Research Publications (Food Safety)

ABSTRACT Influenza A virus (H1N1), a swine-origin influenza A virus, causes seasonal epidemics that result in severe illnesses and deaths. Leonurine has been reported to function as an anti-inflammatory agent with protective effects on nervous, urinary and cardiovascular systems. However, the therapeutic effects of leonurine on the pneumonia caused by H1N1 infection remain unclear.

by Courtney E. McDougal, Zachary T. Morrow, Tighe Christopher, Seonyoung Kim, Drake Carter, David M. Stevenson, Daniel Amador-Noguez, Mark J. Miller, John-Demian Sauer

by Saray Gutiérrez, Julia Fischer, Raja Ganesan, Nina Judith Hos, Gökhan Cildir, Martina Wolke, Alberto Pessia, Peter Frommolt, Vincenzo Desiderio, Vidya Velagapudi, Nirmal Robinson Regulation of cellular metabolism is now recognized as a crucial mechanism for the activation of innate and adaptive immune cells upon diverse extracellular stimuli. Macrophages, for instance, increase glycolysis upon stimulation with pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs).

by Gila Lustig, Sandile Cele, Farina Karim, Anne Derache, Abigail Ngoepe, Khadija Khan, Bernadett I. Gosnell, Mahomed-Yunus S. Moosa, Ntombi Ntshuba, Suzaan Marais, Prakash M. Jeena, Katya Govender, John Adamson, Henrik Kløverpris, Ravindra K. Gupta, Rohen Harrichandparsad, Vinod B. Patel, Alex Sigal

Fungi Eurotium spp. are the main biological agents that ferment the leaves of the Camellia sinensis tea bush to form a popular food product, postfermented tea. The fungus E. cristatum, stored in the collection of the Gause Institute of New Antibiotics under the number INA 01267, was isolated and identified from a briquette of Fujian Chinese tea. The species identification was carried out based on morphocultural characteristics and DNA sequencing.

Author(s): Yixuan Pang, Yuanqing Cao, Jingjing Han, Yating Xia, Zixin He, Lihong Sun, Jun Liang

Author(s): Daniela Andrade Neves, Wellington da Silva Oliveira, Mateus Henrique Petrarca, Maria Isabel Rodrigues, Helena Teixeira Godoy

Author(s): Xiangxiang Sun, Ahmed S.M. Saleh, Zhuangzhuang Sun, Xiangzhen Ge, Huishan Shen, Qian Zhang, Xiuzhu Yu, Li Yuan, Wenhao Li

Norfloxacin (NOR) is a type of fluoroquinolone broad spectrum antimicrobial drug capable of treating bacterial infections leading to adverse reactions and a reduction in the efficiency for treating infection in humans. To ensure consumer safety, a facile and sensitive immunoassay using personal glucose meter (PGM) was developed for the detection of NOR in animal-derived foods in this study.

A magnetic nanoparticle (MNP)-based lateral flow immunochromatography assay (LFIA) was established to detect fluoroquinolones (FQs) in milk. This method is an improvement of traditional Au nanoparticle (AuNP)-based LFIA. Compared with AuNP-labeled antibody, the combination between MNPs and antibody is stronger and more stable, and the preparation process is convenient.

A total of 220 birds of age ranging from 3 to 14 weeks old were collected from several backyards and different farms in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt, and surveyed for the presence of fowl cholera. Twenty Pasteurella multocida from chickens (15/145, 10%) and ducks (5/75, 6%) were bacteriologically isolated, and it was shown that the infection was significantly related to age and breed.

In the past 12 years, several case reports have clearly demonstrated that Wohlfahrtiimonas chitiniclastica is capable of causing sepsis and bacteremia in humans. However, since most clinicians are not familiar with this species, little is known about its pathogenicity and treatment options while it is as rare but underestimated human pathogen.

Listeria monocytogenes is the causative agent of the highly fatal foodborne disease listeriosis and can persist in food production environments. Recent research highlights the involvement of L. monocytogenes plasmids in different stress response mechanisms, which contribute to its survival in food production facilities. Ultraviolet (UV) light in the UVC spectrum (200–280 nm) is used in food production to control microbial contamination.

Author(s): Lorine Derongs, Céline Druilhe, Caroline Le Maréchal, Frédéric Barbut, Lorette Heurtevent, Julie Buffet, Laure Martin, Christine Ziebal, Typhaine Poezevara, Sandra Rouxel, Emmanuelle Houard, Syed Zaidi Rabab, Jeanne Couturier, Anne-Marie Pourcher

Author(s): Kye-Hwan Byun, Kyung Won Na, Md Ashrafudoulla, Min Woo Choi, Sang Ha Han, Iksoon Kang, Si Hong Park, Sang-Do Ha

Author(s): Olakkaran Shilpa, Kizhakke Purayil Anupama, Anet Antony, Hunasanahally Puttaswamygowda Gurushankara

Author(s): Melanie Hemgesberg, Simone Stegmüller, Alexander Cartus, Selina Hemmer, Michael Püttmann, Jean-Pierre Stockis, Dieter Schrenk

Author(s): Jalila Ben Salah-Abbès, Marwa Mannai, Hela Belgacem, Abdella Zinedine, Samir Abbès

Author(s): Yalin Zhang, Lihua Shi, Shasha Xiang, Yin Ge, Yiqing Zheng, Yanting Xia, Haoying Han, Xiaoming Su, Sheng Fang, Jie Chen, Xuan Zhu

Endophytic actinobacterial strain 3R004T was isolated from a root of Justicia subcoriacea collected in Thailand. In this report, the taxonomic position of this strain is described using a polyphasic approach.

The Salmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi B complex causes a wide range of diseases, from gastroenteritis to paratyphoid fever, depending on the biotypes Java and sensu stricto.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a major pathogen of acute watery diarrhoea. The pathogenicity of ETEC is linked to adherence to the small intestine by colonization factors (CFs) and secretion of heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) and/or heat-stable enterotoxin (ST). CS6 is one of the most common CFs in our region and worldwide. Iron availability functions as an environmental cue for enteropathogenic bacteria, signalling arrival within the human host.

Ochratoxins are mycotoxins that have been extensively studied lately due to the multiple toxic effects such as nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, and carcinogenicity. These toxins contaminate plant and animal foods and after ingestion they reach into body fluids. The method of competitive direct enzyme immunoassay, in the solid phase, was validated through the determination of specific parameters (performance, linearity, recovery percentage, limit of detection, limit of quantification).