https://www.kidney-international.org/article/S0085-2538(15)53124-4/pdf

Cisplatin nephrotoxicity: Mechanisms and renoprotective strategies

Nanoemulsions fabricated from food-grade ingredients are being increasingly utilized in the food industry to encapsulate, protect, and deliver lipophilic functional components, such as biologically-active lipids (e.g., ω-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid) and oil-soluble flavors, vitamins, preservatives, and nutraceuticals. The small size of the particles in nanoemulsions (r<100 nm) means that they have a number of potential advantages over conventional emulsions-higher stability to droplet aggregation and gravitational separation, high optical clarity, ability to modulate product texture, and, increased bioavailability of lipophilic components. On the other hand, there may also be some risks associated with the oral ingestion of nanoemulsions, such as their ability to change the biological fate of bioactive components within the gastrointestinal tract and the potential toxicity of some of the components used in their fabrication. This review article provides an overview of the current status of nanoemulsion formulation, fabrication, properties, applications, biological fate, and potential toxicity with emphasis on systems suitable for utilization within the food and beverage industry.

Food-grade nanoemulsions: formulation, fabrication, properties, performance, biological fate, and potential toxicity.

Bacterial synthesized cellulose — artificial blood vessels for microsurgery

The gastrointestinal tract is a complex ecosystem that associates a resident microbiota and cells of various phenotypes lining the epithelial wall expressing complex metabolic activities. The resident microbiota in the digestive tract is a heterogeneous microbial ecosystem containing up to 1×1014 colony-forming units (CFUs) of bacteria. The intestinal microbiota plays an important role in normal gut function and maintaining host health. The host is protected from attack by potentially harmful microbial microorganisms by the physical and chemical barriers created by the gastrointestinal epithelium. The cells lining the gastrointestinal epithelium and the resident microbiota are two partners that properly and/or synergistically function to promote an efficient host system of defence. The gastrointestinal cells that make up the epithelium, provide a physical barrier that protects the host against the unwanted intrusion of microorganisms into the gastrointestinal microbiota, and against the penetration of harmful microorganisms which usurp the cellular molecules and signalling pathways of the host to become pathogenic. One of the basic physiological functions of the resident microbiota is that it functions as a microbial barrier against microbial pathogens. The mechanisms by which the species of the microbiota exert this barrier effect remain largely to be determined. There is increasing evidence that lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, which inhabit the gastrointestinal microbiota, develop antimicrobial activities that participate in the host's gastrointestinal system of defence. The objective of this review is to analyze the in vitro and in vivo experimental and clinical studies in which the antimicrobial activities of selected lactobacilli and bifidobacteria strains have been documented.

Antagonistic activities of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria against microbial pathogens

The biological properties of dietary polyphenols are greatly dependent on their bioavailability that, in turn, is largely influenced by their degree of polymerization. The gut microbiota play a key role in modulating the production, bioavailability and, thus, the biological activities of phenolic metabolites, particularly after the intake of food containing high-molecular-weight polyphenols. In addition, evidence is emerging on the activity of dietary polyphenols on the modulation of the colonic microbial population composition or activity. However, although the great range of health-promoting activities of dietary polyphenols has been widely investigated, their effect on the modulation of the gut ecology and the two-way relationship "polyphenols ↔ microbiota" are still poorly understood. Only a few studies have examined the impact of dietary polyphenols on the human gut microbiota, and most were focused on single polyphenol molecules and selected bacterial populations. This review focuses on the reciprocal interactions between the gut microbiota and polyphenols, the mechanisms of action and the consequences of these interactions on human health.

/pdf/benefits-of-polyphenols-on-gut-microbiota-and-implications-goub77i4a2.pdf

Benefits of polyphenols on gut microbiota and implications in human health.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to search for a novel quorum sensing inhibitor and analyse its inhibitory activity.



Methods and Results:  Quorum sensing inhibition was monitored using the Tn-5 mutant, Chromobacterium violaceum CV026. Vanilla beans (Vanilla planifolia Andrews) were extracted using 75% (v/v) aqueous methanol and added to C. violaceum CV026 cultures. Inhibitory activity was measured by quantifying violacein production using a spectrophotometer. The results have revealed that vanilla extract significantly reduced violacein production in a concentration-dependent manner, indicating inhibition of quorum sensing.



Conclusions:  Vanilla, a widely used spice and flavour, can inhibit bacterial quorum sensing.



Significance and Impact of the Study:  The results suggest that the intake of vanilla-containing food materials might promote human health by inhibiting quorum sensing and preventing bacterial pathogenesis. Further studies are required to isolate specific substances from vanilla extract acting as quorum sensing inhibitors.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1472-765X.2006.01928.x

Inhibition of bacterial quorum sensing by vanilla extract

Antiinflammatory, analgesic and antioxidant activities of the fruit of Foeniculum vulgare

A native-feather-degrading thermophilic anaerobe was isolated from a geothermal hot stream in Indonesia. Isolate AW-1, identified as a member of the species Fervidobacterium islandicum, was shown to degrade native feathers (0.8%, w/v) completely at 70 °C and pH 7 with a maximum specific growth rate (0.14 h–1) in Thermotoga-Fervidobacterium (TF) medium. After 24 h of culture, feather degradation led to an increase in free amino acids such as histidine, cysteine and lysine. Moreover, nutritionally essential amino acids such as tryptophan and methionine, which are rare in feather keratin, were also produced as microbial metabolites. A homomultimeric membrane-bound keratinolytic protease (>200 kDa; 97 kDa subunits) was purified from a cell extract of F. islandicum AW-1. The enzyme exhibited activity toward casein and soluble keratin optimally at 100 °C and pH 9, and had a half-life of 90 min at 100 °C. The enzyme showed higher specific activity for the keratinous substrates than other proteases and catalyzed the cleavage of peptide bonds more rapidly following the reduction of disulfide bridges in feather keratin by 10 mM dithiothreitol. Therefore, the enzyme from F. islandicum AW-1 is a novel, thermostable keratinolytic serine protease.

Jae Kwan Hwang

Papers

Inhibition of bacterial quorum sensing by vanilla extract

Antiinflammatory, analgesic and antioxidant activities of the fruit of Foeniculum vulgare

Native-feather degradation by Fervidobacterium islandicum AW-1, a newly isolated keratinase-producing thermophilic anaerobe

Anticariogenic activity of macelignan isolated from Myristica fragrans (nutmeg) against Streptococcus mutans.

Influence of growth conditions on the production of a nisin-like bacteriocin by Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis A164 isolated from kimchi.