Research Publications (Food Safety)

The inhibitory mechanism of CUM on Staphylococcus aureus exotoxins and invasive enzyme, and the effect of CUM on sauced beef were investigated. Treatment with sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations of CUM observed very little decrease in cell density after 24 h. Additionally, CUM reduced hemolytic activity by inhibiting the formation of heptamer, and inhibited the content of enterotoxin in culture medium and sauced beef.

Effects of thyme essential oil (TEO) emulsion (TEE) with cationic charge formulated using cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) on attachment strength and inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 on romaine lettuce surface were examined in this study.

Maize is affected by Aspergillus flavus and by the contamination of its kernels with aflatoxins, of which AFB1 is the most important. The Chaco Semi-arid is a region of Argentina in which the climate conditions increase this problem and due to the use of resistant cultivars is the best available tactic to reduce aflatoxin accumulation, we analyzed six hybrids against artificial inoculation with native aflatoxin-producing isolates of A. flavus.

Bacillus cereus is a common foodborne pathogen that causes vomiting and diarrheal symptoms. Due to its spore-forming ability, B. cereus can resist physical sterilization and possess a relatively high contamination level in dairy products; therefore, it is necessary to develop an efficient strategy to control the growth of B. cereus. In this study, a novel bacteriophage, named DLn1, was isolated and characterized, and its endolysin was expressed.

Yersinia enterocolitica is a psychrotrophic zoonotic foodborne pathogen. Pigs are considered the main reservoir of Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3, which is the most commonly isolated bioserotype in many European countries. Consuming pork contaminated with Y. enterocolitica can be a health threat, and antimicrobial-resistant strains may complicate the treatment of the most severe forms of yersiniosis. We analyzed the antimicrobial resistance of 1,016 pathogenic porcine Y.

Diarrheal diseases caused by Salmonella pose a major threat to public health, and assessment of bacterial viability is critical in determining the safety of food and drinking water after disinfection. Viability PCR could overcome the limitations of traditional culture-dependent methods for a more accurate assessment of the viability of a microbial sample.

Rice is a staple crop worldwide and a silicon (Si) hyperaccumulator with Si levels reaching 5–10% of its mass; this can result in desilication and Si-deficiency if plant residues are not managed correctly. Rice is also uniquely subject to arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) contamination depending on soil conditions.

Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157, and Shigella flexneri are typical foodborne pathogens in ground beef, which can cause severe infection even when present as a single cell. Flow cytometry (FCM) methods are widely applied in the rapid detection of pathogens in food products. In this study, we report an FCM-based method for detecting single cells of Salmonella, E.

Journal of Applied Microbiology, Accepted Article. This study evaluated the behaviour of the Salmonella enterica serotypes in osmotically-stressful BHI broth (0.940 ≤ aw ≤ 0.960), assessing inoculum from two stages of the bacterial life cycle (exponential and stationary) and two temperatures (25 and 35 °C). Four S.

Avocados are popular fruits; however, contamination of whole fresh avocados and avocado products with foodborne pathogens has raised concern about their safety. Recalls and import alerts of avocado products due to contamination with Listeria monocytogenes cause important economic losses. The behavior of Salmonella, L.

Soils co-contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and cadmium (Cd) have serious environmental impacts and are highly toxic to humans and ecosystems. Phytoremediation is an effective biotechnology for the remediation and restoration of PAH- and Cd-polluted soils.

Cadmium (Cd), a common environmental pollutant, seriously threatens the health of intestine. This research aimed to investigate the effects of compound probiotics (CP) on intestinal dysfunction and cecal microbiota dysregulation induced by Cd in broilers. A total of 240 1-day-old Arbor Acre (AA) broilers were randomly assigned to four groups.

This study investigated the content of deoxynivalenol (DON), sugars, proteins, phenolics, amino acids, the antioxidant capacity and antioxidant enzymes activities of Fusarium naturally contaminated wheat (FCW) during soaking and germination.

Cadmium (Cd) is a major environmental contaminant due to its widespread industrial use. Cd contamination of soil and water is rather classical but has emerged as a recent problem. Cd toxicity causes a range of damages to plants ranging from germination to yield suppression. Plant physiological functions, i.e., water interactions, essential mineral uptake, and photosynthesis, are also harmed by Cd.

At present, the alleviation of stress caused by climate change and environmental contaminants is a crucial issue. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is a persistent organic pollutant (POP) and an organochlorine, which causes significant health problems in humans. The stress caused by cadmium (Cd) and the toxicity of DDT have direct effects on the growth and yield of crop plants.

Sulfur, organosulfur compounds, and sulfides are essential parts of life. Microbial sulfate assimilation is among the most active and ancient metabolic activities in the sulfur cycle that operates in various ecosystems. We analyzed the molecular basis of bacterial characterization. NR1 was isolated and purified from mangrove sediments. Whole-genome sequencing indicated that the NR1 isolate was closely related to Bacillus cereus.

Berberis baluchistanica Ahrendt is a medicinal plant known to have potential for the treatment of various diseases. In the present study, the ethanolic extracts of the bark, leaves, and roots of B. baluchistanica plant were evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial, anti-leishmanial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory activities. The antibacterial and antifungal activities were determined by agar mix and agar well diffusion method.

Ocular infection with Toxoplasma gondii causes toxoplasmosis in mice. However, following ocular infection with tachyzoites, the cause of the accompanying progressive changes in hippocampal-dependent tasks, and their relationship with the morphology and number of microglia, is less well understood. Here, in 6-month-old, female BALB/c mice, 5 μl of a suspension containing 48.5 × 106 tachyzoites/ml was introduced into the conjunctival sac; control received an equal volume of saline.

Coagulase-negative staphylococci are commensals that are known to be prevalent in most environments, and they are also an important reservoir of antimicrobial-resistant genes. Staphylococcal infections in animal husbandry are a high economic burden. Thus, we aimed to determine the prevalence and species diversity of methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRCoNS) in poultry slaughtered for human consumption and to study the antimicrobial resistance of the isolates.

Over the past years, antibiotic growth promoter had been restricted in animal husbandry production in many countries because of antimicrobial resistance and foodborne antibiotic residues.

by Kholoud A. Al-Shammery, Wael N. Hozzein Alternatives of conventional antibiotics have become an urgent need to control drug-resistant bacteria. Therefore, search for new antibacterial agents has become a trend in several microbiological and pharmaceutical scientific works. Insects, one of the most successful and evolved species on earth is known to be an effective natural source of several medically useful chemicals including antibacterial agents.

Exploiting consistent differences in radiation and average air temperature between two experimental vineyards (Ramat Negev, RN and Mitzpe Ramon, MR), we examined the impact of climate variations on total carotenoids, redox status, and phenylpropanoid metabolism in the berries of 10 white wine grapevine (Vitis vinifera) cultivars across three consecutive seasons (2017–2019). The differences in carotenoid and phenylpropanoid contents between sites were seasonal and varietal dependent.

The common ice plant, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L., has recently been found as a good candidate for phytoremediation of heavy-metal polluted soils. This semi-halophyte is a C3/CAM (Crassulacean acid metabolism) intermediate plant capable of tolerating extreme levels of cadmium in the soil. The aim of the work was to obtain and characterize novel, Cd-tolerant microbial strains that populate the root zone of M.

Fatty-type (FT) Pekin ducks exhibit higher lipid deposition than lean-type (LT) ducks. The gut microbiota plays an important role in modulating fat metabolism. We compared the growth performance, slaughter performance, and cecal microbiota of FT and LT Pekin ducks and analyzed the role of cecal microbiota in lipid deposition in Pekin ducks. A total of 140 1-day-old FT and LT Pekin ducks with similar body weights were randomly assigned to 10 cages, with 14 ducks in each replicate.

The use of bifidobacteria as probiotics has proven to be beneficial in gastroenteric infections. Furthermore, prebiotics such as inulin can enhance the survival and growth of these bacteria. Two trials were performed to evaluate the effects of the administration of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis CECT 7210 and oligofructose-enriched inulin against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium or enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) F4.