Research Publications (Food Safety)

In this paper, the technique of continuous sample drop flow microextraction (CSDF-ME) is developed by the addition of a narrow-necked conical vessel. In the developed technique, an organic solvent denser than water is used for the extraction of organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) from fruit juice and river water, followed by analysis with GC-MS.

Avermectin (AVM) has been widely used in agriculture and animal husbandry for the treatment of broad spectrum parasitic diseases, but it has a harmful effect on human body through food chain. In this paper, on the basis of anti-AVM specific antibody, expanded mesoporous silica-encapsulated gold nanoparticles (EMSN-AuNPs)-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of AVM was developed.

Author(s): Monashree Sarma Bora, Nirmali Gogoi, Kali Prasad Sarma

Author(s): Nouf Aldawood, Abdulkarem Alrezaki, Shamsa Alanazi, Nabil Amor, Saleh Alwasel, Alexander Sirotkin, Abdel Halim Harrath

Author(s): Dongyu Li, Tong Liu, Luqing Pan, Fengxiao Hu, Qian Jin

Author(s): Fugui Zhang, Xin Xiao, Xiaoming Wu

Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) through food, water, and air occurred during the life, which may change telomere length (TL) in peripheral blood leukocytes. The present study was designed to investigate the association between TL and serum levels of PCBs and OCPs in Tehran male’s population. Whole blood samples were randomly taken from 300 adult males, aged between 25 and 40 years.

Contamination of water sources with lead has been a problem because it is a toxic heavy metal. Detection and monitoring are important for both the environment and human health. In this paper, we present an application of cantilever nanobiosensors that can detect contamination traces of lead (Pb) in real river water samples. The urease and alkaline phosphatase enzymes are used in the device as a biological element with high sensitivity in Pb detection.

Promysalin is a small-molecule natural product that specifically inhibits growth of the Gram-negative pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA). This activity holds promise in the treatment of multidrug resistant infections found in immunocompromised patients with chronic illnesses, such as cystic fibrosis. In 2015, our lab completed the first total synthesis; subsequent analogue design and SAR investigation enabled identification of succinate dehydrogenase (Sdh) as the biological target in PA.

Acetylation is a conserved modification used to regulate a variety of cellular pathways, such as gene expression, protein synthesis, detoxification, and virulence. Acetyltransferase enzymes transfer an acetyl moiety, usually from acetyl coenzyme A (AcCoA), onto a target substrate, thereby modulating activity or stability. Members of the GCN5-N-acetyltransferase (GNAT) protein superfamily are found in all domains of life and are characterized by a core structural domain architecture.

Author(s): Chan Zhang, Zejun Jiang, Maojun Jin, Pengfei Du, Ge Chen, Xueyan Cui, Yudan Zhang, Guoxin Qin, Feiyan Yan, A.M. ABD El-Aty, Ahmet Hacimüftüoğlu, Jing Wang

Author(s): Marta Esperanza, Marta Seoane, María J. Servia, Ángeles Cid

Bisphenol A (BPA) is used throughout the world and it could enter aquatic ecosystems causing harmful effects on humans, animals and plants. The current study relies on the investigation of the toxicity of this emerging pollutant on two freshwater species from different trophic levels: the microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and the clam Corbicula fluminea.

Melamine and melamine‐formaldehyde (MF) resin are both commonly used materials in food technology. It is shown in this work that the stability of aqueous solutions of MF resins during storage is strongly influenced by the ionic strength and the pH value of the suspending medium. Aggregation phenomena, polymerization, or disintegration of MF resin particles can take place.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, vacuolar H+‐ATPase (V‐ATPase) involved in the regulation of intracellular pH homeostasis has been shown to be important for tolerances to cadmium, cobalt, and nickel. However, molecular mechanism underlying the protective role of V‐ATPase against these metals remains unclear.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is efficient, strongly specific, and avirulent to humans, making it one of the most popular biopesticides in the world. Bt LLP29 is a mosquitocidal strain that was first isolated from Magnolia denudata. To understand its molecular mechanism against mosquitoes, the genome of Bt LLP29 was sequenced and annotated in this study.

Bisphenol A (BPA) can potentially trigger hormonal imbalances and affect aquatic species when discharged untreated into the ecosystems. This study explored the influencing factors, mechanism, and pathways of BPA degradation process in aqueous solution applying strong ionization discharge (SID) method. The results elaborate that 99.5% degradation rate was achieved in 60 min when 15 mg L−1 BPA solution was treated applying 3.74 kW of input power.

Heavy metals-based changes in the plants and their alleviation through eco-friendly agents including reduced glutathione (GSH) have been widely studied. In the present experiment, we tested the alleviatory role of reduced glutathione (GSH) in seedlings of upland cotton cultivar, TM-1 under lead (Pb) toxicity. Plants were grown in the Hoagland solution containing Pb (0 μM), Pb (500 μM), GSH (50 μM), and GSH + Pb (50 μM + 500 μM).

by Paulina Chaber, Barbara Gworek

Author(s): Rili Hao, Feng Li, Xinyu Song, Xintong Tan, Dongxiao Sun-Waterhouse, Dapeng Li

Author(s): Misato Masuda, Qi Wang, Masahiro Tokumura, Yuichi Miyake, Takashi Amagai

Emergence and expansion of frequent multidrug‐resistant (MDR) major Salmonella clones/serotypes has been a significant threat in the last years. Metal compounds, such as copper, commonly used in animal‐production settings, have been pointed out as possible contributors for the selection of such strains/clones. However, the scarcity of studies limits our understanding of the impact of other metal environmental contaminants as arsenic (used in insecticides/herbicides/coccidiostats).

Melatonin is a new kind of plant growth regulator. The aim of this study was to figure out the effect of melatonin on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis and heavy metal tolerance. A three-factor experiment was conducted to determine the effect of melatonin application on the growth, AM symbiosis, and stress tolerance of Medicago truncatula. A two-factor (AM inoculation and Pb stress) experiment was conducted to determine the effect of AM fungus on melatonin accumulation under Pb stress.

by Line Lomheim, Laurent Laquitaine, Suly Rambinaising, Robert Flick, Andrei Starostine, Corine Jean-Marius, Elizabeth A. Edwards, Sarra Gaspard

The role of water and bottom sediment pollution of a river subjected to a strong industrial anthropo-pressure in coastal plants was investigated.

Furan fatty acids (FuFAs) are valuable minor compounds in our food with excellent antioxidant properties. Naturally occurring FuFAs are characterised by a central furan moiety with one or two methyl groups in β-/β’-position of the heterocycle (monomethyl- or M-FuFAs and dimethyl- or D-FuFAs).