In vitro screening and characterization of lactic acid bacteria from Lithuanian fermented food with potential probiotic properties.

The present work aimed to identify probiotic candidates from Lithuanian homemade fermented food samples. A total of 23 lactic acid bacteria were isolated from different fermented food samples. Among these, only 12 showed resistance to low pH, tolerance to pepsin, bile salts, and pancreatin. The 12 strains also exhibited antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028, Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 12384, Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 19615, and Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 13883. Cell-free supernatants of isolate 3A and 55w showed the strongest antioxidant activity of 26.37 µg/mL and 26.06 µg/mL, respectively. Isolate 11w exhibited the strongest auto-aggregation ability of 79.96% as well as the strongest adhesion to HCT116 colon cells (25.671 ± 0.43%). The selected strains were tested for their synbiotic relation in the presence of a prebiotic. The selected candidates showed high proliferation in the presence of 4% as compared to 2% galactooligosaccharides. Among the strains tested for tryptophan production ability, isolate 11w produced the highest L-tryptophan levels of 16.63 ± 2.25 µm, exhibiting psychobiotic ability in the presence of a prebiotic. The safety of these strains was studied by ascertaining their antibiotic susceptibility, mucin degradation, gelatin hydrolysis, and hemolytic activity. In all, isolates 40C and 11w demonstrated the most desirable probiotic potentials and were identified by 16S RNA and later confirmed by whole genome sequencing as Lacticaseibacillus paracasei 11w, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 40C: following with the harboring plasmid investigation. Out of all the 23 selected strains, only Lacticaseibacillus paracasei 11w showed the potential and desirable probiotic properties.

Corrigendum to: Draft genome sequence dataset of Latilactobacillus curvatus PN39MY isolated from fermented vegetables Data in Brief, 49 (2023) 109436.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2023.109436.].

Draft genome sequence dataset of Latilactobacillus curvatus PN39MY isolated from fermented vegetables.

Here we report the draft genome sequence of the Latilactobacillus curvatus PN39MY strain. The strain was isolated from Lithuanian traditionally (homemade) fermented cucumber. The genome consisted of 83 contigs with a total size of 1,899,018 bp, an N50 of 40562 and a GC% of 42.1. After sequence trimming, 83 contigs were annotated and 1910 genes were coding sequences. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) between PN39MY and Latilactobacillus curvatus_ZJUNIT8 was 99.45% identifying the strain as Latilactobacillus curvatus. No genes related to antimicrobial resistance or virulence factors were found. The data presented here can be used in comparative genomics to identify antimicrobial resistant genes, plasmids and/or virulence factors that may be present in related Latilactobacillus species. The draft genome sequence data was deposited at NCBI under Bioproject with the accession number PRJNA941180.

An effective universal protocol for the extraction of fructooligosaccharide from the different agricultural byproducts.

Alternative bio-refinery technologies are required to promote the commercial utilization of plant biomass components. The fructooligosaccharide (FOS) obtained after hydrolysis of the hemicellulose fractions was mainly applied in the pharmaceutical and food industries. Agricultural bi-product is a rich constituent in dietary fibres, which have prebiotic effects on the intestinal microbiota and the host. Herein we explored the impact of FOS on microbiota modulation and the gut homeostasis effect. High fructooligosaccharide recovery was obtained using alkaline extraction techniques. The enzymatic method produced fructooligosaccharides with minor contamination from fructan and glucan components, although it had a low yield. But combining the alkaline and enzymatic process provides a higher yield ratio and purity of fructooligosaccharides. The structure of the fructooligosaccharide was confirmed, according to FTIR, 13C NMR, 1H NMR and 2D-NMR data. Our results could be applied to the development of efficient extraction of valuable products from agricultural materials using enzyme-mediated methods, which were found to be a cost-effective way to boost bio-refining value. Fructooligosaccharides with varying yields, purity, and structure can be obtained.

Prebiotics as a Tool for the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity and Diabetes: Classification and Ability to Modulate the Gut Microbiota.

Diabetes and obesity are metabolic diseases that have become alarming conditions in recent decades. Their rate of increase is becoming a growing concern worldwide. Recent studies have established that the composition and dysfunction of the gut microbiota are associated with the development of diabetes. For this reason, strategies such as the use of prebiotics to improve intestinal microbial structure and function have become popular. Consumption of prebiotics for modulating the gut microbiota results in the production of microbial metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids that play essential roles in reducing blood glucose levels, mitigating insulin resistance, reducing inflammation, and promoting the secretion of glucagon-like peptide 1 in the host, and this accounts for the observed remission of metabolic diseases. Prebiotics can be either naturally extracted from non-digestible carbohydrate materials or synthetically produced. In this review, we discussed current findings on how the gut microbiota and microbial metabolites may influence host metabolism to promote health. We provided evidence from various studies that show the ability of prebiotic consumption to alter gut microbial profile, improve gut microbial metabolism and functions, and improve host physiology to alleviate diabetes and obesity. We conclude among other things that the application of systems biology coupled with bioinformatics could be essential in ascertaining the exact mechanisms behind the prebiotic-gut microbe-host interactions required for diabetes and obesity improvement.

In Vitro and In Vivo Cholesterol Reducing Ability and Safety of Probiotic Candidates Isolated from Korean Fermented Soya Beans.

Hypercholesterolemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, and hence, reducing serum cholesterol levels could reduce the incidence. In this study, we ascertained the cholesterol-reducing potential of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from Korean fermented soybean paste. Live, resting, and dead cells of all the bacteria reduced cholesterol in liquid media in a strain-dependent manner. Live cells of Weissella cibaria SCCB2306, Pediococcus acidilactici SDL1402, P. acidilactici SDL1406, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus JDFM6 reduced the most cholesterol in liquid media by 78 ± 3%, 72 ± 3%, 76 ± 3%, 75 ± 5%, and 79 ± 2%, respectively. As the cholesterol levels in the media reduced, cell membrane lipids of P. acidilactici SDL1402, P. acidilactici SDL1406, and L. rhamnosus JDFM6 increased by 23.36 mg/mL, 6.53 mg/mL, and 8.14 mg/mL, respectively, indicating that cholesterol was incorporated into the bacteria cell membranes. All the bacteria displayed bile salt hydrolase activities in a strain-dependent manner. Though all four LAB significantly reduced cholesterol levels in Caenorhabditis elegans irrespective of the order of feeding, L. rhamnosus JDFM6 reduced the most cholesterol in vivo (up to 40% of ingested cholesterol). None of the four LAB hydrolyzed mucin or gelatin and none was toxic to C. elegans. The concentrations of phenylethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, and tyramine produced by the LAB were below the toxic limits of biogenic amines set by the European Food Safety Authority. Taken together, our results demonstrate that Weissella cibaria SCCB2306, P. acidilactici SDL1402, P. acidilactici SDL1405, and L. rhamnosus JDFM6 could be safe cholesterol-reducing probiotic candidates for preventing or managing hypercholesterolemia.

The Role of Bioactive Peptides in Diabetes and Obesity.

Bioactive peptides are present in most soy products and eggs and have essential protective functions. Infection is a core feature of innate immunity that affects blood pressure and the glucose level, and ageing can be delayed by killing senescent cells. Food also encrypts bioactive peptides and protein sequences produced through proteolysis or food processing. Unique food protein fragments can improve human health and avoid metabolic diseases, inflammation, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes mellitus. This review focuses on drug targets and fundamental mechanisms of bioactive peptides on metabolic syndromes, namely obesity and type 2 diabetes, to provide new ideas and knowledge on the ability of bioactive peptide to control metabolic syndromes.

Limosilactobacillus reuteri Fermented Brown Rice: A Product with Enhanced Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Potential.

Oxidative stress has been postulated to play a role in several diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and stress-related disorders (anxiety/depression). Presently, natural plant-derived phytochemicals are an important tool in reducing metabolomic disorders or for avoiding the side effects of current medicinal therapies. Brown Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an important part of Asian diets reported as a rich source of bioactive phytonutrients. In our present study, we have analyzed the effect of different lactic acid bacteria (LABs) fermentation on antioxidant properties and in the enhancement of bioactive constituents in Korean brown rice. Therefore, the antioxidant activities and phytochemical analysis were investigated for raw brown rice (BR) and different fermented brown rice (FBR). BR fermented with Limosilactobacillus reuteri, showed the highest antioxidant activities among all samples: DPPH (121.19 ± 1.0), ABTS (145.80 ± 0.99), and FRAP (171.89 ± 0.71) mg Trolox equiv./100 g, dry weight (DW). Total phenolic content (108.86 ± 0.63) mg GAE equiv./100 g, DW and total flavonoids content (86.79 ± 0.83) mg catechin equiv./100 g, DW was also observed highest in Limosilactobacillus reuteri FBR. Furthermore, phytochemical profiling using ultra-high-performance liquid tandem chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF/MS) and cell antioxidant assay (CAA) revealed L. reuteri FBR as a strong antioxidant with an abundance of bioactive compounds such as gamma-aminobutyric acid, coumarin, cinnamic acid, butanoic acid, ascorbic acid, nicotinic acid, and stearic acid. This study expanded current knowledge on the impact of fermentation leading to the enhancement of antioxidant capacity with an abundance of health-related bioactive compounds in BR. The results obtained may provide useful information on functional food production using fermented brown rice.

Cariogenic Biofilm: Pathology-Related Phenotypes and Targeted Therapy.

The initiation and development of cariogenic (that is, caries-related) biofilms are the result of the disruption of homeostasis in the oral microenvironment. There is a daily accumulation of dental biofilm on the surface of teeth and its matrix of extracellular polymers supports the host in its defense against invading microbes, thus helping to achieve oral microbial homeostasis. However, the homeostasis can be broken down under certain circumstances such as during long-term exposure to a low pH environment which results in the dominance of acidogenic and acid-tolerating species in the dental biofilm and, thus, triggers the shift of harmless biofilm to an acidic one. This work aims to explore microbial diversity and the quorum sensing of dental biofilm and their important contributions to oral health and disease. The complex and multispecies ecosystems of the cariogenic biofilm pose significant challenges for the modulation of the oral microenvironment. Promising treatment strategies are those that target cariogenic niches with high specificity without disrupting the balance of the surrounding oral microbiota. Here, we summarized the recent advances in modulating cariogenic biofilm and/or controlling its pathogenic traits.

In Vitro Probitotic Evaluation of Saccharomyces boulardii with Antimicrobial Spectrum in a Caenorhabditis elegans Model.

In the present study, we screened for potential probiotic yeast that could survive under extreme frozen conditions. The antimicrobial and heat-stable properties of the isolated yeast strains Saccharomyces boulardii (S. boulardii) (KT000032, KT000033, KT000034, KT000035, KT000036, and KT000037) was analyzed and compared with commercial probiotic strains. The results revealed that the tested S. boulardii KT000032 strain showed higher resistance to gastric enzymes (bile salts, pepsin, and pancreatic enzyme) at low pH, with broad antibiotic resistance. In addition, the strain also showed efficient auto-aggregation and co-aggregation abilities and efficient hydrophobicity in the in-vitro and in-vivo C. elegens gut model. Further, the KT000032 strain showed higher antimicrobial efficiency against 13 different enteropathogens and exhibited commensal relationships with five commercial probiotic strains. Besides, the bioactive compounds produced in the cell-free supernatant of probiotic yeast showed thermo-tolerance (95 °C for two hours). Furthermore, the thermo-stable property of the strains will facilitate their incorporation into ready-to-eat food products under extreme food processing conditions.

Development of Nanosensors Based Intelligent Packaging Systems: Food Quality and Medicine.

The issue of medication noncompliance has resulted in major risks to public safety and financial loss. The new omnipresent medicine enabled by the Internet of things offers fascinating new possibilities. Additionally, an in-home healthcare station (IHHS), it is necessary to meet the rapidly increasing need for routine nursing and on-site diagnosis and prognosis. This article proposes a universal and preventive strategy to drug management based on intelligent and interactive packaging (I2Pack) and IMedBox. The controlled delamination material (CDM) seals and regulates wireless technologies in novel medicine packaging. As such, wearable biomedical sensors may capture a variety of crucial parameters via wireless communication. On-site treatment and prediction of these critical factors are made possible by high-performance architecture. The user interface is also highlighted to make surgery easier for the elderly, disabled, and patients. Land testing incorporates and validates an approach for prototyping I2Pack and iMedBox. Additionally, sustainability, increased product safety, and quality standards are crucial throughout the life sciences. To achieve these standards, intelligent packaging is also used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. These technologies will continuously monitor the quality of a product and communicate with the user. Data carriers, indications, and sensors are the three most important groups. They are not widely used at the moment, although their potential is well understood. Intelligent packaging should be used in these sectors and the functionality of the systems and the values presented in this analysis.

UHPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS Metabolite Profiling of the Antioxidant and Antidiabetic Activities of Red Cabbage and Broccoli Seeds and Sprouts.

The antioxidant and antidiabetic properties and metabolite profiling of ethanol extracts of red cabbage (RC) and broccoli (BR) seeds and sprouts were investigated in this study. The total phenolic, flavonoid, and saponin contents were in the ranges of 385.4-480.4 mg FAE/100 g, 206.9-215.6 mg CE/100 g, and 17.8-27.0 mg soysaponin BE/100 g, respectively. BR seed had the highest total phenolic (480.4 mg FAE/100 g) and flavonoid (216.9 mg CE/100 g) contents, whereas BR sprout had the highest saponin content (27.0 soysaponin BE/100g). RC sprout demonstrated the highest antioxidant capacity, with DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity levels of 71.5% and 88.5%, respectively. Furthermore, BR and RC sprouts showed the most potent inhibition against α-glucosidase (91.32% and 93.11%, respectively) and pancreatic lipase (60.19% and 61.66%, respectively). BR seed (60.37%) demonstrated the lowest AGE inhibition. A total of 24 metabolites, predominantly amino acids and phenolic compounds, were characterized using UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. Germination not only improved the levels of metabolites but also resulted in the synthesis of new compounds. Therefore, these findings show that germination effectively enhanced the functional properties and metabolite profiles of broccoli and red cabbage seeds, making their sprouts more applicable as functional ingredients.

Exploring Molecular Insights of Cereal Peptidic Antioxidants in Metabolic Syndrome Prevention.

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is presently an alarming public health problem globally. Oxidative stress has been postulated to be strongly correlated with MetS, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers. Cereals are important staple foods which account for a huge proportion of the human diet. However, owing to recent growing demand and the search for natural antioxidants for the prevention and management of MetS, cereal peptides have gained increasing attention for developing functional ingredients or foods with substantial antioxidant properties. This review explores the current production techniques for cereal peptidic antioxidants and their potential mechanism of action in the prevention and management of MetS.

In Vitro and In Silico Screening and Characterization of Antimicrobial Napin Bioactive Protein in Brassica juncea and Moringa oleifera.

The study aimed to investigate the antibacterial activity of Mustard (Brassica juncea) and Moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaf extracts and coagulant protein for their potential application in water treatment. Bacterial cell aggregation and growth kinetics studies were employed for thirteen bacterial strains with different concentrations of leaf extracts and coagulant protein. Moringa oleifera leaf extract (MOS) and coagulant protein showed cell aggregation against ten bacterial strains, whereas leaf extract alone showed growth inhibition of five bacterial strains for up to 6 h and five bacterial strains for up to 3 h. Brassica juncea leaf extract (BJS) showed growth inhibition for up to 6 h, and three bacterial strains showed inhibition for up to 3 h. The highest inhibition concentration with 2.5 mg/mL was 19 mm, and furthermore, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (0.5 mg/mL) and MBC (1.5 mg/mL) were determined to have a higher antibacterial effect for <3 KDa peptides. Based on LCMS analysis, napin was identified in both MOS and BJS; furthermore, the mode of action of napin peptide was determined on lipoprotein X complex (LpxC) and four-chained structured binding protein of bacterial type II topoisomerase (4PLB). The docking analysis has exhibited moderate to potent inhibition with a range of dock score -912.9 Kcal/mol. Thus, it possesses antibacterial-coagulant potential bioactive peptides present in the Moringa oleifera purified protein (MOP) and Brassica juncea purified protein (BJP) that could act as an effective antimicrobial agent to replace currently available antibiotics. The result implies that MOP and Brassica juncea purified coagulant (BJP) proteins may perform a wide degree of antibacterial functions against different pathogens.

Untargeted Metabolomics of Korean Fermented Brown Rice Using UHPLC Q-TOF MS/MS Reveal an Abundance of Potential Dietary Antioxidative and Stress-Reducing Compounds.

Free radical-induced oxidative stress is the root cause of many diseases, such as diabetes, stress and cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this research was to screen GABA levels, antioxidant activities and bioactive compounds in brown rice. In this study, we first fermented brown rice with different lactic acid bacteria (LABs), and the best LAB was selected based on the levels of GABA in the fermentate. Lactobacillus reuterii generated the highest levels of GABA after fermentation. To ascertain whether germination can improve the GABA levels of brown rice, we compared the levels of GABA in raw brown rice (Raw), germinated brown rice (Germ), fermented brown rice (Ferm) and fermented-germinated brown rice (G+F) to identify the best approach. Then, antioxidant activities were investigated for Raw BR, Germ BR, Ferm BR and G+F BR. Antioxidant activity was calculated using a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazile radical assay, 2,2-azino-bis-(3-ethylene benzothiozoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical assay and ferric-reducing antioxidant power. In Ferm BR, DPPH (114.40 ± 0.66), ABTS (130.52 ± 0.97) and FRAP (111.16 ± 1.83) mg Trolox equivalent 100 g, dry weight (DW), were observed as the highest among all samples. Total phenolic content (97.13 ± 0.59) and total flavonoids contents (79.62 ± 1.33) mg GAE/100 g and catechin equivalent/100 g, DW, were also found to be highest in fermented BR. Furthermore, an untargeted metabolomics approach using ultra-high-performance liquid tandem chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry revealed the abundance of bioactive compounds in fermented BR, such as GABA, tryptophan, coumaric acid, L-ascorbic acid, linoleic acid, ß-carotenol, eugenol, 6-gingerol, etc., as well as bioactive peptides which could contribute to the health-promoting properties of L. reuterii fermented brown rice.

Probiotic Effector Compounds: Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives.

Understanding the mechanism behind probiotic action will enable a rational selection of probiotics, increase the chances of success in clinical studies and make it easy to substantiate health claims. However, most probiotic studies over the years have rather focused on the effects of probiotics in health and disease, whereas little is known about the specific molecules that trigger effects in hosts. This makes it difficult to describe the detailed mechanism by which a given probiotic functions. Probiotics communicate with their hosts through molecular signaling. Meanwhile, since the molecules produced by probiotics under in vitro conditions may differ from those produced in vivo, in vitro mechanistic studies would have to be conducted under conditions that mimic gastrointestinal conditions as much as possible. The ideal situation would, however, be to carry out well-designed clinical trials in humans (or the target animal) using adequate quantities of the suspected probiotic molecule(s) or adequate quantities of isogenic knock-out or knock-in probiotic mutants. In this review, we discuss our current knowledge about probiotic bacteria and yeast molecules that are involved in molecular signaling with the host. We also discuss the challenges and future perspectives in the search for probiotic effector molecules.

Challenges and Perspective in Integrated Multi-Omics in Gut Microbiota Studies.

The advent of omic technology has made it possible to identify viable but unculturable micro-organisms in the gut. Therefore, application of multi-omic technologies in gut microbiome studies has become invaluable for unveiling a comprehensive interaction between these commensals in health and disease. Meanwhile, despite the successful identification of many microbial and host-microbial cometabolites that have been reported so far, it remains difficult to clearly identify the origin and function of some proteins and metabolites that are detected in gut samples. However, the application of single omic techniques for studying the gut microbiome comes with its own challenges which may be overcome if a number of different omics techniques are combined. In this review, we discuss our current knowledge about multi-omic techniques, their challenges and future perspective in this field of gut microbiome studies.

Curcumin, Quercetin, Catechins and Metabolic Diseases: The Role of Gut Microbiota.

Polyphenols (PPs) are the naturally occurring bioactive components in fruits and vegetables, and they are the most abundant antioxidant in the human diet. Studies are suggesting that ingestion of PPs might be helpful to ameliorate metabolic syndromes that may contribute in the prevention of several chronic disorders like diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and colon cancer. PPs have structural diversity which impacts their bioavailability as they accumulate in the large intestine and are extensively metabolized through gut microbiota (GM). Intestinal microbiota transforms PPs into their metabolites to make them bioactive. Interestingly, not only GM act on PPs to metabolize them but PPs also modulate the composition of GM. Thus, change in GM from pathogenic to beneficial ones may be helpful to ameliorate gut health and associated diseases. However, to overcome the low bioavailability of PPs, various approaches have been developed to improve their solubility and transportation through the gut. In this review, we present evidence supporting the structural changes that occur after metabolic reactions in PPs (curcumin, quercetin, and catechins) and their effect on GM composition that leads to improving overall gut health and helping to ameliorate metabolic disorders.

New Clinical Applications of Electrolyzed Water: A Review.

As the situation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is still deteriorating, there has been a huge increase in the demand and use of disinfectants. Electrolyzed water (EW), as a novel broad-spectrum disinfectant and cleaner, has been widely used for several years. EW can be produced in an electrolysis chamber which contains dilute salt and tap water. It is an effective antimicrobial and antibiofilm agent, with several advantages such as on-the-spot, cheap, environmentally friendly and safe for human beings. Therefore, EW holds potential significance for high-risk settings in hospitals and other clinical facilities. EW can also be applied for wound healing, advanced tissue care, and dental clinics. The present review article highlights the latest developments and new perspectives of EW, especially in clinical fields. Furthermore, the main action modes of antibiofilm and antimicrobial will be summarized.

UHPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS characterization, antioxidant and antidiabetic properties of sorghum grains.

The phenolic compounds composition, antioxidant and antidiabetic properties of eight brown sorghum genotypes were investigated. DPPH radical scavenging activity was highest in SOR 03, followed by SOR 11, SOR 08 and SOR 33. SOR 33, SOR 03, SOR 08, SOR 11 showed the highest ABTS radical scavenging activity. Furthermore, SOR 11, SOR 17 and SOR 33 exhibited significantly higher percentage inhibitory activity of α-glucosidase and α-amylase (IC50 = 14.71, 32.98, 24.93 µg/ml and 27.6, 23.84, 45.01 µg/ml, respectively) compared to acarbose (IC50 = 59.34 and 27.73 µg/ml, respectively). Similarly, SOR 17, SOR 11 and SOR 33 showed significantly potent inhibition of AGEs formation with IC50 values of 14.19, 18.23 and 26.31 µg/ml, respectively, compared to aminoguanidine (AG) (52.30 µg/ml). Flavones, isoflavones and dihydroflavonols were the predominant flavonoids identified in SOR 11, SOR 17 and SOR 33 genotypes. Therefore, these sorghum grains are potential candidates for the development of functional foods.