Health benefits of fermented foods: microbiota and beyond

This narrative mini- review summarizes current knowledge of the role of polyphenols in health outcomes-and non-communicable diseases specifically-and discusses the implications of this evidence for public health, and for future directions for public health practice, policy, and research The publications cited originate mainly from animal models and feeding experiments, as well as human cohort and case-control studies Hypothesized protective effects of polyphenols in acute and chronic diseases, including obesity, neurodegenerative diseases, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, are evaluated Potential harmful effects of some polyphenols are also considered, counterbalanced with the limited evidence of harm in the research literature Recent international governmental regulations are discussed, as the safety and health claims of only a few specific polyphenolic compounds have been officially sanctioned The implications of food processing on the bioavailability of polyphenols are also assessed, in addition to the health claims and marketing of polyphenols as a functional food Finally, this mini-review asserts the need for increased regulation and guidelines for polyphenol consumption and supplementation in order to ensure consumers remain safe and informed about polyphenols

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The Role of Polyphenols in Human Health and Food Systems: A Mini-Review.

Extracellular polymeric substances of bacteria and their potential environmental applications.

Antioxidant activities of rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis L.) extract, blackseed (Nigella sativa L.) essential oil, carnosic acid, rosmarinic acid and sesamol

The present paper systematically investigated the influence of solution and artificial aging heat treatments on the microstructures and mechanical properties of SLM-produced AlSi10Mg alloy parts. Due to the high cooling rate of SLM, an ultrafine eutectic microstructure in the as-built samples is characterized by spherical nano-sized network eutectic Si embedded in the Al matrix, which gives rise to significantly better tensile properties and Vickers micro-hardness. The solubility of Si atom in the Al matrix of as-built SLM samples is calculated to be 8.89 at%. With the increase in the solution temperature, the solubility decreases rapidly. The artificial aging causes the further decrease of the solubility of Si atoms in the Al matrix. Upon solution heat treatment, Si atoms are rejected from the supersaturated Al matrix to form small Si particles. With increasing the solution temperature, the size of the Si particles increases, whereas their number decreases. After artificial aging, the Si particles are further coarsened. The variation in size of Si particles has a significant influence on the mechanical properties of the AlSi10Mg samples. The tensile strength decreases from 434.25±10.7 MPa for the as-built samples to 168.11±2.4 MPa, while the fracture strain remarkably increases from 5.3±0.22% to 23.7±0.84% when the as-built sample is solution-treated at 550 °C for 2 h. This study indicates that the microstructure and mechanical properties of SLM-processed AlSi10Mg alloy can be tailored by suitable solution and artificial aging heat treatments.

Effect of heat treatment on AlSi10Mg alloy fabricated by selective laser melting: Microstructure evolution, mechanical properties and fracture mechanism

Characterization of a novel exopolysaccharide with antitumor activity from Lactobacillus plantarum 70810.

Antioxidant activity and phenolics of an endophytic Xylaria sp. from Ginkgo biloba

Structural elucidation and antioxidant activities of exopolysaccharides from Lactobacillus helveticus MB2-1.

An endophytic Xylaria sp., having broad antimicrobial activity, was isolated and characterized from Ginkgo biloba L. From the culture extracts of this fungus, a bioactive compound P3 was isolated by bioactivity-guided fractionation and identified as 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin by nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared, and mass spectrometry spectral data. The compound showed strong antibacterial and antifungal activities in vitro against Staphylococcus aureus [minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) 16 microg.ml(-1)], Escherichia coli (MIC, 10 microg.ml(-1)), Salmonella typhia (MIC, 20 microg.ml(-1)), Salmonella typhimurium (MIC, 15 microg.ml(-1)), Salmonella enteritidis (MIC, 8.5 microg.ml(-1)), Aeromonas hydrophila (MIC, 4 microg.ml(-1)), Yersinia sp. (MIC, 12.5 microg.ml(-1)), Vibrio anguillarum (MIC, 25 microg.ml(-1)), Shigella sp. (MIC, 6.3 microg.ml(-1)), Vibrio parahaemolyticus (MIC, 12.5 microg.ml(-1)), Candida albicans (MIC, 15 microg.ml(-1)), Penicillium expansum (MIC, 40 microg.ml(-1)), and Aspergillus niger (MIC, 25 microg.ml(-1)). This is the first report of 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin in fungus and of the antimicrobial activity of this metabolite. The obtained results provide promising baseline information for the potential use of this unusual endophytic fungus and its components in the control of food spoilage and food-borne diseases.

Xiaohong Chen

Papers

Characterization of a novel exopolysaccharide with antitumor activity from Lactobacillus plantarum 70810.

Antioxidant activity and phenolics of an endophytic Xylaria sp. from Ginkgo biloba

Structural elucidation and antioxidant activities of exopolysaccharides from Lactobacillus helveticus MB2-1.

Antimicrobial activity of an endophytic Xylaria sp.YX-28 and identification of its antimicrobial compound 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin

Enhancement of the antioxidant capacity of chickpeas by solid state fermentation with Cordyceps militaris SN-18