Histatin 5

Histatin-5, a salivary polypeptide, has been shown to inhibit clostripain (IC?? = 800 nM) and a trypsin-like protease produced by Bacteroides gingivalis (IC?? = 55 nM). Other proteases, however, have not been inhibited by histatin-5. This peptide was therefore suggested to be a preventive against periodontal disease. Histatin-5 exhibits antimicrobial and a distinct antifungal activity targetting fungal mitochondria.