Research Publications (Food Safety)

Environmental monitoring (EM) programs are designed to detect the presence of pathogens in food manufacturing environments with the goal of preventing microbial contamination of food. Nevertheless, limited knowledge exists regarding the influence of environmental conditions on microbial recovery during EM. This study utilizes a commercially-available polyurethane foam (PUF) EM tool to determine the influence of environmental factors on the recovery of foodborne pathogens.

The multiple-locus variable-number analysis (MLVA) of tandem repeat (TR) for subtyping Listeria monocytogenes (LM) has proven to be reliable and fast. The study determined the MLVA genotypes of 60 isolates of L. monocytogenes recovered from cattle farms, abattoirs, and retail outlets in Gauteng province, South Africa. The distribution of the 60 L.

This study investigated the release of dissolved organic matters (DOMs) from biochar under DC electric field and the roles of the released DOMs on the removal of heavy metal lead (Pb) from the soil coupled with electrokinetic (EK) remediation.

In order to effectively control the excessive use of organic arsenic reagents in livestock and poultry products, there is an urgent need to develop a method for rapid detection of multiple organic arsenic reagents. In this study, two haptens were designed and derivatized around the structural formula of roxarsone, and a highly-sensitive group-selective mAb 3F2 was prepared, which can simultaneously detect roxarsone, 4-aminophenylarsonic acid, 2-aminophenylarsonic acid and phenylarsonic acid.

Salmonellosis is a symptomatic infection, a foodborne disease, caused by Salmonella that enters the body through the ingestion of contaminated food. In this study, a novel electrochemical biosensor integrated with gold nanorods (GNRs) was used to explore the interaction between in-house generated antibodies with Salmonella serovars.

This study was aimed on the detection of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in different categories of retailed ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products from the Czech producers and determination of their genetic properties, antimicrobial resistance and virulence. In RTE meat products, 2% (4/181) of examined samples were MRSA positive. MRSA strains were detected only in durable fermented meat products made exclusively from pork meat.

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a non-steroidal estrogenic mycotoxin that induces severe health disturbances in humans and animals. This study aimed to determine the bioactive compounds in Costus speciosus extract (CSE) using GC-MS and evaluate its protective capability against ZEN-induced oxidative damage, genotoxicity, and cytotoxicity in rats. Six groups of male Sprague Dawley rats were treated orally for 15 days including the control group, CSE-treated groups at low (200 mg/kg b.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been a leading issue for human health globally threatening the achievement of several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Originated from Bacillus cereus, carbapenemases phenotype has been considered to be a major concern in AMR. In this study, the AMR identification rate of P. aeruginosa isolates and infections in FAHJU showed an obvious upward trend from 2012 to 2016. All 88 carbapenem-resistant P.

Plasmid-borne colistin resistance mediated by mcr-1 is a growing problem, which poses a serious challenge to the clinical application of colistin for Gram-negative bacterial infections. Drug combination is one of the effective strategies to treat colistin-resistant bacteria. Here, we found a guanidine compound, namely, isopropoxy benzene guanidine (IBG), which boosted the efficacy of colistin against mcr-1-positive Salmonella.

Pseudomonas is a large and diverse genus within the Gammaproteobacteria known for its important ecological role in the environment. These bacteria exhibit versatile features of which the ability of heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification can be applied for nitrogen removal from the wastewater. A novel denitrifying bacterium, designated JM10B5aT, was isolated from the pond water for juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei.

Three new 2,5-diketopiperazines, speramide C (1), 3,21-epi-taichunamide F (2), and 2-epi-amoenamide C (3), along with four known analogs (4–7), were obtained from the sponge-derived fungus Aspergillus sclerotiorum GDST-2013-0501 collected from the South China Sea. The chemical structures of new compounds were elucidated by analyzing NMR and MS spectroscopy data, and their absolute configurations were determined by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations.

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT) are a group of clostridial toxins that cause the potentially fatal neuroparalytic disease botulism. Although highly toxic, BoNTs are utilized as therapeutics to treat a range of neuromuscular conditions. Several serotypes (BoNT/A-/G, /X) have been identified with vastly differing toxicological profiles. Each serotype can be further sub-categorised into subtypes due to subtle variations in their protein sequence.

by Mu-Xuan Wang, Hong-Wei Qin, Chao Liu, Shen-Ming Lv, Jia-Shu Chen, Chun-Gu Wang, Ying-Ying Chen, Jia-Wei Wang, Jin-Yue Sun, Zhi-Xin Liao Xanthine oxidase (XO) is a key enzyme in the generation and development of hyperuricemia. Thiazolidine-2-thione, a typical heterocyclic compound, have been widely used in the field of drug synthesis.

Background

Hydroponic and aquaponic farming is becoming increasingly popular as a solution to address global food security. Plants in hydroponic systems are grown hydroponically under controlled environments and are considered to have fewer food safety concerns than traditional field farming. However, hydroponics and aquaponics might have very different sources of microbial food safety risks that remain under-examined.

Antimicrobials with nonselective antibacterial efficacy such as chlorhexidine can be effective in reducing biofilm, but bear the risk of inducing resistance in specific bacteria. In clinical practice, bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus have been found resistant to chlorhexidine, but other bacteria, including Streptococcus mutans, have largely remained susceptible to chlorhexidine despite its widespread use in oral healthcare. Here, we aim to forward a possible reason as to why S.

Gut microbial communities of animals play key roles in host evolution, while the relationship between gut microbiota and host evolution in Tibetan birds remains unknown. Herein, we sequenced the gut microbiota of 67 wild birds of seven species dwelling in the Tibetan wetlands. We found an obvious species-specific structure of gut microbiota among these plateau birds whose habitats were overlapped.

In the last few decades, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been a worldwide concern. The excessive use of antibiotics affects animal and human health. In the last few years, livestock production has used antibiotics as food supplementation. This massive use can be considered a principal factor in the accelerated development of genetic modifications in bacteria. These modifications are responsible for AMR and can be widespread to pathogenic and commensal bacteria.

Background

There is no information on the commonality and specificity of oral and fecal microbiota in patients with gastric cancer (GC) and colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods

The present study aimed to isolate and identify potential drugs from marine actinomycete Nocardiopsis exhalans and screen them for biomedical applications. The cell-free culture of N. exhalans was extracted with ethyl acetate and the solvent extract showed six fractions in thin-layer chromatography. The fractions were subjected to column chromatography for purification and evaluated for activity against human clinical pathogens.

In the present work, a rapid, accurate, and cost-effective method was developed for the simultaneous quantification of aflatoxins and benzo(a)pyrene in lipid matrices, using solid-phase extraction (SPE) via humic acid-bonded silica (HAS) sorbents, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photochemical post-column reactor fluorescence spectroscopy (HPLC–PHRED–FLD) analysis.

Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli is a foodborne pathogen commonly associated with human disease characterized by mild or bloody diarrhea hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome. This study investigated the occurrence of STEC in fecal samples of 289 goats in South Africa using microbiological culture and PCR. Furthermore, 628 goat STEC isolates were characterized by serotype (O:H) and major virulence factors by PCR. STEC was found in 80.2% (232/289) of goat fecal samples.

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether low doses of zearalenone (ZEN) affect the carry-over of ZEN and its metabolites to intestinal tissues and the expression of CYP1A1 and GSTp1 in the large intestine.

Campylobacter ureolyticus is a Gram-negative, anaerobic, non-spore-forming bacteria that causes gastrointestinal infections. Being the most prevalent cause of bacterial enteritis globally, infection by this bacterium is linked with significant morbidity and mortality in children and immunocompromised patients. No information on pan-therapeutic drug targets for this species is available yet. In the current study, a pan-genome analysis was performed on 13 strains of C.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a pathogenic bacterium that causes severe diseases in humans. For decades, MRSA has acquired substantial resistance against conventional antibiotics through regulatory adaptation, thereby posing a challenge for treating MRSA infection. One of the emerging strategies to combat MRSA is the combinatory use of antibacterial agents.