Research Publications (Food Safety)

The efficient manipulation of their host cell is an essential feature of intracellular parasites. Most molecular mechanisms governing the subversion of host cell by protozoan parasites involve the release of parasite-derived molecules into the host cell cytoplasm and direct interaction with host proteins. Among these released proteins, kinases are particularly important as they govern the subversion of important host pathways, such as signalling or metabolic pathways.

Veterinary drugs, including antibiotics, anti-parasitic drugs and growth promoters, are widely used in animal husbandry. Veterinary drug residues are key issues of food safety, which arouse public concerns and can seriously endanger the health of consumers.

Agricultural product contamination by endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) residues is an international public health issue and requires continuously stringent administration. A high-throughput biotin-streptavidin-amplified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (BA-ELISA) for detection of progesterone (P4) has been established to be applied in determining milk samples.

Journal of Food Safety, EarlyView. In this study, the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) method was applied to determine florfenicol residues (FF) in chicken meat. Gold nanoparticles were stabilized on the glass slides cost-effectively by “1-dodecanethiol.” Three factors, including “solvent types,” “spectroscopy times,” and “ ratio of gold nanoparticles and samples” were examined to optimize the spectrum acquisition.

Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is the primary pathogen of chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) in chickens. In poultry production, antibiotics are mostly used to prevent and control MG infection, but the drug resistance and residue problems caused by them cannot be ignored. Glycyrrhizic acid (GA) is derived from licorice, a herb traditionally used to treat various respiratory diseases.

Transferable linezolid resistance due to optrA, poxtA, cfr and cfr-like genes is increasingly detected in enterococci associated with animals and humans globally.

Electrospinning has the advantages of simple manufacturing equipment, a low spinning cost, wide range of spinnable materials, and a controllable mild process, which can continuously fabricate submicron or nanoscale ultrafine polymer fibers without high temperature or high pressure. The obtained nanofibrous films may have a large specific surface area, unique pore structure, and easy-to-modify surface characteristics.

Studies have shown that some peptides and small molecules can induce non IgE-mediated anaphylactoid reactions through mast cell activation. Upon activation, mast cells degranulate and release vasoactive and proinflammatory mediators, from cytoplasmic granules into the extracellular environment which can induce a cascade of severe adverse reactions.

In recent decades safety of food has played a pivotal role from raw material till it reaches the consumer. The food consumed may contain unwanted contaminants, which may impose severe health implications on the consumers. Instrumental techniques like HPLC, GCMS, LCMS, AAS, FTIR, and NIRS detect the contaminants, but the need for low cost, continuous, specific, real-time, and rapid contaminant detection method is required. To meet these essentials, a biosensor stands as a powerful tool.

An analysis of the notifications in the European Union (EU) Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) portal due to residues of veterinary drugs in fish and fish products over the period 2001–2021 was conducted examining the following data: number and type of notifications; year of notification; notification basis; notifying country; country of origin; action taken; distribution status; risk decision; fish product type; residue found.

Wildlife animals are recognized as reservoirs for zoonotic fungi and their faeces might play an important role in introducing pathogens into the environment. Thought wild boar (Sus scrofa) population has dramatically increased across Europe, information about their possible role in dissemination of zoonotic pathogenic yeasts in the environment is scant.

A pre-concentration and sensitive determination method for residues of Chloramphenicol (CLP) and Amoxicillin (AMX) in milk samples were developed based on cloud point extraction (CPE) and HPLC–DAD analysis. CLP and AMX molecules were extracted to surfactant phases of polyethylene glycol-6000 (PEG-6000) in the presence of pH 7.0 buffer and high electrolyte concentration.

Thyreostatic drugs (thyreostats) interfere with thyroid function and have been used illegally in animals slaughtered for food. Thyreostat use leads to poorer quality meat, and the drug residues can cause adverse effects in humans. These drugs, with the exception of thiouracil, do not occur naturally and require sensitive methodologies for their detection in animal tissues.

Here, we report the current status of the bioactive peptides isolated and characterized from mushrooms during the last 20 years, considering ‘peptide’ a succession from to 2 to 100 amino acid residues. According to this accepted biochemical definition, we adopt ~10 kDa as the upper limit of molecular weight for a peptide. In light of this, a careful revision of data reported in the literature was carried out.

The use of livestock manure is an important way for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) to enter the environment, and composting is an effective method for removing ARGs from livestock manure. In this study, different volume ratios of Chinese medicinal herbal residues (CMHRs) were added to laboratory-scale chicken manure composting to evaluate their effects, if any, on the behavior of ARGs, mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and the bacterial community.

β-defensins are antimicrobial peptides presenting in vertebrate animals. They participate in innate immunity, but little is known about them in reptiles, including snakes. Although several β-defensin genes were described in Brazilian snakes, their function is still unknown.

Plant-based removal of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from water bodies is an important method for remediation of aquaculture wastewater. In order to acquire knowledge as to how antibiotic residues in wastewater might affect the microbial community and plant uptake of N and P, this study investigated N and P removal by a coastal plant Sesuvium portulacastrum L.

Antimicrobial resistance threatens infectious disease management outcomes, especially in developing countries. In this study, the occurrence of resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (rCoNS) and antibiotic residues in urine samples of 401 healthy individuals from Korle-Gonno (KG) and Dodowa (DDW) in Ghana was investigated. MALDI-ToF/MS with gram-staining techniques detected and identified the CoNS. SPE-LC-MS/MS detected and quantified nine commonly used antibiotics in the samples.

Gut microbial community plays an important role in the regulation of insect health. Antibiotic treatment is powerful to fight bacterial infections, while it also causes collateral damage to gut microbiome, which may have long-lasting consequences for host health.

Veterinary drug residues, heavy metals, and species authentication were performed on the demand of the regulatory agency in retail catfish fillets. A total of 362 domestic and imported catfish samples collected from various retail markets in the Northeast region of the United States were tested for the presence of chloramphenicol (CAP), malachite green/gentian violet (MG/GV), As, Cd, Pb, and Hg according to the USDA - FSIS protocols.

Background The wide usage of tetracyclines in livestock farming may result in drug residues in foods. Therefore, it is necessary to develop reliable methods for the determination of tetracyclines in foods. Objective A dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) combined with HPLC method was developed for the analysis of six tetracyclines in eggs and chicken.

The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria, viruses and tumors is a serious threat to public health. Among natural peptides, indolicidin, a 13-residue peptide belonging to the cathelicidin family, deserves special attention. Indolicidin has a broad spectrum of biological activity and is active against a wide range of targets, such as bacteria (Gram+  and Gram−), fungi and viruses.

Thiamphenicol (TAP) is an amphenicol antibiotic, which has a broad-spectrum inhibitory effect on both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Since it is widely used in animals and aquaculture, its residues in environment may bring potential risk for human health and ecosystems. While TAP can be removed through conventional physical or chemical methods, its bioremediation using microorganisms is less studied.