Research Publications (Food Safety)

Honey’s antibacterial activity has been recently linked to the inhibitory effects of honey microbiota against a range of foodborne and human pathogens. In the current study, the microbial community structure of honey samples exerting pronounced antimicrobial activity was examined. The honey samples were obtained from different geographical locations in Greece and had diverse pollen origin (fir, cotton, fir–oak, and Arbutus unedo honeys).

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is problematic worldwide, and due to the loss of efficiency of many antibiotics, the pressure to discover alternative antimicrobial molecules has increased. Soil harbors a great biodiversity and biomass of microorganisms, and many antibiotics are produced by soil microbiota. Therefore, soil is a promising reservoir to find new antimicrobial agents.

Campylobacter spp. are the main cause of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, and broiler chicks are the main vector of transmission to humans. The high prevalence of Campylobacter in poultry meat and the increase of antibiotic resistant strains have raised the need to identify new antimicrobial agents. For this reason, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of two extracts of olive leaf against antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter strains (C. jejuni and C.

Bacteria can form biofilms in natural and clinical environments on both biotic and abiotic surfaces. The bacterial aggregates embedded in biofilms are formed by their own produced extracellular matrix. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is one of the most common pathogens of biofilm infections. The formation of biofilm can protect bacteria from being attacked by the host immune system and antibiotics and thus bacteria can be persistent against external challenges.

Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is a serious food-borne pathogen that can cause listeriosis, an illness caused by eating food contaminated with this pathogen. Currently, the treatment or prevention of listeriosis is a global challenge due to the resistance of bacteria against multiple commonly used antibiotics, thus necessitating the development of novel green antimicrobials.

Twenty samples of minced chicken meat procured from butcher’s shops in León (Spain; 10 samples) and Vila Real (Portugal; 10 samples) were analyzed. Microbial concentrations (log10 cfu/g) of 7.53 ± 1.02 (viable aerobic microbiota), 7.13 ± 1.07 (psychrotrophic microorganisms), and 4.23 ± 0.88 (enterobacteria) were found.

The emergence, persistence, and spread of antibiotic-resistant microbes is a tremendous public health threat that is considered nowadays a critical One Health issue. In Lebanon, the consumption of raw bovine milk has been recently reported as a result of the financial crisis.

The resistance to antimicrobials (AMR), especially antibiotics, represents a serious problem and, at the same time, a challenge. In the last decade, a growing interest in the use of essential oils (EOs) as antimicrobial substances was observed. Commercial thyme and oregano EOs are reported to be the main responsible of the oil antimicrobial efficacy against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria.

Resistance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from food and livestock to last resort antibiotics such as linezolid is highly concerning, since treatment options for infections in humans might be diminished. Known mechanisms of linezolid resistance include point mutations in the 23S rRNA gene and in the ribosomal proteins L3, L4 and L22 as well as an acquisition of the cfr, optrA or poxtA gene.

Previous studies indicated that the use of a phage cocktail, composed of bacteriophages vB_SenM-2 and vB_Sen-TO17, is effective in killing cells of Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium and Enteritidis in vitro and in the Galleria mellonella animal model as efficiently as antibiotics (enrofloxacin or colistin) and induced fewer deleterious changes in immune responses.

The defense system of freshwater crayfish Procambarus clarkii as a diversified source of bioactive molecules with antimicrobial properties was studied. Antimicrobial activity of two polypeptide-enriched extracts obtained from hemocytes and hemolymph of P. clarkii were assessed against Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis) and Gram negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli) bacteria and toward the yeast Candida albicans.

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a major nosocomial pathogen that frequently forms biofilms on indwelling medical devices. This study aimed to investigate the synergistic antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of octyl gallate (OG) in combination with penicillin and bacitracin against S. epidermidis. Antimicrobial synergy was assessed by conducting checkerboard titration assays, and antibiofilm activity was determined with biofilm assays and fluorescence microscopy analysis.

This study was designed to evaluate the adaptive resistance of Salmonella Typhimurium under continuous sublethal selective pressure. Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 19585 (STATCC) and S. Typhimurium CCARM 8009 (STCCARM) were sequentially cultured for 3 days at 37 °C in trypticase soy broth containing 1/2 × MICs of cefotaxime (CEF1/2), chloramphenicol (CHL1/2), gentamicin (GEN1/2), and polymyxin B (POL1/2).

Aspergillus flavus is a facultative parasite that contaminates several important food crops at both the pre- and post-harvest stages. Moreover, it is an opportunistic animal and human pathogen that causes aspergillosis diseases. A. flavus also produces the polyketide-derived carcinogenic and mutagenic secondary metabolite aflatoxin, which negatively impacts global food security and threatens human and livestock health.

Campylobacteriosis is recognized as one of the most common food-borne zoonoses, with worldwide distribution, having undercooked poultry meat and other cross-contaminated foodstuffs as the main sources of human infections. The current study aimed to provide data on the occurrence of the thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in seven broiler chicken flocks, from three north-western Transylvanian counties of Romania, as well as to determine the antimicrobial resistance profile of the isolated C.

The occurrence of waterborne antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria in areas of high-density oyster cultivation is an ongoing environmental and public health threat given the popularity of shellfish consumption, water-related human recreation throughout coastal Thailand, and the geographical expansion of Thailand’s shellfish industry.

The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is among the biggest challenges in human and veterinary medicine. One of the major factors that contributes to resistance is use of frontline clinical antibiotics in veterinary practices. To avoid this problem, searching for antimicrobials aimed at veterinary applications is becoming especially important.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) mesophilic facultatively anaerobic Gram-negative rods are a public health issue and their spread from animal-source foods to humans is of concern worldwide.

Marine sponges create a wide range of bioactive secondary metabolites, as documented throughout the year. Several bioactive secondary metabolites were isolated from different members of Callyspongia siphonella species. This study aimed for isolation and structural elucidation of major metabolites in order to investigate their diverse bioactivities such as antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities.

The eradication of staphylococcal infections has become more difficult due to the development of antibiotic resistance and virulence in biofilm-forming Staphylococcus aureus. The presence of the life-threatening zoonotic pathogen, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), in foods indicates a public health issue. This study, therefore, aimed to determine virulence factors and methicillin resistance in biofilm-forming S. aureus isolates from different foods and food handlers.

Shigellosis is a leading global cause of diarrheal disease and travelers’ diarrhea now being complicated by the dissemination of antibiotic resistance, necessitating the development of alternative antibacterials such as therapeutic bacteriophages (phages). Phages with lytic activity against Shigella strains were isolated from sewage.

With the discovery of antibiotics, a productive period of antibacterial drug innovation and application in healthcare systems and agriculture resulted in saving millions of lives. Unfortunately, the misusage of antibiotics led to the emergence of many resistant pathogenic strains. Some riboswitches have risen as promising targets for developing antibacterial drugs. Here, we describe the design and applications of the chimeric antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) as a novel antibacterial agent.

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common causes of mastitis, leading to severe economic losses in the dairy industry. It is also zoonotic, with potential risks to public health. This study aimed to detect the occurrence of S. aureus-resistant strains isolated from cattle, buffalo, their environment, milk and dairy products; and to investigate the extent of animal, ecological, and food contamination by methicillin-resistant (MRSA) or enterotoxigenic S. aureus.

Flowers are rich sources of bioactive antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer components. This study aimed to determine the constituents of the ethanol extract of Malvaviscus arboreus red flower (ERF) by GC-MS analysis and HPLC identification of phenolic compounds and flavonoids, in addition to the 1HNMR fingerprint. The antimicrobial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities of the ERF were investigated.

The emergence of drug resistant microbes over recent decades represents one of the greatest threats to human health; the resilience of many of these organisms can be attributed to their ability to produce biofilms. Natural products have played a crucial role in drug discovery, with microbial natural products in particular proving a rich and diverse source of antimicrobial agents.