Research Publications (Food Safety)

Author(s): Alina Wiszniewska, Iwona Kamińska, Ewa Hanus-Fajerska, Elwira Sliwinska, Aleksandra Koźmińska

The discovery of antibiotics has revolutionized the medicine and treatment of microbial infections. However, the current scenario has highlighted the difficulties in marketing new antibiotics and an exponential increase in the appearance of resistant strains. On the other hand, research in the field of drug-discovery has revaluated the potential of natural products as a unique source for new biologically active molecules and scaffolds for the medicinal chemistry.

by Tugce Olgun, Sydney E. Everhart, Troy Anderson, Judy Wu-Smart

by Vaithish Velazhahan, Przemyslaw Glaza, Alvaro I. Herrera, Om Prakash, Michal Zolkiewski, Brian V. Geisbrecht, Kathrin Schrick

Author(s): Huihuang Xiong, Lan Guo, Xuejin Mao, Ting Tan, Hao Wan, Yiqun Wan

A combined process comprised of electro-Fenton and bioslurry (EF–bioslurry) was developed at lab scale for remediating a real coking plant soil with an initial polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) content of 3605 mg/kg. Sodium citrate was used as a complexant to keep the iron in solution at near-neutral pH conditions for increasing the reaction rate.

Abstract

Aims

The study aimed at characterizing the patterns of natural variation in the tolerance and accumulation capacities for zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and nickel (Ni) between and within edaphic ecotypes of the Zn/Cd/Ni hyperaccumulator, Noccaea caerulescens.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is one of the most economically important fruits of the Cucurbitaceae family, therefore consideration of potential pesticide residues in the fruit in the context of cucumber breeding and production programs is important. Propamocarb (a pesticide commonly used to prevent downy mildew) is widely used in cucumber cultivation, but the molecular mechanism underlying the degradation and metabolism of propamocarb in cucumber is not well understood.

Increasing food demand under climate change constraints may challenge and strain agricultural systems. The use of crop models to assess genotypes performance across diverse target environments and management practices, i.e., the genetic × environment × management interaction (GEMI), can help understand suitability of genotype and agronomic practices, and possibly accelerate turnaround in plant breeding programs. However, the readiness of models to support these tasks can be debated.

Soil cadmium (Cd) pollution threatens food safety. This study aimed to identify genes related to Cd accumulation in rice. Low- (Shennong 315, short for S315) and high- (Shendao 47, short for S47) Cd-accumulative rice cultivars were incubated with CdCl2·2.5H2O. RNA-seq and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) were performed to identify the modules and genes associated with Cd-accumulative traits of rice.

Antibiotic residues in consumer foods pose a threat to human health and contribute to increasing antimicrobial resistance. The study was conducted from January to July 2019 in six provinces in Viet Nam. In total, 360 pork samples and 360 chicken meat samples were collected for analysis. The samples were first screened with an ELISA test kit for residues in the beta-lactam, tetracycline and sulfonamide groups.

Plant fungal diseases have caused great decreases in crop quality and yield. As one of the considerable agricultural diseases, cucumber downy mildew (CDM) caused by pseudoperonospora cubensis seriously influences the production of cucumber. Amisulbrom is a commercial agricultural fungicide developed by Nissan Chemical, Ltd., for the control of oomycetes diseases that is highly effective against CDM.

Author(s): Ling Zhao, Yan Li, Wenjie Ren, Yang Huang, Xiaomi Wang, Zhaocong Fu, Wenting Ma, Ying Teng, Yongming Luo

Two medicinal plants, African Locust Bean (Parkia biglobosa) and Lonicera japonica, traditionally used in West Africa and China were investigated against four spoilage microorganisms: Bacillus subtilis, Cronobacter dublinensis, Pantoea agglomerans, and Bacillus sp., isolated from mulberry fruit. The aqueous extract of the P.

In this work, a simple, fast, sensitive, and environmentally friendly method was developed for preconcentration and quantitative measurement of bisphenol A in water samples using GC‐MS instrument.

Background Pyraclostrobin and picoxystrobin are two representative pesticides of strobilurins used to treat cucumber downy mildew, which have raised issues of food safety and human health. A new formulation containing these two compounds is being prepared for marketing in China.

Separation of arsenic and valuable metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, Bi, Sn, In, Ag, Sb, etc.) is a core problem for effective utilization of high arsenic-containing copper smelting ashes (HACSA). This study developed an effective separation process of arsenic, lead, and zinc from HACSA via alkali leaching followed by sulfide precipitation.

The majority of environmental microbiomes are not amenable to cultivation under standard laboratory growth conditions and hence remain uncharacterized. For environmental applications, such as bioremediation, it is necessary to isolate microbes performing the desired function, which may not necessarily be the fast growing or the copiotroph microbiota.

l-asparaginase (E.C.3.5.1.1) is an important enzyme that has been purified and characterized for over decades to study and evaluate its anti-carcinogenic activity against different lymphoproliferative disorders such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

In this study, groundwater of 10 union councils of Larkana city was assessed by using atomic absorption spectrometry following microwave-assisted digestion. A total of 110 groundwater samples were collected by using a Global Positioning System. The results revealed that iron, zinc, nickel, copper, and lead present in the groundwater of Larkana city were within the level of 0.002–0.6 mg/L, 0.02–0.42 mg/L, 1–14.0 mg/L, 0.01–0.87 mg/L, and 0.01–12.0 mg/L, respectively.

Gluten‐free quinoa flour (QF) with high protein, low asparagine level, and reducing‐sugars as acrylamide producing agents, is a substitute for wheat flour (WF).

Praying mantis egg case powder inhibits the accumulation of Cd concentration in catfish bone and muscle tissues and increases its dietary protein content. It also up‐regulated serum NO level in catfish to initiate vasodilatation of bones and muscles for proper blood flow.

Zingerone restored anti‐oxidant enzyme activity (CAT, SOD, GPx, and GR), normalized lipid profile, improved organ function, and prevented tissue injury in kidney and liver. Abstract Among the heavy metal poisonings, lead is considered as a major toxic metal causing hematological, neurological, immunological, hepatic, and renal dysfunctions. Lead causes inhibition of ALAD leading to the ALA accumulation inside the cells.

SUMMARY Glyphosate is a popular, systemic, broad‐spectrum herbicide used in modern agriculture. Being a structural analog of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), it inhibits 5‐enolpyruvylshikimate 3‐phosphate synthase (EPSPS) which is responsible for the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids and various aromatic secondary metabolites.

Apicomplexan infections cause substantial morbidity and mortality, worldwide. New, improved therapies are needed. Herein, we create a next generation anti-apicomplexan lead compound, JAG21, a tetrahydroquinolone, with increased sp3-character to improve parasite selectivity. Relative to other cytochrome b inhibitors, JAG21 has improved solubility and ADMET properties, without need for pro-drug.