Research Publications (Food Safety)

Author(s): Hans Verhagen, Cristina Alonso-Andicoberry, Ricardo Assunção, Francesca Cavaliere, Hanna Eneroth, Jeljer Hoekstra, Stylianos Koulouris, Andreas Kouroumalis, Stefano Lorenzetti, Alberto Mantovani, Davide Menozzi, Maarten Nauta, Morten Poulsen, Josep Rubert, Alfonso Siani, Veronique Sirot, Giulia Spaggiari, Sofie T. Thomsen, Marco Trevisan, Pietro Cozzini

Author(s): Ru Jia, Faizan Ahmed Sadiq, Wenbin Liu, Lirong Cao, Zhuoyu Shen

Author(s): Yiying Huang, Steve H. Flint, Shubo Yu, Yu Ding, Jon S. Palmer

4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD, EC 1.13.11.27) has been recognized as one of the most promising targets in the field of herbicide innovation considering the severity of weed resistance currently. In a persistent effort to develop effective HPPD-inhibiting herbicides, a structure-guided strategy was carried out to perform the structural optimization for triketone-quinazoline-2,4-diones, a novel HPPD inhibitor scaffold first discovered in our lab.

Products of dark brown sugar (DBS) from different production processes and raw materials may bring different risks and benefits to human health. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the quality of natural and commercial DBS products. Results showed that physicochemical properties, including pH value, turbidity, and browning degree have no significant difference between natural and commercial DBS products.

Patulin (PAT) is a mycotoxin produced by various fungal species that commonly contaminate apples and other fruit products. PAT is associated with glutathione (GSH) depletion and oxidative stress. Cytoprotective and antioxidant (AO) enzymes limit toxic outcomes and confer resistance to oxidative stress by influencing the expression of cytoprotective genes.

The study evaluates the effect of Artemisia dracunculus essential oil (EO) on two pathogenic bacteria Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus and Vero cell line. To evaluating the anti-biofilm potential of the EO, a microtiter-plate test (MtP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were performed.

In this study, a real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (Rti-LAMP) combined with immunomagnetic beads separation (IMS) and ethidium bromide monoazide (EMA) treatment was developed for the rapid and ultrasensitive detection of viable Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 in milk without enrichment. Polyclonal antibodies against E. coli O157:H7 flagellum and specific immunomagnetic beads (IMBs) were prepared.

In recent years, there has been a serious need to develop and test new biodegradable packaging. Therefore, furcellaran (FUR) and whey protein isolate (WPI) films containing pu-erh (PE) or green tea (GT) extracts were prepared in this study. The effect of the extracts on the structure, rheological and mechanical properties, and antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of FUR/WPI films was tested. The films were applied as packaging of an acid-curd cheese (quark).

To detect enrofloxacin (ENR) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) residues in fishery foods, a computer simulation was used to predict and analyze the binding sites existing aptamer specific to ENR and CIP. A new aptamer (SEQ.3) that can recognize ENR and CIP was screened and evaluated, and the dissociation constants (Kd) of SEQ.3 from ENR and CIP were determined to be 210.955 nM and 887.49 nM which are higher than other aptamers SEQ.4 and SEQ.5 by microscale thermophoresis (MST).

Scorpion toxins represent a variety of tools to explore molecular mechanisms and cellular signaling pathways of many biological functions. These toxins are also promising lead compounds for developing treatments for many neurological diseases. In the current study, we purified a new scorpion toxin designated as BmK NSPK (Buthus martensii Karsch neurite-stimulating peptide targeting Kv channels) from the BmK venom. The primary structure was determined using Edman degradation.

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT) are extremely potent and can induce respiratory failure, requiring long-term intensive care to prevent death. Recombinant monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) hold considerable promise as BoNT therapeutics and prophylactics. In contrast, equine antitoxin cannot be used prophylactically and has a short half-life. Two three-mAb combinations are in development that specifically neutralize BoNT serotype A (BoNT/A) and B (BoNT/B).

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by several species of fungi, including the Fusarium, Aspergillus, and Penicillium species. Currently, more than 300 structurally diverse mycotoxins are known, including a group called minor mycotoxins, namely enniatins, beauvericin, and fusaproliferin. Beauvericin and enniatins possess a variety of biological activities.

Acinetobacter baumannii is involved in life-threatening nosocomial infections, mainly in the intensive care units (ICUs), and often colistin may represent the last therapeutic opportunity. The susceptibility to colistin of 51 epidemiologically typed A. baumannii strains isolated in 2017 from clinical samples of patients hospitalized in the ICU of a tertiary care academic hospital was investigated.

Riboswitches reside in the untranslated region of RNA and regulate genes involved in the biosynthesis of essential metabolites through binding of small molecules. Since their discovery at the beginning of this century, riboswitches have been regarded as potential antibacterial targets. Using fragment screening, high-throughput screening and rational ligand design guided by X-ray crystallography, lead compounds against various riboswitches have been identified.

(‐)‐Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) exhibits multiple biological activities, but unfortunately with poor stability. Poly(butyl‐2‐cyanoacrylate) (PBCA) nanoparticles have been widely elaborated for nearly 50 years. However, PBCA‐based nanowires (PNWs) were reported scarcely. Here, EGCG‐encapsulated PNWs (EGCG@PNWs) were successfully constructed.

Cadmium is toxic to the ovaries in animal studies, but its association with diminished ovarian reserve in women is not established. We investigated urinary cadmium, a biomarker of long-term exposure, in relation to diminished ovarian reserve, as indicated by elevated serum follicle-stimulating hormone concentrations (≥10 IU/L), in women aged 35–49 years (unweighted n = 1,681).

In this issue of the Journal, Upson et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2021;190(1):116–124) assess urinary cadmium level as a potential environmental influence on ovarian reserve, as measured using serum follicle-stimulating hormone, in data from 1,681 US women (1988–1994). They compare 3 methods for modeling urinary proxy exposures—standardization, covariate adjustment, and covariate-adjusted standardization.

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