Secretion of a novel bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance from Enterococcus faecium 3587 is described herein for the first time. Whereas some bacteriocins receive their denomination based on the species or genus name of the producer microorganism, the newly discovered bacteriocin-like substance was named "enterocin 3587." The growth characteristics of the producer strain, as well as the type of production and the primary characteristic of the peptide, were investigated. It was found by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis that the molecule possesses a molecular weight <6.5 kDa; its secretion is growth-phase dependent; and it shows activities only against other closely related enterococci but not against other Gram-positive bacteria, such as L. innocua, S. aureus 209, and Lactobacillus delbrueckii B2, nor against some Gram-negative species, such as Escherichia coli HB101.