342279 · DOI · PMC3544465
Nisin ZP, a Bacteriocin and Food Preservative, Inhibits Head and Neck Cancer Tumorigenesis and Prolongs Survival [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The use of small antimicrobial peptides or bacteriocins, like nisin, to treat cancer is a new approach that holds great promise.
- Closing excerpt
- In summary, nisin ZP exhibits greater antitumor effects than low content nisin, and thus has the potential to serve as a novel therapeutic for HNSCC.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (245 words)
The use of small antimicrobial peptides or bacteriocins, like nisin, to treat cancer is a new approach that holds great promise. Nisin exemplifies this new approach because it has been used safely in humans for many years as a food preservative, and recent laboratory studies support its anti-tumor potential in head and neck cancer. Previously, we showed that nisin (2.5%, low content) has antitumor potential in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in vitro and in vivo. The current studies explored a naturally occurring variant of nisin (nisin ZP; 95%, high content) for its antitumor effects in vitro and in vivo. Nisin ZP induced the greatest level of apoptosis in HNSCC cells compared to low content nisin. HNSCC cells treated with increasing concentrations of nisin ZP exhibited increasing levels of apoptosis and decreasing levels of cell proliferation, clonogenic capacity, and sphere formation. Nisin ZP induced apoptosis through a calpain-dependent pathway in HNSCC cells but not in human oral keratinocytes. Nisin ZP also induced apoptosis dose-dependently in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) with concomitant decreases in vascular sprout formation in vitro and reduced intratumoral microvessel density in vivo. Nisin ZP reduced tumorigenesis in vivo and long-term treatment with nisin ZP extended survival. In addition, nisin treated mice exhibited normal organ histology with no evidence of inflammation, fibrosis or necrosis. In summary, nisin ZP exhibits greater antitumor effects than low content nisin, and thus has the potential to serve as a novel therapeutic for HNSCC.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 26132406 · DOI · PMC4489501
After a century of nisin research - where are we now? [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- It is almost a century since nisin was discovered in fermented milk cultures, coincidentally in the same year that penicillin was first described.
- Closing excerpt
- This review will discuss the latest progress in these aspects of nisin research.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (199 words)
It is almost a century since nisin was discovered in fermented milk cultures, coincidentally in the same year that penicillin was first described. Over the last 100 years this small, highly modified pentacyclic peptide has not only found success in the food industry as a preservative but has also served as the paradigm for our understanding of the genetic organization, expression, and regulation of genes involved in lantibiotic biosynthesis-one of the few cases of extensive post-translation modification in prokaryotes. Recent developments in understanding the complex biosynthesis of nisin have shed light on the cellular location of the modification and transport machinery and the co-ordinated series of spatio-temporal events required to produce active nisin and provide resistance and immunity. The continued unearthing of new natural variants from within human and animal gastrointestinal tracts has sparked interest in the potential application of nisin to influence the microbiome, given the growing recognition of the role the gastrointestinal microbiota plays in health and disease. Moreover, interdisciplinary approaches have taken advantage of biotechnological advancements to bioengineer nisin to produce novel variants and expand nisin functionality for applications in the biomedical field. This review will discuss the latest progress in these aspects of nisin research.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 37300874 · DOI · PMC10257480
Nisin and rutin as potential coating agents for iron oxide nanoparticles for enhanced theranostic applications against cancer [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have proven to be of therapeutic potential against cancer.
- Closing excerpt
- Our findings pave the way for the use of these coating agents against the cell-exposed chaperone, GRP78, to alleviate its chemoresistance characteristics in cancer.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (173 words)
Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have proven to be of therapeutic potential against cancer. The feature of the surface coating can affect important properties of IONPs; it is therefore critical for further understanding how these materials react to physiological conditions, which is still needed to fully exploit the potential of IONPs for their theranostic applications. In this study, we explored the therapeutic potential of rutin and nisin conjugated IONPs as anticancer agents. One important hallmark of many cancers is the overexpression of the endoplasmic reticulum-resident chaperone, GRP78, and its translocation to many cellular compartments, including the cell membrane. We explored the potential binding affinity of rutin and nisin against the substrate-binding domain β (SBDβ) of GRP78. The results show promising results for both nisin and rutin, with more enhanced binding capability of the former due to its extended structure (peptide in nature), forming more non-bonded interactions with the GRP78 surface. Our findings pave the way for the use of these coating agents against the cell-exposed chaperone, GRP78, to alleviate its chemoresistance characteristics in cancer.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42067522 · DOI · PMC13134951
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Applications of the bacteriocin, nisin [5]
- Research article 10 years of the nisin-controlled gene expression system (NICE) in Lactococcus lactis [6]
- Research article Biomedical applications of nisin [7]
- Research article Follow the leader: the use of leader peptides to guide natural product biosynthesis [8]
- Research article Biosynthesis, immunity, regulation, mode of action and engineering of the model lantibiotic nisin [9]
- Research article Nisin as a Food Preservative: Part 1: Physicochemical Properties, Antimicrobial Activity, and Main Uses [10]
References
- Joo NE, Ritchie K, Kamarajan P, Miao D, Kapila YL. Nisin, an apoptogenic bacteriocin and food preservative, attenuates HNSCC tumorigenesis via CHAC1. . 2012. PMID 23342279 · DOI · PMC3544465
- Kamarajan P, Hayami T, Matte B, Liu Y, Danciu T, Ramamoorthy A, et al.. Nisin ZP, a Bacteriocin and Food Preservative, Inhibits Head and Neck Cancer Tumorigenesis and Prolongs Survival. . 2015. PMID 26132406 · DOI · PMC4489501
- Field D, Fernandez de Ullivarri M, Ross RP, Hill C, Hill C. After a century of nisin research - where are we now?. . 2023. PMID 37300874 · DOI · PMC10257480
- Saad OA, Elfiky AA, Fathy MM, Ibrahim IM, Ibrahim MA, Elgharib AM, et al.. Nisin and rutin as potential coating agents for iron oxide nanoparticles for enhanced theranostic applications against cancer. . 2026. PMID 42067522 · DOI · PMC13134951
- Delves-Broughton J, Blackburn P, Evans RJ, Hugenholtz J. Applications of the bacteriocin, nisin. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 1996. PMID 8775979 · DOI
- Mierau I, Kleerebezem M. 10 years of the nisin-controlled gene expression system (NICE) in Lactococcus lactis. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2005. PMID 16088349 · DOI
- Shin JM, Gwak JW, Kamarajan P, Fenno JC, Rickard AH, Kapila YL. Biomedical applications of nisin. J Appl Microbiol. 2016. PMID 26678028 · DOI · PMC4866897
- Oman TJ, van der Donk WA. Follow the leader: the use of leader peptides to guide natural product biosynthesis. Nat Chem Biol. 2010. PMID 20016494 · DOI · PMC3799897
- Lubelski J, Rink R, Khusainov R, Moll GN, Kuipers OP. Biosynthesis, immunity, regulation, mode of action and engineering of the model lantibiotic nisin. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2008. PMID 17965835 · DOI · PMC11131864
- Gharsallaoui A, Oulahal N, Joly C, Degraeve P. Nisin as a Food Preservative: Part 1: Physicochemical Properties, Antimicrobial Activity, and Main Uses. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2016. PMID 25675115 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.