Research Publications (Food Safety)

by Saki Sultana, Jacklyn Stewart, Aarnoud C. van der Spoel

Metal based packaging materials provide excellent barrier properties and hence, being used widely in food packaging applications. They are used in different package forms and also as closures such as for glass bottles and composite cans. Major health and product safety concerns of metal packaging comprise migration of bisphenol A, lead, cadmium, mercury, aluminium, iron, nickel, bulging of cans, tin dissolution, blackening and corrosion.

The fungi Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and Paracoccidioides lutzii are the causative agents of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), a systemic mycosis endemic to Latin America. This fungus is considered a facultative intracellular pathogen that is able to survive and replicate inside macrophages. The survival of the fungus during infection depends on its adaptability to various conditions, such as nitrosative/oxidative stress produced by the host immune cells, particularly alveolar macrophages.

Carboxylesterase PytH, isolated from the pyrethroid-degrading bacterium Sphingobium faniae JZ-2, could rapidly hydrolyze the ester bond of a wide range of pyrethroid pesticides, including permethrin, fenpropathrin, cypermethrin, fenvalerate, deltamethrin, cyhalothrin, and bifenthrin. To elucidate the catalytic mechanism of PytH, we report here the crystal structures of PytH with bifenthrin (BIF) and phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) and two PytH mutants.

Author(s): Marcella Malavolti, Susan J. Fairweather-Tait, Carlotta Malagoli, Luciano Vescovi, Marco Vinceti, Tommaso Filippini

Author(s): Lijin Huang, Wan Huang, Rujia Shen, Qin Shuai

Author(s): Yin-Han Wang, Chia-Fang Wu, Chia-Chu Liu, Tusty-Jiuan Hsieh, Yi-Chun Tsai, Ming-Tsang Wu, Chu-Chih Chen

Author(s): Jin Liu, Lingfeng Zeng, Siqi Zhuang, Chenyun Zhang, Yuchen Li, Jianlin Zhu, Wenchang Zhang

BACKGROUND Pesticides are widely utilized worldwide to control undesirable life forms during the planting procedure in agriculture. But they can pollute the nature and jeopardize human wellbeing. Additionally, on account of high resistance and biological activity; pesticides are able to accumulate in living organs and lead to acute and long‐term negative effects along with toxicity.

European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) is the major species of interest for nutritional uses within the Betulaceae family and its nuts are widely used throughout the world in the chocolate, confectionery and bakery industries. Recently his cultivation has been expanded in traditional producer countries as well as established in new places in the Southern Hemisphere, including Chile, South Africa and Australia.

Biochar was for the first time produced from Suaeda glauca. The immobilization of Pb and Cd by this biochar and pig manure biochar was examined in two types of soils by diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) extraction. Addition of biochars decreased DTPA extractable Pb and Cd in Fluvo-aquic soil with reduction rates being 11.3%–48.4% and 0.74%–64.9% compared with the control treatment. The pig manure biochar favored the immobilization of Pb and S.

Fourteen pesticides were screened and determined through quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) extraction process combined with GC-MS/MS in arid agriculture soil.

Cadmium (Cd) is a widespread pollutant that is toxic to living organisms. Previous studies have identified certain WRKY transcription factors, which confer Cd tolerance in different plant species. In the present study, we have identified 29 Cd-responsive WRKY genes in Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], and confirmed that 26 of those GmWRKY genes were up-regulated, while 3 were down-regulated.

A number of metal hyperaccumulator plants, including nickel (Ni) hyperaccumulators, have been identified in the genus Noccaea. The ability to accumulate Ni in shoots varies widely among species and ecotypes in this genus; however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying this intra- and inter-specific variation. Here, in hydroponic culture, we compared Ni accumulation patterns between Noccaea japonica, which originated in Ni-enriched serpentine soils in Mt.

Rhizosphere microbiome significantly influences plant growth and productivity. Legume crops such as pea have often been used as a rotation crop along with rice cultivation in long-term conservation agriculture experiments in the acidic soils of the northeast region of India. It is essential to understand how the pea plant influences the soil communities and shapes its rhizosphere microbiome.

Cadmium, although not redox active is highly toxic. Yet, the underlying mechanisms driving toxicity are still to be characterized. In this study, we took advantage of the purple bacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus strain with defective Cd2 +-efflux system to identify targets of this metal. Exposure of the ΔcadA strain to Cd2 + causes a decrease in the photosystem amount and in the activity of respiratory complexes.

Antibiotic resistance and viral diseases are rising around the world and are becoming major threats to global health, food security, and development. One measure that has been suggested to mitigate this crisis is the development of new antibiotics. Here, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of the phylogenetic and biogeographic patterns...

Lead (Pb), a well‐known toxic metal, has a potential of adverse effects on human health. Selenium (Se) can reduce the toxicity caused by heavy metals. In this study, we investigated the protection mechanism of the purified Se‐enriched rice protein hydrolysates (SPHs‐2) on the Pb2+‐induced cytotoxicity. A Caco‐2 cell model was established to characterize the effect of SPHs‐2 on Pb2+ absorption in the simulated small intestine.

Author(s): Lingfei Ma, Yanfei Wang, Haipu Li, Fangyuan Peng, Bo Qiu, Zhaoguang Yang

BACKGROUND The use of pesticides during tea plant cultivation support agricultural production and prevents and controls pests, diseases, and weeds. It is of the utmost importance to balance pesticide application with tea quality, safety, and consumer health. The uptake of pesticides into plants may lead to the presence of residues that are hazardous to human health, especially for some foliar‐applied insecticides.

A soft coral-derived fungus Penicillium sp. among other isolates e high antibacterial, anti-yeast and cytotoxic activities. The fungus, Penicillium sp. MMA, isolated from Sarcphyton glaucoma, afforded nine diverse compounds (1–9).

Author(s): Yuchen Zhu, Yinghua Luo, Guoyu Sun, Pengpu Wang, Xiaosong Hu, Fang Chen

Sediment samples were taken from sediment adjacent to an urban river in Sheffield in Northern England that had suffered heavy metal pollution due to previous activity of the steel industry (between the 17th and 19th centuries). The most abundant heavy metals found in the samples were lead, chromium, nickel, arsenic and cobalt, with maximum concentrations of 412.80 mg kg‐1 25.232 mg kg‐1, 25.196 mg kg‐1, 8.123 mg kg‐1 and 7.66 mg kg‐1, respectively.

Author(s): Maria Alessia Schouten, Jessica Genovese, Silvia Tappi, Alessandra Di Francesco, Elena Baraldi, Manuela Cortese, Giovanni Caprioli, Simone Angeloni, Sauro Vittori, Pietro Rocculi, Santina Romani

Author(s): Long Wu, Weimin Zhang, Chen Liu, Mohamed F. Foda, Yongheng Zhu