Research Publications (Food Safety)

Juveniles are considered as one of the most vulnerable population groups concerning mycotoxins and their modified forms. The weaning stage is a particularly vulnerable period in the life of mammals, reflected in intestinal and immune dysfunction.

Diet greatly influences gut microbiota. Dietary methionine restriction (MR) prevents and ameliorates age-related or high-fat-induced diseases and prolongs life span. This study aimed to reveal the impact of MR on gut microbiota in middle-aged mice with low-, medium-, high-fat diets. C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into six groups with different MR and fat-content diets. Multiple indicators of intestinal function, fat accumulation, energy consumption, and inflammation were measured.

It has been recognized that collagen peptides of MW 878 Da (CP1) promote osteoblast proliferation and mineralization. The objective of this study is to identify the peptides responsible for proliferation of osteoblast growth, enhancement of ALP (alkaline phosphatase) activity in osteoblasts and promotion of osteoblast mineralization.

Acetylcholinesterase inactivating compounds, such as organophosphate (OP) and carbamate (CM) pesticides, are widely used in agriculture to ensure sustainable production of food and feed. As a consequence of their applications, they would result in neurotoxicity, even death. In this essence, the development of enzyme inhibition methods still shows great significance as rapid detection techniques for on-site large-scale screening of OPs and CMs.

Aeromonas hydrophila, a pathogenic bacterium, is harmful to humans, domestic animals, and fishes and, moreover, of public health concern due to the emergence of multiple drug-resistant strains. The cell wall has been discovered as a novel and efficient drug target against bacteria, and d-alanine–d-alanine ligase (Ddl) is considered as an essential enzyme in bacterial cell wall biosynthesis. Herein, we studied the A.

A series of novel α-ketoamide derivatives bearing a vanillin skeleton were designed and synthesized. Bioactivity tests on virus and bacteria were performed.

Antibiotic resistance and capacity for biofilm formation of Shigella flexneri render previous prevention and control strategies minimally effective. Ferulic acid (FA) has been demonstrated to be useful due to its application in foods as an alternative natural preservative. However, information regarding the S. flexneri phenotype and molecular responses to FA exposure is limited. The present study investigated the effects of FA on S. flexneri planktonic growth and biofilm formation.

The past decade has witnessed significant advances in understanding the interaction between grasses and systemic fungal endophytes of the genus Epichloë, with evidence that plants have evolved multiple strategies to cope with abiotic stresses by reprogramming physiological responses. Soil nutrients directly affect plant growth, while soil microbes are also closely connected to plant growth and health.

Cocoa and chocolate can contain cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) from natural and anthropogenic sources. This perspective provides background on the origin, occurrence, and factors affecting Cd and Pb levels in chocolate products as well as ongoing international efforts to mitigate Cd and Pb in these popular foods, particularly the higher Cd levels observed in some cocoa and chocolate originating from parts of Latin America.

Heavy metals in agricultural soils exist in diverse dissolved (free cations and complexed species of positive, neutral, or negative charges), particulate (sorbed, structural, and coprecipitated), and colloidal (micro- and nanometer-sized particles) species. The fate of different heavy metal species is controlled by the master variables: pH (solubility), ionic strength (activity and charge-shielding), and dissolved organic carbon (complexation).

An analytical program for multiclass, multiresidue residue analysis to qualitatively and quantitatively determine veterinary drug compounds in game meats by LC-MS/MS has been developed and validated.

Plant fungal diseases have caused great decreases in crop quality and yield. As one of the considerable agricultural diseases, cucumber downy mildew (CDM) caused by pseudoperonospora cubensis seriously influences the production of cucumber. Amisulbrom is a commercial agricultural fungicide developed by Nissan Chemical, Ltd., for the control of oomycetes diseases that is highly effective against CDM.

In this work, a new mega-method of sample preparation called “QuEChERSER” (more than QuEChERS) is being presented for the first time. Fast, efficient, and cost-effective analysis of chemical contaminants in meat is useful for international trade, domestic monitoring, risk assessment, and other purposes.

The goal of this study was to develop and validate a new method for simultaneous determination of 106 veterinary drugs and 227 pesticides and their metabolites plus 16 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at and below their regulatory levels established for catfish muscle in the European Union and U.S.A.

Insect growth regulators (IGRs) can cause abnormal growth and development in insects, resulting in incomplete metamorphosis or even death of the larvae. Ecdysone receptor (EcR) and chitinase in insects play indispensable roles in the molting process. Ecdysone analogues and chitinase inhibitors are considered as potential IGRs.

Fresh produce is frequently associated with outbreaks of foodborne diseases; thus, there is a need to develop effective intervention technologies and antimicrobial treatments to improve the microbial safety of fresh produce. Washing with chemical sanitizers, commonly used by the industry, is limited in its effectiveness and is viewed as a possible cross-contamination opportunity.

In this study, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was exposed to three of the most typical chlorinated organophosphate esters (OPEs), which are widely present in farmland soil, at environmental concentrations to assess their accumulation, disruption on metabolism, and oxidative stress in wheat. The three OPEs accumulated distinctly in the root and then translocated to the shoot.

Fluralaner, a veterinary drug, is a potential chiral isoxazoline insecticide possessing high insecticidal and acaricidal activity. However, there is little information regarding the enantioselective effect of fluralaner. In this work, a promising chiral detection method was established with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry in agricultural products and animal organs to investigate enantioselective metabolism and bioactivity.

The current study developed an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method to simultaneously analyze cascade metabolites of acrylamide in urine of rats and humans, including acrylamide, glycidamide, N-acetyl-S-(2-carbamoylethyl)-l-cysteine (AAMA), N-acetyl-S-(2-carbamoylethyl)-l-cysteine-sulfoxide, N-acetyl-S-(2-carbamoyl-2-hydroxyethyl)-l-cysteine, and N-acetyl-S-(1-carbamoyl-2-hydroxyethyl)-l-cysteine.

Rising atmospheric [CO2] has been shown to impact plant primary metabolism and the severity of Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat. In this study, we evaluated how changes in grain nutritional content due to growth at elevated [CO2] affected Fusarium graminearum growth and mycotoxin production. Susceptible (Norm) and moderately resistant (Alsen) hard spring wheat grains that had been grown at ambient (400 ppm) or elevated [CO2] (800 ppm) were independently inoculated with two F.

Novel pyrimidine sulfide derivatives containing a dithioacetal and strobilurin moiety were designed and synthesized. Their antiviral activities against tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) were investigated through the tomato chlorosis virus coat protein (ToCVCP)-oriented screening method. Microscale thermophoresis was used to study the interaction between the compound and the ToCVCP.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a class of mycotoxin that are mainly produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium and widely found in plant origin food. OTA-contaminated foods can cause serious harm to animals and humans, while high stability of OTA makes it difficult to remove in conventional food processing. Thus, sensitive and rapid detection of OTA undoubtedly plays an important role in OTA prevention and control.

Cow’s milk protein allergy, which occurs in approximately 5–10% of the population of infants and children, has become an important public food safety problem. As a major allergen in cow’s milk, the most abundant protein casein (CN) is considered to be potent in inducing food allergy. In recent years, ultrasound treatment has played a significant role in the field of colloidal particulate system.

Rubber tree is an economically important tropical crop. Its endophytic bacterial strain Serratia marcescens ITBB B5–1 contains an intracellular macrovesicle and red pigment. In this research, the red pigment was identified as prodigiosin by quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Prodigiosin has a wide range of potential medical values such as anticancer and antiorgan transplant rejection.

Here, a reliable and sensitive method for the determination of 38 (modified) mycotoxins was developed. Using a QuEChERS-based extraction method [acetonitrile/water/formic acid (75:20:5, v/v/v)], followed by two runs of high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with different conditions, relevant mycotoxins in cereals were analyzed. The method was validated according to the performance criteria defined by the European Commission (EC) in Commission Decision no. 657/2002.