First Report of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae Causing Fusarium Wilt on Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) in Saudi Arabia.

Recently, Saudi growers have expanded their production of organic, soilless-grown strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.), but their production shows many difficulties associated with disease susceptibility. In October 2021, 45% of strawberry plants cv. "Festival" organically cultivated in Dammam city, Saudi Arabia (26°31'34.5"N 50°00'51.0"E) showed wilting symptoms. Typical symptoms were yellowing, rapid wilting, death of older leaves, stunting, and decreased roots. Vascular bundle necrosis and crown and root rot were also observed; plants eventually collapsed and died. Twenty symptomatic strawberry plants were sampled to isolate the pathogen. Pieces (4 × 4 mm) of the symptomatic tissues from crowns and roots were sanitized with 1% NaOCl (90 s), submerged in 70% alcohol (20 s), rinsed with sterile water (2x 30 s), placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA; Scharlau Chemie, Spain) and incubated at 25°C for 6 days. Next, we prepared single-spore cultures on PDA and synthetic nutrient-poor agar (SNA). On PDA media, pure cultures produced abundant aerial mycelium, with light pink or purple pigmentation in the medium after incubation at 25°C for 7 days. On SNA media, aerial microconidia were abundant cylindrical to ellipsoid hyaline with zero to one septate (3.8 - 5.9 × 1.3 - 2.5 µm, n = 50). Macroconidia were few, hyaline and falcate, with slightly curved apexes and 2 to 4 septate (18.9 - 27.5 × 3.3 - 4.6 µm, n = 50). Chlamydospores were roundish and terminal or intercalary. As Leslie and Summerell (2006) described, such morphological characteristics are typical of F. oxysporum. The isolates' identities were established by extracting DNA using the DNeasy Plant Mini kit (QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany). This was followed by amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) (White et al., 1990), elongation factor 1-α (TEF1-α) (O'Donnell et al., 1998), and the ribosomal RNA intergenic spacer (IGS) (Canizares et al., 2015). The ITS, TEF1-α, and IGS sequences of an isolate Fof-10 were submitted to GenBank (PP564462, PP703242, and PP784894, respectively). BLAST analysis confirmed 99.71 and 100% identities to the ITS, TEF-1α, and IGS sequences of F. oxysporum (KU931552.1, OR640020.1, and FJ985519.1), respectively. All isolates tested were confirmed at the forma specialis fragariae, level using the specific primers FofraF/FofraR (Suga et al. 2013). The ∼239 bp amplicon was sequenced and submitted to GenBank (PP703243). Two-month-old healthy strawberry plants of cultivars "Festival," "Marquis," and "Monterey" were inoculated by dipping the roots in the spore suspension (107 conidia ml-1) for 15 min (Henry et al. 2017). There were five replicates for each cultivar. Plants dipped in water were used as a control treatment. The plants were transplanted in sterilized soil and placed in a greenhouse at 30/26°C (day/night). Within 4 to 6 weeks, inoculated plants showed severe wilting and discoloration of the internal crown tissue, while control plants were symptomless. The pathogen was re-isolated from the discolored vascular tissue onto PDA and identified morphologically and molecularly as the original one, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. The test was repeated twice. This report confirms F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae as a causal agent of Fusarium wilt of strawberries in Saudi Arabia. This pathogen was previously reported to cause the Fusarium wilt of strawberries in California (Dilla-Ermita et al., 2023). This disease has been observed in several hydroponic strawberry greenhouses in Saudi Arabia, with incidence ranging from 25% to 45% across multiple locations. Given this, proper strategies are needed to manage this disease and to be compatible with organic farming.

Chitosan-based sustainable packaging and coating technologies for strawberry preservation: A review.

Strawberry fruits are popular all over the world due to their rich organoleptic properties and enormous health benefits. However, it is highly susceptible to postharvest spoilage due to various factors, including moisture loss, nutrient oxidation, and microbial spoilage. Recently, various researchers have studied the effect of chitosan-based flexible films and surface coatings on the shelf life of strawberries. Despite various reviews providing general information on the effects of chitosan-based films and coatings on various food products, no review has focused solely on their effects on postharvest preservation and the shelf life of strawberries. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current research on chitosan-based formulations for extending the shelf life of strawberries. Chitosan, a cationic carbohydrate polymer, possesses excellent properties such as film formation, mechanical strength, non-toxicity, biodegradability, edibility, UV-blocking ability, antioxidant activity, and antibacterial functionality, justifying its potential as packaging/coating material for fresh agricultural products, including strawberries. This review covers the various factors responsible for strawberry spoilage and the properties of chitosan that help counteract these factors. Additionally, the advantages of chitosan-based preservation technology compared to existing strawberry preservation methods were explained, efficiency was evaluated, and future research directions were suggested.

Development of Functional Composite Edible Films or Coatings for Fruits Preservation with Addition of Pomace Oil-Based Nanoemulsion for Enhanced Barrier Properties and Caffeine for Enhanced Antioxidant Activity.

The aim of this study was to develop functional composite edible films or coatings for fruit preservation by the addition of bioactive components in combinations that have not yet been thoroughly studied, according to the relevant literature. Edible films were initially composed of (i) chitosan (CH), cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and beta-cyclodextrin (CD) (50%-37.5%-12.5% ratio), and (ii) hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and beta-cyclodextrin (CD) (50%-37.5%-12.5% ratio). The bioactive components incorporated (5, 10 and 15% v/v) were as follows: (i) pomace oil-based nanoemulsion (NE) aiming to enhance barrier properties, and (ii) caffeine (C), aiming to enhance the antioxidant activity of films, respectively. Indeed, NE addition led to very high barrier properties (low oxygen and water vapor permeability), increased flexibility and reduced color. Furthermore, the contribution of these coatings to fresh strawberries' preservation under cold storage was investigated, with very promising results concerning weight loss, color difference, and preservation of fruit moisture and quantity of O2 and CO2 inside the packages. Additionally, C addition led to very high antioxidant activity, reduced color and improved barrier properties. Finally, the contribution of these coatings to avocado's preservation under cold storage was investigated, with very encouraging results for color difference, hardness and peroxide value of the fruit samples.

Quality evaluation of strawberries coated with water-in-oil based emulsion using an advanced electrostatic spray coating system.

In this study, the impact of formulated emulsion was studied on strawberries which were coated using dip and electrostatic spray coating methods. The coated strawberries were kept at room temperature for a period of 12 days. A significant level of chargeability of w/o emulsion was achieved in terms of charge-to-mass ratio of 2.81 mC/kg at an applied high voltage of 2.0 kV, applied air pressure of 0.3 MPa, and liquid flow rate of 33.6 ml/min. The distance of 170 mm from the nozzle tip to Faraday cage was maintained during the measurements. As compared to uncoated and dip coated strawberries, the water-in-oil based electrostatically charged sprays considerably (p < 0.05) reduced the weight loss, decay rate, pH, titrable acidity, TSS, and antioxidant activity. In both the cases, i.e. strawberries coated with dip and electrostatic spray coating methods, the same weight loss was observed, however, there was a considerably less weight loss as compared to uncoated samples. The textures of the uncoated (9.02 N) and dip coated (12.58 N) samples were significantly different from the electrostatic spray coated (15.85 N) samples. Since, the coating formulation had no impact on the sensory attributes, the samples were considered as acceptable at the end of the storage. Furthermore, compared to uncoated, water-in-oil based electrostatically charged spray coating was more effective at delaying the decay by 12 days.

Optimizing Strawberry Disease and Quality Detection with Vision Transformers and Attention-Based Convolutional Neural Networks.

Machine learning and computer vision have proven to be valuable tools for farmers to streamline their resource utilization to lead to more sustainable and efficient agricultural production. These techniques have been applied to strawberry cultivation in the past with limited success. To build on this past work, in this study, two separate sets of strawberry images, along with their associated diseases, were collected and subjected to resizing and augmentation. Subsequently, a combined dataset consisting of nine classes was utilized to fine-tune three distinct pretrained models: vision transformer (ViT), MobileNetV2, and ResNet18. To address the imbalanced class distribution in the dataset, each class was assigned weights to ensure nearly equal impact during the training process. To enhance the outcomes, new images were generated by removing backgrounds, reducing noise, and flipping them. The performances of ViT, MobileNetV2, and ResNet18 were compared after being selected. Customization specific to the task was applied to all three algorithms, and their performances were assessed. Throughout this experiment, none of the layers were frozen, ensuring all layers remained active during training. Attention heads were incorporated into the first five and last five layers of MobileNetV2 and ResNet18, while the architecture of ViT was modified. The results indicated accuracy factors of 98.4%, 98.1%, and 97.9% for ViT, MobileNetV2, and ResNet18, respectively. Despite the data being imbalanced, the precision, which indicates the proportion of correctly identified positive instances among all predicted positive instances, approached nearly 99% with the ViT. MobileNetV2 and ResNet18 demonstrated similar results. Overall, the analysis revealed that the vision transformer model exhibited superior performance in strawberry ripeness and disease classification. The inclusion of attention heads in the early layers of ResNet18 and MobileNet18, along with the inherent attention mechanism in ViT, improved the accuracy of image identification. These findings offer the potential for farmers to enhance strawberry cultivation through passive camera monitoring alone, promoting the health and well-being of the population.

Fungal Mycobiome of Mature Strawberry Fruits (Fragaria x ananassa Variety 'Monterey') Suggests a Potential Market Site Contamination with Harmful Yeasts.

An amplicon metagenomic approach based on the ITS2 region of fungal rDNA was used to investigate the diversity of fungi associated with mature strawberries collected from a volcanic orchard and open-air market stands. Based on the Kruskal-Wallis test, no statistically significant differences were observed in both non-phylogenetic and phylogenetic alpha diversity indices. According to beta diversity analyses, significant differences in fungal communities were found between groups (orchard vs. market). Taxonomic assignment of amplicon sequence variables (ASVs) revealed 7 phyla and 31 classes. The prevalent fungal phyla were Basidiomycota (29.59-84.58%), Ascomycota (15.33-70.40%), and Fungi-phy-Insertae-sedis (0.45-2.89%). The most predominant classes among the groups were Saccharomycetes in the market group, and Microbotryomycetes and Tremellomycetes in the orchard group. Based on the analysis of microbiome composition (ANCOM), we found that the most differentially fungal genera were Hanseniaspora, Kurtzmaniella, and Phyllozyma. Endophytic yeasts Curvibasidium cygneicollum were prevalent in both groups, while Candida railenensis was detected in fruits originating only from the market. In addition, Rhodotorula graminis (relative abundance varying from 1.7% to 21.18%) and Papiliotrema flavescens (relative abundance varying from 1.58% to 16.55%) were detected in all samples regardless of origin, while Debaryomyces prosopidis was detected in samples from the market only, their relative abundance varying with the sample (from 0.80% to 19.23%). Their role in fruit quality and safety has not been yet documented. Moreover, several clinically related yeasts, such as Meyerozyma guilliermondii and Candida parapsilosis, were detected in samples only from the market. Understanding the variety and makeup of the mycobiome in ripe fruits during the transition from the orchard to the market is crucial for fruit safety after harvest.

Bacterial community changes in strawberry fruits (Fragaria × ananassa variety "Monterey") from farm field to retail market stands, an indicator of postharvest contamination.

Background: Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) fruits are vulnerable to bacterial contamination; some species are pathogenic and can affect human health. Comprehending the bacterial composition and diversity at different ripe stages is a key determinant of the fruit health, productivity, and quality. Methodology: An amplicon metagenomic approach on the 16S rRNA region was used to identify the bacterial diversity in exocarp of fruits collected from a farm field at two ripe stages: breaking (white, phase two) and ripe (red, phase four) and purchased from different retail market stands at ripe (red, phase four, ready-to-eat) stage. Besides, the fruit quality was assessed. Results: Strawberries carries a high microorganisms diversity, with Pseudomonaceae, Yearsiniaceae, and Hafniaceae being the most abundant families across the samples. Among the groups, Pseudomonaceae and Clostridiaceae were the most abundant families at breaking (phase two) and ripe (phase four), whereas Yearsiniaceae, Hafniaceae, Aeromonadaceae, and Streptococcaceae were the most abundant families in the market group. Although samples from group four-field and market were at the same ripe stage, the bacterial species composition was divergent. Serratia spp. were prevalent (above 60%) in samples collected from the market group, and Pseudomonas (above 70%) species were mostly found in the samples collected from the field settings regardless of the phase. Besides, Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica were detected in the ready-to-eat samples from both the field and the market, while Enterococcus gallinarum was detected in the samples that originated from the market. Interestingly, Shewanella putrefaciens and Shewanella profunda, two human opportunistic pathogens, were detected in the fruits from the market only. According to alpha and beta diversity analyses, strawberry fruits displayed significant differences (P < 0.05) in bacterial communities within the ripe group, with the samples from the market showing the most bacterial diversity. Although we do not directly correlate the quality attributes with bacterial diversity, the results indicated a clear separation between groups according with their ripe stage and origin. Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive framework of the bacterial diversity throughout the transition from unripe to ripe strawberries which may aid in the development of preventative measures to manage the postharvest contamination.

Enhancement of Strawberry Shelf Life via a Multisystem Coating Based on Lippia graveolens Essential Oil Loaded in Polymeric Nanocapsules.

Strawberries (Fragaria xannanasa) are susceptible to mechanical, physical, and physiological damage, which increases their incidence of rot during storage. Therefore, a method of protection is necessary in order to minimize quality losses. One way to achieve this is by applying polymer coatings. In this study, multisystem coatings were created based on polymer nanocapsules loaded with Lippia graveolens essential oil, and it was found to have excellent optical, mechanical, and water vapor barrier properties compared to the control (coating formed with alginate and with nanoparticles without the essential oil). As for the strawberries coated with the multisystem formed from the polymer nanocapsules loaded with the essential oil of Lippia graveolens, these did not present microbial growth and only had a loss of firmness of 17.02% after 10 days of storage compared to their initial value. This study demonstrated that the multisystem coating formed from the polymer nanocapsules loaded with the essential oil of Lippia graveolens could be a viable alternative to preserve horticultural products for longer storage periods.

Risk assessment of norovirus and hepatitis A virus in strawberries imported into China.

Norovirus (NoV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) pose a considerable health risk worldwide. In recent years, many cases of virus infection caused by virus-contaminated strawberries have occurred worldwide. This study applied a critical control point system to analyze the main hazards during the production and marketing of strawberries imported into China and explore the key control points in the whole process. To further evaluate the risks in the supply chain, the established quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) was used to determine the probability that residents would be infected with viruses after consuming imported strawberries. It was found that the risk of virus contamination from imported strawberries was low, and the virus contamination mainly results from water resources and personnel. This research helps the regulatory authorities formulate strategies to ensure the long-term microbial safety of imported strawberries. In addition, the methods may prove useful in evaluating the risks of other agricultural produce.

First Report of Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae causing Postharvest Decay of Strawberries in Florida.

Postharvest decay of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) is a major factor causing fruit losses. Strawberries were obtained from various harvests at cooling facilities located in Dover and Plant City, FL during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. After the fruits were incubated at 22ºC for up to 5 days (d) to promote disease development, Lasiodiplodia decay was observed at up to 3% from some harvests, exhibiting gray mycelia on small lesions that gradually covered the whole fruit. The fungus was isolated onto potato dextrose agar (PDA). Five isolates (SBD18-14, SBD18-277, SBD18-279, SBD19-02 and SBD19-57) were characterized. Fungal mycelia were initially grayish white and then gradually changed to gray to dark gray on PDA at 25oC, and later produced black pigments (Fig. S1). Pycnidia were observed from inoculated strawberries at 14 d. Isolates shared similar conidia morphology: aseptate, hyaline, ellipsoid to ovoid, measuring L × W: 24.0-34.0 (28.3) × 13.0-16.0 (14.3) µm (n =100). Mature conidia were brown, one septate, measuring L × W: 25.0-33.0 (28.8) × 13.0-16.0 (14.5) µm (n =100). The isolates were identified as Lasiodiplodia spp. morphologically (Alves et al. 2008). DNA was extracted from fungal mycelia using an OmniPrep DNA extraction kit, and PCR amplification of ITS and EF1-α genes was performed following the conditions described by White et al. (1990) with some modifications using primers ITS1F-F/ITS4-R (Gardes and Bruns, 1993; White et al., 1990) and EF1-668-F/EF1-1251-R (Alves et al., 2008), respectively. The BLASTn in GenBank showed that the sequences obtained had 99.61 to 100% homology with those of ITS (EF622077) and EF1-α (EF622057) from L. pseudotheobromae CBS116459 (an ex-type strain) (Alves et al., 2008). Sequences of the isolates have been deposited in GenBank with accessions OP326017 to OP326021 for ITS, and OP356202 to OP356206 for EF1-α. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these isolates clustered in the same clade (bootstrap value at 64) with L. pseudotheobromae (Fig. S2). Two fungal inoculum types (mycelia and conidia), two fruit inoculation methods (injury and non-injury) and five fungal isolates were used for pathogenicity tests. Fungal mycelia (2-day-old) on PDA plug (5 mm) or 10 µL of conidial suspension (106 spores/mL) was placed onto each injury (1 x 1 mm in size) or a non-injury area on the surfaces of five strawberry fruits (cv. Florida Brilliance). PDA plug alone or water drops placed on injury or non-injury areas on fruits served as respective controls. Inoculated and control fruits were incubated in a covered plastic container with 100% RH at 22ºC. The experiment was repeated twice. Decay initially appeared as soft and lightly discolored tissue at inoculation areas 2 d post-inoculation (dpi) that extended quickly thereafter. Brown to dark lesions on both injury- and non-injury fruits inoculated with conidia or mycelia were observed at 3 dpi. Decay and gray mycelia gradually developed over the whole fruit at 6 dpi, and pycnidia were observed after 14 dpi (Fig. S1). Disease incidence of 100% was observed on all tests. Control fruits did not develop decay. The results indicate that these isolates are pathogenic to strawberries and infect fruit via both non-injured and injured fruit surfaces. The inoculated fungal isolates were re-isolated, thus, fulfilling Koch's postulates. L. theobromae, Neofusicoccum parvum/N. ribis species complex causing strawberry fruit rot in Florida fields was reported (Oliveira et al., 2019), but not L. pseudotheobromae. To our knowledge, this is the first report of postharvest decay caused by L. pseudotheobromae A.J.L. Phillips, A. Alves & Crous on strawberries in Florida and in the USA, and it should be considered in strawberry disease management.

Multibranched flower-like ZnO anchored on pectin/cellulose nanofiber aerogel skeleton for enhanced comprehensive antibacterial capabilities.

In this study, F-ZnO NPs were used as antibacterial agents, mussel bionic dopamine exerted its adhesive action to immobilize F-ZnO NPs on the pectin/CNF aerogel skeleton. Fruit and vegetable antimicrobial mats with safety, long duration of action and high efficiency were prepared and its potential application has been investigated. The results showed that a dopamine layer was deposited on the surface of the CNF, which promoted the tight adhesion of the F-ZnO NPs to the aerogel skeleton. The F-ZnO@D-CNF aerogel exhibited a slow release of zinc ions, with the first two days being 0.40 ± 0.16 and 1.01 ± 0.13 mg/mL. The aerogel was light, can stand on the petals without collapsing, has regular and uniform pore structure, good tensile/compressive properties and high antibacterial/anti-fungal properties. Strawberries packaged with F-ZnO@D-CNF aerogel exhibited an extended shelf life of 5 days. Additionally, the strawberries maintained a soluble solid content of 6.9 ± 0.82 % and a Vc content of 44.67 ± 3.51 mg/100 g. The weight loss, color and firmness were also notably superior to the other four groups. The final concentration of zinc ions in strawberries was 3.71 ± 0.28 µg/g, which is far below the recommended dietary intake.

Early Intervention in Cognitive Aging with Strawberry Supplementation.

Late-life dementia is a growing public health concern lacking effective treatment. Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) develop over a preclinical period of many years beginning in midlife. The prevalence of insulin resistance, a prominent risk factor for late-life dementia, also accelerates in middle-age. Consumption of berry fruits, including strawberries, has been shown to influence metabolism as well as cognitive performance suggesting potential to mitigate risk for dementia. In this controlled trial, we enrolled overweight middle-aged men and women with insulin resistance and subjective cognitive decline and performed a 12-week intervention with daily administration of whole-fruit strawberry powder. Diet records showed that participants in both groups maintained the prescribed abstinence from berry product consumption outside the study. We observed diminished memory interference (p = 0.02; Cohen's f = 0.45) and a reduction of depressive symptoms (p = 0.04; Cohen's f = 0.39) for the strawberry-treated participants; benefits consistent with improved executive ability. However, there was no effect of the intervention on metabolic measures, possibly a consequence of the sample size, length of the intervention, or comparatively low anthocyanin dose. Anti-inflammatory actions of anthocyanins were considered as a primary mechanistic factor. The findings support the notion that strawberry supplementation has a role in dementia risk reduction when introduced in midlife. However, further investigation with longer intervention periods, larger samples, and differing dosing regimens will be required to assess the benefits of strawberry intake with respect to cognition and metabolic function in the context of aging.

Innovative Integration of Arrayan (Luma apiculata) Extracts in Chitosan Coating for Fresh Strawberry Preservation.

Strawberries are a rich source of vitamins and antioxidants, among other nutrients, but they are highly susceptible to mechanical injuries, dehydration, and microbial spoilage, and thus have a limited post-harvest shelf-life. Bioactive edible coatings have been studied to decrease or prevent these damages. In this study, ethanolic extracts of Arrayan (Luma apiculata), a traditional berry from the south of Chile, were used to enrich a chitosan-based edible film and coat fresh strawberries. A long-term storage (10 °C) study was conducted to determine the strawberries' weight loss, microbial stability, fruit firmness impact, and antioxidant activity. Later, a sensory panel was conducted to determine overall consumer acceptance. Our results show that the bioactive coating inhibited the growth of different pathogenic bacteria and spoilage yeast. In the stored strawberries, the weight loss was significantly lower when the bioactive coating was applied, and the samples' firmness did not change significantly over time. Microbial growth in the treated strawberries was also lower than in the control ones. As expected, the antioxidant activity in the coated strawberries was higher because of the Arrayan extract, which has high antioxidant activity. Regarding sensory qualities, the covered strawberries did not show significant differences from the uncoated samples, with an overall acceptance of 7.64 on a 9-point scale. To our knowledge, this is the first time an edible coating enriched with Arrayan extracts has been reported as able to prevent strawberries' decay and spoilage.

Multifunctional food packaging materials: Lactoferrin loaded Cr-MOF in films-based gelatin/κ-carrageenan for food packaging applications.

In this study, antimicrobial biocomposite films based on gelatin-κ-carrageenan (Gκ) with 1, 2 and 4 % lactoferrin (L) loaded chromium-based metal-organic frameworks (L@Cr-MOFs) nanoparticles were synthesized by casting methods. The addition of L loaded Cr-MOFs into Gκ based films increased elongation at break from 2.19 to 14.92 % and decreased the tensile strength from 65.1 to 31.22 MPa. L@Cr-MOFs addition reduced swelling index (from 105 to 70.8 %), water solubility (from 61.3 to 34.63 %) and water vapor permeability (from 2.46 to 2.19 × 10-11 g. m/m2. s). When the additional amount was 4 wt%, the Gκ/L@Cr-MOFs films showed antibacterial effects against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus with the inhibition zone of 19.7 mm and 20.2 mm, respectively. In addition, strawberries preservation trial shown that the Gκ/L@Cr-MOFs films delayed the growth of spoilage molds on the surface of fruits. This research indicated that Gκ/L@Cr-MOFs are promising active packaging materials for the preservation of perishable fruits.

Perspective: Challenges and Future Directions in Clinical Research with Nuts and Berries.

Consumption of nuts and berries are considered part of a healthy eating pattern. Nuts and berries contain a complex nutrient profile consisting of essential vitamins and minerals, fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and phenolics in quantities that improve physiological outcomes. The spectrum of health outcomes that may be impacted by the consumptions of nuts and berries includes cardiovascular, gut microbiome, and cognitive, among others. Recently, new insights regarding the bioactive compounds found in both nuts and berries have reinforced their role for use in precision nutrition efforts. However, challenges exist that can affect the generalizability of outcomes from clinical studies, including inconsistency in study designs, homogeneity of test populations, variability in test products and control foods, and assessing realistic portion sizes. Future research centered on precision nutrition and multi-omics technologies will yield new insights. These and other topics such as funding streams and perceived risk-of-bias were explored at an international nutrition conference focused on the role of nuts and berries in clinical nutrition. Successes, challenges, and future directions with these foods are presented here.

Effect of Dietary Berry Supplementation on Antioxidant Biomarkers in Adults with Cardiometabolic Risks: A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials.

Cardiometabolic conditions are closely associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. Dietary berries may serve as a beneficial nutrition intervention to address the features of cardiometabolic dysfunction and associated oxidative stress. The high antioxidant status of dietary berries may increase antioxidant capacity and reduce biomarkers of oxidative stress. This systematic review was conducted to investigate these effects of dietary berries. The search was conducted using PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and citation searching. Through this search we identified 6309 articles and 54 were included in the review. Each study's risk of bias was assessed using the 2019 Cochrane Methods' Risk of Bias 2 tool. Antioxidant and oxidative stress outcomes were evaluated, and the magnitude of effect was calculated using Cohen's d. A range of effectiveness was reported in the included studies and the quality of the studies differed between the parallel and crossover trials. Considering the inconsistency in reported effectiveness, future investigations are warranted to determine the acute and sustained reductions of oxidative stress biomarkers from dietary berry intake (PROSPERO registration# CRD42022374654).

Influence of a Transparent and Edible Coating of Encapsulated Cannabidiol Nanoparticles on the Quality and Shelf Life of Strawberries.

Cannabidiol (CBD) has been shown to have antioxidant and antibacterial effects. The investigation into CBD's potential as an antioxidant and antibacterial agent, meanwhile, is still in its initial stages. The study goals were to prepare encapsulated cannabidiol isolate (eCBDi), evaluate the effect of eCBDi edible active coatings on the physicochemical properties of strawberries, and determine whether CBD and sodium alginate coatings could be used as a postharvest treatment to promote antioxidation and antimicrobial activity and prolong the strawberry shelf life. A well-designed edible coating on the strawberry surface was achieved using eCBDi nanoparticles in combination with a sodium alginate polysaccharide-based solution. Strawberries were examined for their visual appearance and quality parameters. In the results, a significantly delayed deterioration was observed in terms of weight loss, total acidity, pH, microbial activity, and antioxidant activity for coated strawberries compared to the control. This study demonstrates the capability of eCBDi nanoparticles as an efficient active food coating agent.

In vitro comparison of natural tooth-whitening remedies and professional tooth-whitening systems.

Background: An increasing number of patients are using natural homemade remedies such as strawberries, banana peels, coconut oil rinse, basil, lemon, activated charcoal, apple cider vinegar, baking soda, and turmeric to obtain whiter teeth. However, studies on these natural whitening products are limited. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of different homemade tooth-whitening agents in vitro. Materials and methods: Ninety caries-free extracted anterior and premolar teeth were collected, cleaned, and sectioned at the roots. The teeth were mounted in epoxy resin (buccal surface) and stored in 0.2 % thymol solution, and were treated with one of the following six whitening agents: baking soda, activated charcoal, lemon juice, strawberries, Colgate Optic Whitening toothpaste, and Opalescence 20 % home-bleaching system. The enamel shade in each sample was measured four times using a spectrophotometer. Baseline measurements for ΔE and (L*, a*, b*) were obtained, and the second measurement was obtained after 5 days. The third reading was obtained on the 10th day, and the fourth reading was obtained at the 4th week to measure colour stability. One-way analysis of variance and post-hoc Tukey tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: ΔE measurements showed a significant difference on the 10th day in all groups except the lemon group (P = 0.164), while all groups showed a statistically significant difference at the 4th week. The mean colour change differed remarkably between the first and fourth readings. The highest change was observed in the lemon group (44.0 ± 2.9), closely followed by the Opalescence 20 % and Colgate Optic Whitening toothpaste groups. The lowest change was observed with strawberries (38.2 ± 4.8). ΔE showed a significant difference in all groups except the turmeric group. Conclusion: Statistically significant differences were obtained with baking soda, activated charcoal, strawberries, lemon juice, Colgate Optic Whitening toothpaste, and Opalescence 20%. Further studies are required to evaluate the effects of these agents on surface roughness and colour stability.

Bioactive Ingredients with Health-Promoting Properties of Strawberry Fruit (Fragaria x ananassa Duchesne).

Strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa Duchesne) belong to the berry group and are characterized primarily by delightful sensory properties. Due to their chemical composition, these fruits are a rich source of bioactive compounds that can modify the metabolic and physiological functions of the body. The aim of this work is to present the current state of research on bioactive ingredients found in these fruits in the context of their health-promoting properties. The paper presents compiled and reviewed data on the content of polyphenolic compounds, organic acids, and vitamins, especially vitamin C, in strawberries. The content of these compounds is influenced by many different factors that are discussed in the paper. It also draws attention to the presence of oxalates and allergenic compounds, which are classified as anti-nutritional compounds of strawberries.

Pathogenic Microorganisms Linked to Fresh Fruits and Juices Purchased at Low-Cost Markets in Ecuador, Potential Carriers of Antibiotic Resistance.

The pathogenic microorganisms linked to fresh fruits and juices sold out in retail low-cost markets raise safety concerns as they may carry multidrug-resistant (MDR) genes. To evaluate the microbiological quality and safety of highly consumed fruits and derivatives in Imbabura Province, Ecuador, ready-to-eat strawberries (5 independent batches; n = 300 samples), and gooseberries (5 separate batches; n = 500 samples), purchased from a local fruit farm grower and low-cost retail market, along with 20 different natural fruit- and vegetables-based juices (3 independent batches; n = 60 samples) purchased from food courts located within the low-cost markets were analyzed. Bacteriological analysis showed that the microbial quality was lower as several indicators (n = 984) consisting of total coliforms (TCOL), total aerobes (AEROB), Enterobacter spp. (ENT), Shigella spp., (SHIGA), yeasts (YE), and molds (M) were detected. Staphylococcus spp. (STAPHY) was found in both fruits regardless of origin, while Escherichia coli (EC) isolates were found in strawberries but not gooseberries. Salmonella spp. (SALM) were detected in juices only. Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed multidrug resistance of several isolates. The hemolytic pattern revealed that 88.89% of EC and 61.11% of ENT isolates were beta-hemolytic. All STAPHY isolates were beta-hemolytic while SALM and SHIGA were alpha-hemolytic. Plasmid curing assay of MDR isolates (ENT, EC, SALM, and STAPHY) showed that the antibiotic resistance (AR) was highly indicative of being plasmid-borne. These results raise concerns about the consumption of MDR bacteria. However, good agricultural and industrial practices, behavioral change communication, and awareness-raising programs are necessary for all stakeholders along the food production and consumption supply chain.