Endogenously produced cationic antimicrobial peptides are ubiquitous components of host defenses in mammals, birds, amphibia, insects, and plants. Cationic peptides are also effective when administered as therapeutic agents. A practical drawback in cationic peptide therapy, however, is the cost of producing the agents. The methods described herein provide a means to efficiently produce cationic peptides from recombinant host cells. These recombinantly-produced cationic peptides can be rapidly purified from host cell proteins using anion exchange chromatography.