**7. Conclusion**

Bacteriocins produced by LAB act as a weapon used by the bacterial cells to fight against other competing bacteria. This property of bacteriocin-producing LAB strains has been exploited by the scientists to combat several issues related to food spoilage and safety in the food sector. The current review is a concerted effort towards exploring in detail the biosynthesis, mechanism of action and existing applications of class I and class II bacteriocins produced by different LAB. However, although several studies describe the emerging and flourishing applications of bacteriocins in the health and food sector, but still, several hurdles limit the realization of their full potential in the commercial sector. Hence, the present research in the area of bacteriocins is getting more targeted towards looking for extraction and purification of more promising novel bacteriocins, and enhancement of antimicrobial spectrum of already existing purified bacteriocins. As an effort in this direction, although several bacteriocins have been studied as well as purified in the last few years, there is still a need as well as huge scope for continuing more dedicated research. A continued effort will surely enable the research fraternity to study and discover novel antimicrobial peptides with more promising properties.
