Encapsulation of Vitamins Using Nanoliposome: Recent Advances and Perspectives.

Nowadays the importance of vitamins is clear for everyone. However, many patients are suffering from insufficient intake of vitamins. Incomplete intake of different vitamins from food sources due to their destruction during food processing or decrease in their bioavailability when mixing with other food materials, are factors resulting in vitamin deficiency in the body. Therefore, various lipid based nanocarriers such as nanoliposomes were developed to increase the bioavailability of bioactive compounds. Since the function of nanoliposomes containing vitamins on the body has a direct relationship with the quality of produced nanoliposomes, this review study was planned to investigate the several aspects of liposomal characteristics such as size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency on the quality of synthesized vitamin-loaded nanoliposomes.

CRISPR-Cas engineering in food science and sustainable agriculture: recent advancements and applications.

The developments in the food supply chain to support the growing population of the world is one of today's most pressing issues, and to achieve this goal improvements should be performed in both crops and microbes. For this purpose, novel approaches such as genome editing (GE) methods have upgraded the biological sciences for genome manipulation and, among such methods, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated proteins (Cas) are the main exciting innovations since the Green Revolution. CRISPR/Cas systems can be a potent tool for the food industry, improvement of agricultural crops and even for protecting food-grade bacteria from foreign genetic invasive elements. This review introduces the history and mechanism of the CRISPR-Cas system as a genome editing tool and its applications in the vaccination of starter cultures, production of antimicrobials and bioactive compounds, and genome editing of microorganisms.

New perspectives on electrospun nanofiber applications in smart and active food packaging materials.

Packaging plays a critical role in determining the quality, safety, and shelf-life of many food products. There have been several innovations in the development of more effective food packaging materials recently. Polymer nanofibers are finding increasing attention as additives in packaging materials because of their ability to control their pore size, surface energy, barrier properties, antimicrobial activity, and mechanical strength. Electrospinning is a widely used processing method for fabricating nanofibers from food grade polymers. This review describes recent advances in the development of electrospun nanofibers for application in active and smart packaging materials. Moreover, it highlights the impact of these nanofibers on the physicochemical properties of packaging materials, as well as the application of nanofiber-loaded packaging materials to foods, such as dairy, meat, fruit, and vegetable products.

Electrospinning is a flexible method for smart and active packaging fabrication.Nanofibers can improve mechanical, barrier, and optical properties of packaging.Electrospun fibers can control the release of functional agents to food products.Incorporation of additives in nanofibers makes respond to environmental changes.Application of nanofibers result in improved controlling of food properties.

Microbial pigments as an alternative to synthetic dyes and food additives: a brief review of recent studies.

Synthetic coloring agents have been broadly utilized in several industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic and textile. Recent surveys on the potential of teratogenicity and carcinogenicity of synthetic dyes have expressed concerns regarding their use in foods. Worldwide, food industries have need for safe, natural and new colorings to add variety to foods and make them appealing to consumers. Natural colorings not only expand the marketability of the food product, but also add further healthful features such as antibacterial, antioxidant, anticancer and antiviral properties. Novel microbial strains should be explored to meet the increasing global search of natural pigments and suitable techniques must be developed for the marketable production of new pigments, using microbial cultures, viz., fungi, and bacteria. To address the issue of the natural coloring agents, this review presents the recent trends in several studies of microbial pigments, their biological properties and industrial applications.

Aflatoxin B1 in imported cinnamon consumed in the Yazd province of Iran.

Aflatoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced mainly by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, which are fungal contaminants found in several foodstuffs, including spices. In this study 40 cinnamon samples were collected in November and December 2020 in the Iranian province of Yazd and analysed for the presence of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) by high performance liquid chromatography. Seven out of 40 (17.5%) samples were contaminated with AFB1 at levels ranging from 0.59 to 5.8 µg/kg. In addition, 2.5% of cinnamon samples contained AFB1 concentrations above the maximum level of 5 µg/kg, as established by the Iranian national standard. Due to the harmful effects of aflatoxins, even at low amounts, these can cause serious chronic health problems. Therefore, continuous control to avoid AFB1 contamination in foodstuffs is required.

----Evaluation of Design and Fabrication of Food-Grade Nanofibers from Chitosan-Gelatin for Nanoencapsulation of Stigmasterol Using the Electrospinning Method.

Purpose: In this research, electrospinning method was employed to fabricate food-grade nanofibers (NFs) from chitosan-gelatin combination for stigmasterol encapsulation. The spinnability of mixed chitosan and gelatin solutions was investigated at different polymer ratios, and the physicochemical properties of the NFs were evaluated. Methods: The mixture solution of chitosan (1.5 % w/v) and gelatin (20 % w/v) in acetic acid indicated spinnability under the following conditions: the ratio of 25:75, voltage of 17 kV, and 15 cm capillary collector distance with a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. Stigmasterol (0.04 % w/v) was incorporated into NFs of chitosan-gelatin at a respective ratio of 25:75. Results: Encapsulation efficiency (EE) of loaded stigmasterol was found to be 87 ± 5 %. The antioxidant ability of loaded stigmasterol was considerably higher than that observed for free stigmasterol. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results demonstrated the formation of the ultrathin fibers with no bead (with diameters of 217 ± 43 nm). The concentration of polymeric solution and viscosity had a notable effect on the electrospinning efficiency of the chitosan-gelatin-based NFs. The thermal stability of chitosan and gelatin fibers was more than that of native gelatin and chitosan. The in vitro stigmasterol release from these NFs followed a controlled-release pattern. The released phytosterol from chitosan formula was less than from those without chitosan formula (46 ± 3 % and 96 ± 4 % respectively). Conclusion: The obtained results suggested that gelatin had a high potential for enhancing the spinnability of chitosan under acidic conditions at optimized concentrations.

Application of electrospinning technique in development of intelligent food packaging: A short review of recent trends.

Intelligent food packaging refers to packages with the ability to sense foodstuff changes and to inform customers of the packaging content variations. They are often accompanied by smart detecting devices. Providing a suitable platform to include these devices into packaging polymers has always been discussing. Electrospun nanofibers produced through the electrospinning have been recently utilized as an outstanding and novel platforms for this purpose. Thus, the main aim of this study is to investigate recent trends in producing intelligent food packaging using electrospinning technique. In this regard, this paper was categorized into two chief sections, including (a) the principal of electrospinning technique to fabricate fine nanofibers and the parameters affecting the quality of electrospun fibers, and (b) the role of nanofibers as a platform to cover pH indicators in intelligent food packaging.

Development of resveratrol loaded chitosan-gellan nanofiber as a novel gastrointestinal delivery system.

Resveratrol loaded chitosan:gellan (CS:Gel) nanofibers (NFs) were prepared for the first time using electrospinning technique. The NFs were prepared with CS (9% w/v) in trifloroacetic acid and Gel (2.5% w/v) at a concentration ratio of 95:5% w/v. Based on the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, the diameters of CS-Gel fibers at a ratio of 95:5 and 90:10% w/v were 166 ±â€¯37 and 291 ±â€¯41 nm, respectively. Resveratrol (0.05% w/v) was loaded in NFs of CS-Gel at a ratio of 95:5. Encapsulation efficiency (EE) of resveratrol in NFs of CS-Gel were 86 ±â€¯6%. The amount of resveratrol delivered in intestine region was in the range of 43-51% of the total encapsulated resveratrol (equivalent to ~840 µM). Antioxidant activities of resveratrol loaded NFs were significantly higher than that of free resveratrol. Furthermore, the resveratrol releasing ability of the NFs was proved through the MTT assay and revealed that the resveratrol NFs have almost the same cytotoxicity against HT29 cancer cells compared to free resveratrol. Based on the obtained results, the prepared NFs hold great potential as drug delivery carriers for resveratrol delivery.