Research Publications (Food Safety)

To avoid potential health risks associated with the ingestion of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contaminated foods, development of a simple and sensitive method for AFB1 detection is urgently needed. Herein, a label-free aptasensor for colorimetric/fluorometric dual-mode detection of AFB1 was developed. In the absence of AFB1, the aptamer-protected silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prevented from salt-induced aggregation and the solution remained yellow.

Colistin resistance mediated by mcr-1-bearing plasmids poses a new challenge to treatment of Salmonella infections.

Mycotoxin contamination is a severe threat to global food security, thus fast and effective detection of mycotoxins is of great significance. Herein, mesoporous silica surface loaded gold nanocomposites (MSN-Rh6G-AuNPs) were prepared as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate, and the SERS aptasensor (MSN-Rh6G-AuNPs@apt) was further obtained by aptamer functionalization which can realize the quantitative and sensitive detection of zearalenone (ZEN).

Tibetan kefir grains (TKG) are microbial symbiotic starters used in various fermented foods. Recent studies have focused on removing toxin contaminants from food using TKG.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a global disease with no effective medication. The fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) can reverse this liver dysfunction, but requires targeted delivery to the liver, which can be achieved via oral administration.

This study analyzed the antimicrobial and antibiofilm action and cytotoxicity of extract (HEScL) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs-HEScL) from Syzygium cumini leaves. GC–MS, UV–Vis, EDX, FEG/SEM, DLS and zeta potential assays were used to characterize the extract or nanoparticles. Antimicrobial, antibiofilm and cytotoxicity analyses were carried out by in vitro methods: agar diffusion, microdilution and normal oral keratinocytes spontaneously immortalized (NOK-SI) cell culture.

Bacterial pathogens in the domestic environment present a risk to residents, particularly among susceptible populations. However, the impact of consumer demographic characteristics and food handling methods on kitchen microbiomes is not fully understood.

Chlorosphaerolactylate B, a newly discovered antimicrobial halometabolite from the cyanobacterium Sphaerospermopsis sp. LEGE 00249 has been synthesized in three steps by using 12-bromododecanoic acid as starting material. A total of 0.5 g was produced for in vitro and in vivo antimicrobial efficacy testing.

Aflatoxin B1 is a potent human carcinogen produced by several species of Aspergillus mainly found on nuts and maize. Exposures in parts of Africa, Latin America and Asia can be at multiples, sometimes orders of magnitude above tolerable daily levels. Although human exposure to aflatoxin can be estimated by analysis of the diet, only determination of the serum albumin aflatoxin adduct provides a health-relevant exposure measure.

Microbiology Resource Announcements, Ahead of Print. This report announces the genome of a newly confirmed Salmonella serovar (Salmonella enterica serovar Abeokuta) that was isolated from a poultry feed sample collected on a farm in Abeokuta, capital of Ogun State in Nigeria. Salmonella Abeokuta has not been identified outside Nigeria, nor does it appear to be a cause for concern for animal and human health.

mBio, Ahead of Print. The marine bacterium Vibrio vulnificus infects humans via food or water contamination, leading to serious manifestations, including gastroenteritis, wound infections, and septic shock. Previous studies suggest phylogenetic Lineage 1 isolates with the vcgC allele of the vcg gene cause human infections, whereas Lineage 2 isolates with the vcgE allele are less pathogenic.

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, EarlyView. Fresh-cut fruits and vegetables are healthy and convenient ready-to-eat foods, and the final quality is related to the raw materials and each step of the cutting unit. It is necessary to integrate suitable intelligent detection technologies into the production chain so as to inspect each operation to ensure high product quality.

Hydrometallurgical iron-arsenic (Fe–As) coprecipitation residue (FACR), a massive industrial solid waste, is a potentially cheapest Fe(III) source for the removal and fixation of As in waste sulfuric acid (WSA) as stable 

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for contamination of Ethiopian dairy products with Campylobacter. A total of 912 dairy food samples were collected from establishments of 682 study participants that were interviewed.

We have proposed a novel electrochemical aptasensing strategy for efficiently detecting staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) based on copper-based metal–organic framework encapsulated with plenty of Cu2O nanocrystals (represented by ML-Cu2O@Cu-MOF) synthesized using the mixed ligands of diphenylethyne-3,3′,5,5′-tetracarboxylic acid, 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid, and terephthalic acid.

An electrochemical impedimetric immunosensor was constructed based on a hierarchical nanostructured CoCo Prussian blue analogue entrapped by a Zr-based porphyrin MOF (denoted by CoCoPBA@PCN-221) for the sensitive detection of deoxynivalenol (DON).

Phytases are valuable industrial enzymes widely used in animal feed production, and when expressed in yeast, they undergo glycosylation. Herein, heterologous expression in Pichia pastoris and biochemical characterisation of glycosylated and deglycosylated forms of a novel phytase from Cronobacter turicensis belonging to the histidine acid phosphatase family were successfully carried out.

Staphylococcus (S.) aureus is a coagulase-positive pathogen of interest for human health and food safety in particular. It can survive in a wide environmental temperature range (7–48 °C, optimum 37 °C). Its enterotoxins are thermostable, which increases the risk of potential contamination in a variety of food products. Here we investigated the influence of seasonality and food type on bacterial count and presence of S. aureus enterotoxins.

In the context of the globally growing problem of resistance to most used antibacterial agents, essential oils offer promising solutions against multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial pathogens. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, etiology, and antibiotic-resistance profiles of bacteria responsible for pyogenic infections in Regional Military University Hospital of Constantine.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), can regulate mRNA by targeting miRNA in a competing endogenous RNA network, have become a hot topic in the research of fish immune mechanism recent years. While in turbot (Scophthalmus maximus L.), an economically important marine fish, there are limited researches into the role of lncRNAs in its immune response to bacterial infection, especially to Vibrio anguillarum infection.

Phytoextraction in phytoremediation is one of the environmentally friendly methods used for restoring soils contaminated by heavy metals (HMs).

The fungus Aspergillus flavus infects corn, peanut, and cottonseed, and contaminates seeds with acutely poisonous and carcinogenic aflatoxin. Aflatoxin contamination is a perennial threat in tropical and subtropical climates. Nonaflatoxin-producing isolates (atoxigenic) are deployed in fields to mitigate aflatoxin contamination. The biocontrol competitively excludes toxigenic A.

Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is one of the most essential oil crops. Genetic improvement of seed yield (SY) is a major aim of B. napus breeding. Several studies have been reported on the genetic mechanisms of SY of B. napus. Here, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of SY was conducted using a panel of 403 natural accessions of B. napus, with more than five million high-quality single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

Aflatoxins B1 (AFB1), deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) are the three most prevalent mycotoxins, whose contamination of food and feed is a severe worldwide problem.

Metals and pesticides pose risk to human health if accumulated in date fruits eaten for their distinctive sweetness and beneficial minerals. The present study evaluated the concentrations of metals and pesticides in Mazafati date fruit, soil, and irrigation water from three locations of Kerman province in Iran to show potential pollution hazards to consumers of date fruit in Iran.