Carrageenan-based sustainable biomaterials for intelligent food packaging: A review.

This article explores the use of carrageenan-based biomaterials in developing sustainable and efficient intelligent food packaging solutions. The research in this field has seen a notable surge, evident from >1000 entries in databases such as Web of Science, PubMed and Science Direct between 2018 and 2023. Various film preparation techniques are explored, including solvent casting, layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly, and electrospinning. Solvent casting is commonly used to incorporate active compounds, while LbL assembly and electrospinning are favored for enhancing mechanical properties and solubility. Carrageenan's film-forming characteristics enable the production of transparent films, ideal for indicator films that facilitate visual inspection for color changes indicative of pH variations, crucial for detecting food spoilage. Surface properties can be modified using additives like plant extracts to regulate moisture interaction, affecting shelf life and food safety. These materials' antioxidant and antimicrobial attributes are highlighted, demonstrating their efficacy against pathogens such as E. coli.

Accessing a Diverse Set of Functional Red-Light Photoswitches by Selective Copper-Catalyzed Indigo N-Arylation.

The ability to correlate the structure of a molecule with its properties is the key to the rational and accelerated design of new functional compounds and materials. Taking photoswitches as an example, the thermal stability of the metastable state is a crucial property that dictates their application in molecular systems. Indigos have recently emerged as an attractive motif for designing photoswitchable molecules due to their red-light addressability, which can be advantageous in biomedical and material applications. The lack of synthetic techniques to derivatize the abundant parent dye and a thorough understanding of the impact of structural factors on the photochemical and thermal properties hinder broad applications of this emerging photoswitch class. Herein, we report an efficient copper-catalyzed indigo N-arylation that enables the installation of a wide variety of aryl moieties carrying useful functional groups. The exclusive selectivity for monoarylation likely originates from a bimetallic cooperative mechanism through a binuclear copper-indigo intermediate. Functional N-aryl-N'-alkylindigos were prepared and shown to photoisomerize efficiently under red light. Moreover, this design allows for the modulation of thermal half-lives through N-aryl substituents, while the N'-alkyl groups enable the independent attachment of functional moieties without affecting the photochromic properties. A strong correlation between the structure of the N-aryl moiety and the thermal stability of the photogenerated Z-isomers was achieved by multivariate linear regression models obtained through a data-science workflow. This work thus builds an avenue leading to versatile red-light photoswitches and a general method for structure-property correlation that is expected to be broadly applicable to the design of photoresponsive molecules.

Biosynthesis, classification, properties, and applications of Weissella bacteriocins.

This review aims to comprehensively chronicle the biosynthesis, classification, properties, and applications of bacteriocins produced by Weissella genus strains, particularly emphasizing their potential benefits in food preservation, human health, and animal productivity. Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) are a class of microorganisms well-known for their beneficial role in food fermentation, probiotics, and human health. A notable property of LAB is that they can synthesize antimicrobial peptides known as bacteriocins that exhibit antimicrobial action against both closely related and other bacteria as well. Bacteriocins produced by Weissella spp. are known to exhibit antimicrobial activity against several pathogenic bacteria including food spoilage species, making them highly invaluable for potential application in food preservation and food safety. Importantly, they provide significant health benefits to humans, including combating infections, reducing inflammation, and modulating the gut microbiota. In addition to their applications in food fermentation and probiotics, Weissella bacteriocins show promising prospects in poultry production, processing, and improving animal productivity. Future research should explore the utilization of Weissella bacteriocins in innovative food safety measures and medical applications, emphasizing their potential to combat antibiotic-resistant pathogens, enhance gut microbiota composition and function, and synergize with existing antimicrobial therapies.

Lipid incorporated biopolymer based edible films and coatings in food packaging: A review.

In the evolving landscape of food packaging, lipid-based edible films and coatings are emerging as a sustainable and effective solution for enhancing food quality and prolonging shelf life. This critical review aims to offer a comprehensive overview of the functional properties, roles, and fabrication techniques associated with lipid-based materials in food packaging. It explores the unique advantages of lipids, including waxes, resins, and fatty acids, in providing effective water vapor, gas, and microbial barriers. When integrated with other biopolymers, such as proteins and polysaccharides, lipid-based composite films demonstrate superior thermal, mechanical, and barrier properties. The review also covers the application of these innovative coatings in preserving a wide range of fruits and vegetables, highlighting their role in reducing moisture loss, controlling respiration rates, and maintaining firmness. Furthermore, the safety aspects of lipid-based coatings are discussed to address consumer and regulatory concerns.

The Potential of Edible Insects as a Safe, Palatable, and Sustainable Food Source in the European Union.

Entomophagy describes the practice of eating insects. Insects are considered extremely nutritious in many countries worldwide. However, there is a lethargic uptake of this practice in Europe where consuming insects and insect-based foodstuffs is often regarded with disgust. Such perceptions and concerns are often due to a lack of exposure to and availability of food-grade insects as a food source and are often driven by neophobia and cultural norms. In recent years, due to accelerating climate change, an urgency to develop alternate safe and sustainable food-sources has emerged. There are currently over 2000 species of insects approved by the World Health Organization as safe to eat and suitable for human consumption. This review article provides an updated overview of the potential of edible insects as a safe, palatable, and sustainable food source. Furthermore, legislation, food safety issues, and the nutritional composition of invertebrates including, but not limited, to crickets (Orthoptera) and mealworms (Coleoptera) are also explored within this review. This article also discusses insect farming methods and the potential upscaling of the industry with regard to future prospects for insects as a sustainable food source. Finally, the topics addressed in this article are areas of potential concern to current and future consumers of edible insects.

Bioengineering of Cu2O structured macro-biotemplate for the ultra-efficient and selective hand-retrieval of glyphosate from agro-farms.

Glyphosate (Gly) is a massively utilized toxic herbicide exceeding its statutory restrictions, causing adverse environmental and health impacts. Engineered nanomaterials, even though are integral to remediate Gly, their practical use is limited due to time and energy driven purifications, and negative environmental impacts. Here, a 3D wide area (~1.6 ± 0.4 cm2) Cu2O nanoparticle supported biotemplate is designed using fish-scale wastes as a sustainable approach for the ultra-efficient and selective hand-remediation of Gly from real-time samples from agro-farms. While the innate metal binding and reducing ability of collagenous scales aided self-synthesis cum grafting of Cu2O, the selective binding potential of Cu2O to Gly facilitated its hand-retrieval; as assessed using optical characterizations, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Optimization studies revealed extractions of diverse pay-loads of Gly between 0.1 µg/mL to 40 µg/mL per 80 mg biotemplate grafted with ~6.354 µg of sub-5 nm Cu2O and was exponential to the number of Cu2O@biotemplates. Even though pH and surfactant didn't have any impact on the adsorption of Gly to the Cu2O@biotemplates, increase in the ionic strength led to a drastic increase in the adsorption. Density function theory simulations unveiled the involvement of phosphonic and carboxylic groups of Gly for interaction with Cu2O with a bond length of 1.826 Å and 1.833 Å, respectively. Overall, our sustainably generated, cost-efficient, hand-retrievable Cu2O supported biotemplate can be generalized to extract diverse organophosphorus toxins from agro-farms and other sewage embodiments. SYNOPSIS: Glyphosate is an excessively applied herbicide with potent health hazards and carcinogenicity. Thus, a hand removable Cu2O-supported biotemplate to selectively and efficiently remediate glyphosate from irrigation water is developed.

Small molecule inhibition of RNA binding proteins in haematologic cancer.

In recent years, advances in biomedicine have revealed an important role for post-transcriptional mechanisms of gene expression regulation in pathologic conditions. In cancer in general and leukaemia specifically, RNA binding proteins have emerged as important regulator of RNA homoeostasis that are often dysregulated in the disease state. Having established the importance of these pathogenetic mechanisms, there have been a number of efforts to target RNA binding proteins using oligonucleotide-based strategies, as well as with small organic molecules. The field is at an exciting inflection point with the convergence of biomedical knowledge, small molecule screening strategies and improved chemical methods for synthesis and construction of sophisticated small molecules. Here, we review the mechanisms of post-transcriptional gene regulation, specifically in leukaemia, current small-molecule based efforts to target RNA binding proteins, and future prospects.

Targeting IGF2BP3 enhances antileukemic effects of menin-MLL inhibition in MLL-AF4 leukemia.

ABSTRACT: RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are emerging as a novel class of therapeutic targets in cancer, including in leukemia, given their important role in posttranscriptional gene regulation, and have the unexplored potential to be combined with existing therapies. The RBP insulin-like growth factor 2 messenger RNA-binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3) has been found to be a critical regulator of MLL-AF4 leukemogenesis and represents a promising therapeutic target. Here, we study the combined effects of targeting IGF2BP3 and menin-MLL interaction in MLL-AF4-driven leukemia in vitro and in vivo, using genetic inhibition with CRISPR-Cas9-mediated deletion of Igf2bp3 and pharmacologic inhibition of the menin-MLL interaction with multiple commercially available inhibitors. Depletion of Igf2bp3 sensitized MLL-AF4 leukemia to the effects of menin-MLL inhibition on cell growth and leukemic initiating cells in vitro. Mechanistically, we found that both Igf2bp3 depletion and menin-MLL inhibition led to increased differentiation in vitro and in vivo, seen in functional readouts and by gene expression analyses. IGF2BP3 knockdown had a greater effect on increasing survival and attenuating disease than pharmacologic menin-MLL inhibition with small molecule MI-503 alone and showed enhanced antileukemic effects in combination. Our work shows that IGF2BP3 is an oncogenic amplifier of MLL-AF4-mediated leukemogenesis and a potent therapeutic target, providing a paradigm for targeting leukemia at both the transcriptional and posttranscriptional level.

Laser Light as an Emerging Method for Sustainable Food Processing, Packaging, and Testing.

In this review article, we systematically investigated the diverse applications of laser technology within the sphere of food processing, encompassing techniques such as laser ablation, microbial inactivation, state-of-the-art food packaging, and non-destructive testing. With a detailed exploration, we assess the utility of laser ablation for the removal of surface contaminants from foodstuffs, while also noting the potential financial and safety implications of its implementation on an industrial scale. Microbial inactivation by laser shows promise for reducing the microbial load on food surfaces, although concerns have been raised about potential damage to the physio-characteristics of some fruits. Laser-based packaging techniques, such as laser perforation and laser transmission welding, offer eco-friendly alternatives to traditional packaging methods and can extend the shelf life of perishable goods. Despite the limitations, laser technology shows great promise in the food industry and has the potential to revolutionize food processing, packaging, and testing. Future research needs to focus on optimizing laser equipment, addressing limitations, and developing mathematical models to enhance the technology's uses.

Sustainable Utilisation and Management of Food Waste for High-Value Products.

Welcome to the Special Issue on "Sustainable Utilisation and Management of Food Waste for High-Value Products" [...].

Biopolymer-Based Sustainable Food Packaging Materials: Challenges, Solutions, and Applications.

Biopolymer-based packaging materials have become of greater interest to the world due to their biodegradability, renewability, and biocompatibility. In recent years, numerous biopolymers-such as starch, chitosan, carrageenan, polylactic acid, etc.-have been investigated for their potential application in food packaging. Reinforcement agents such as nanofillers and active agents improve the properties of the biopolymers, making them suitable for active and intelligent packaging. Some of the packaging materials, e.g., cellulose, starch, polylactic acid, and polybutylene adipate terephthalate, are currently used in the packaging industry. The trend of using biopolymers in the packaging industry has increased immensely; therefore, many legislations have been approved by various organizations. This review article describes various challenges and possible solutions associated with food packaging materials. It covers a wide range of biopolymers used in food packaging and the limitations of using them in their pure form. Finally, a SWOT analysis is presented for biopolymers, and the future trends are discussed. Biopolymers are eco-friendly, biodegradable, nontoxic, renewable, and biocompatible alternatives to synthetic packaging materials. Research shows that biopolymer-based packaging materials are of great essence in combined form, and further studies are needed for them to be used as an alternative packaging material.

Fabrication, characterization, and interventions of protein, polysaccharide and lipid-based nanoemulsions in food and nutraceutical delivery applications: A review.

The fabrication and application of nanoemulsions for incorporating and delivering diverse bioactive compounds, particularly hydrophobic substances, is becoming an increasing focus of research with the potential to improve the nutritional and health status of individuals. Constant advancements in nanotechnological approaches aid in the creation of nanoemulsions using diverse biopolymers such as proteins, peptides, polysaccharides, and lipids to improve the stability, bioactivity, and bioavailability of active hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds. This article provides a comprehensive overview of various techniques used to create and characterize nanoemulsions as well as theories for understanding their stability. The article also highlights the advancement of nanoemulsions in boosting the bioaccessibility of nutraceuticals to help advance their potential use in various food and pharmaceutical formulations.

Nanoclays-containing bio-based packaging materials: properties, applications, safety, and regulatory issues.

Food packaging is an important concept for consumer satisfaction and the increased shelf life of food products. The introduction of novel food packaging materials has become an emerging trend in recent years, which could be mainly due to environmental pollution caused by plastic packaging and to reduce food waste. Recently, numerous studies have been carried out on nanoclays or nanolayered silicate to be used in packaging material development as reinforcing filler composites. Different types of nanoclays have been used as food packaging materials, while montmorillonite (MMT), halloysite, bentonite (BT), Cloisite, and organically modified nanoclays have become of great interest. The incorporation of nanoclays into the packaging matrix improves the mechanical and barrier properties and at the same time prolongs the biodegradation of the packaging material. The purpose of this article is to examine the development of nanoclay-based food packaging materials. The review article highlights the current state of research on bio-based polymers with nanoclay for food packaging. In addition, the report analyses the mechanical, barrier, and antibacterial characteristics of nanoclay-based food packaging materials. Finally, it discusses the migration of nanoclays, toxicity levels, and the legislation associated with the application of nanoclays.

Active film packaging based on bio-nanocomposite TiO2 and cinnamon essential oil for enhanced preservation of cheese quality.

This study involves the preparation of PLA/PBAT composite blend films incorporated with TiO2 and varying concentrations of cinnamon essential oil. The films were characterised for optical and mechanical properties, chemical composition, thermo-stability, surface hydrophobicity, inhibition of biofilm formation, anti-microbial efficiency against S. aureus and E. coli, and application on cheese. The thickness of the films increased with the increase in cinnamon oil concentration along with the water contact angle degree and highest UV-barrier properties with the PLA-PBAT-TiO2-7 %Cinn film. The best anti-bacterial activity was seen in the PLA-PBAT-TiO2-7 %Cinn film against S. aureus and E. coli. The cheese packed in PLA-PBAT-TiO2-7 %Cinn film has shown the least weight loss and enhanced antibacterial activity against E. coli for 12 days of storage. The use of cinnamon oil-loaded TiO2 incorporated in films showed positive effects on the shelf life, quality, and safety of a food product and has a high potential for use commercially.

Evaluation of irish consumers' knowledge of salmonellosis and food-handling practices.

Salmonella is one of numerous food-borne pathogens that could possibly pose a major threat to global food safety. Salmonella is primarily associated with foods such as poultry, eggs, vegetables, and some dairy products. However, infected food handlers and faecal contaminated environments are also significant sources and reservoirs of this pathogen. This study comprehensively evaluated the Irish consumers' food safety knowledge by exploring their knowledge level, practices and attitudes regarding raw meat handling, cross-contamination while handling different types of food products, and knowledge of Salmonella risk and associated food-handling practices. The online SurveyMonkey tool was used to distribute a quantitative survey titled "Evaluation of Knowledge and Food-handling practices of Irish Consumers" from July to November 2020 and generated a total of 1916 responses. Results indicated that 79.9% of the studied Irish population had a good knowledge of salmonellosis and risk perception related to food handling practices. Knowledge of cross-contamination, hygienic practices and pathogens associated with poultry were also considered high. However, knowledge of meat handling was low at 44.9%. It was also observed that age, gender, marital status, gross annual income, and nationality were influential factors regarding the food safety knowledge of consumers, while age, marital status and gender indicated significant differences regarding awareness of correct food hygiene practices.

Regulation of T-independent B-cell responses by microRNA-146a.

The microRNA, miR-146a, is a negative feedback regulator of the central immune transcription factor, nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB). MiR-146a plays important roles in the immune system, and miR-146a deficient mice show a complex phenotype with features of chronic inflammation and autoimmune disease. In this study, we examined the role of miR-146a in extrafollicular B-cell responses, finding that miR-146a suppresses cellular responses in vivo and in vitro. Gene expression profiling revealed that miR-146a-deficient B-cells showed upregulation of interferon pathway genes, including Traf6, a known miR-146a target. We next interrogated the role of TRAF6 in these B-cell responses, finding that TRAF6 is required for proliferation by genetic and pharmacologic inhibition. Together, our findings demonstrate a novel role for miR-146a and TRAF6 in the extrafollicular B-cell responses, which have recently been tied to autoimmune disease pathogenesis. Our work highlights the pathogenetic role of miR-146a and the potential of pharmacologic inhibition of TRAF6 in autoimmune diseases in which miR-146a is deregulated.

Encapsulation of Essential Oils in Nanocarriers for Active Food Packaging.

Active packaging improves a packaging system's effectiveness by actively integrating additional components into the packaging material or the headspace around the packaging. Consumer demand and awareness have grown enough to replace chemical agents with natural active agents. Essential oils (EOs) are extensively distributed throughout nature but at low levels and sometimes with poor recovery yields, which poses an issue with their application in food. Due to the instability of EOs when added directly into a food product, they require encapsulation before being added to a packaging matrix such as liposomes, solid-lipid nanoparticles, nano-emulsions, cyclodextrins, and nanostructured lipid nano-carriers. This article is focused on the encapsulation of EOs in different types of nanocarriers. Nanocarriers can improve the efficiency of active substances by providing protection, stability, and controlled and targeted release. The advantages of the many types of nanocarriers that contain active substances that can be used to make antibacterial and antioxidant biopolymeric-based active packaging are discussed. A nanocarrier-encapsulated EO enables the controlled release of oil, stabilizing the packaging for a longer duration.

Performance Evaluation of Mobile Liquid Cooled Thermoelectric Refrigeration System for Storage-Cum-Transportation of Fruits and Vegetables.

The performance of a liquid-cooled thermoelectric refrigeration (LCTR) system for the storage of summer fruits and vegetables, viz., bitter gourd, okra, mango, and papaya, indicated notable results for physiological loss in weight, firmness, and colour values and overall acceptability of the crop. The LCTR system significantly reduced (p < 0.0001) the physiological loss in weight (PLW) of bitter gourd, okra, mango, and papaya to 11.51%, 10.99%, 12.29%, and 19.17%, respectively, compared to conventional ambient storage of the crop. A lesser change in colour was observed for the crop subjected to LCTR, recording 14.04, 11.46, 16.41, and 23.68 for bitter gourd, okra, mango, and papaya, respectively. All the crops witnessed no significant effect (p < 0.0001) on the quality attributes of the crop stored in LCTR and a vapour compression refrigeration system. LCTR enabled a pronounced increment in the shelf life of bitter gourd, okra, mango, and papaya by 7, 8, 10, and 13 days, respectively, compared to storage at ambient conditions. The invention provides a mobile thermoelectric refrigeration system useful for marketing fruits and vegetables efficiently. The system is economical, has a higher coefficient of performance (0.85) compared to the coefficient of performance (COP) of the existing thermoelectric refrigeration system, and maintains the freshness and quality of perishable agricultural produce during marketing and transportation.

Therapeutic effects of oral fluralaner in pet rabbits with severe sarcoptic mange (Sarcoptes scabiei).

Sarcoptic mange is one of the most severe, highly contagious, and fatal ectoparasitic infestations of rabbits. Fluralaner, an isoxazoline class of oral ectoparasiticide, is considered as a very potent acaricide. The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of oral fluralaner in pet rabbits with severe spontaneous Sarcoptes scabiei infestation. A total of eight un-neutered pet rabbits, tested positive for S. scabiei by microscopy of skin scrapings, were enrolled. Seven rabbits had severe clinical infestation (score 5), while remaining one rabbit had moderate disease clinical signs (score <3). A single oral dose equivalent to 25 mg/kg of fluralaner was administered to each rabbit. On day 14 post-therapy, marked improvements in the skin lesions were observed; severely infested rabbits had a clinical score of 3, while the moderately infested rabbit had a score of 1. However, none of the rabbits tested negative for S. scabiei. On day 30 post-therapy, complete clinical recovery was recorded in all rabbits (Score 0), but, a complete parasitological clearance was not recorded except to the moderately infested rabbit. All rabbits were tested negative for S. scabiei on day 45 post-therapy. Therefore, a single oral dose of fluralaner at a 25 mg/kg was found to be effective in the treatment of severe sarcoptic mange in pet rabbits and no additional topical or systemic medications were needed. Further studies in a larger number of individuals with a bigger spectrum of disease severities (i.e. more moderate/mild) are needed to comprehensively document the safety and efficacy of this drug in mangy rabbits.

Emerging technologies for the production of nanocellulose from lignocellulosic biomass.

Nanocellulose is a unique and promising natural nanomaterial and has gained significant attention due to its applications in several important areas. Thus, researchers are continuously looking for the most efficient, sustainable, economically viable, and environmentally friendly production technologies to fulfil its growing demand. Conventional production technologies, which include various physical, chemical, and physicochemical methods, are currently inadequate for this purpose and have several limitations such as long processing time, high energy consumption, low recovery of nanocellulose, and many others. To overcome these shortcomings, scientists have investigated the prospect of utilizing emerging processing technologies such as microwave irradiation, deep eutectic solvent, enzymatic processing, cold plasma, electron beam irradiation, and pulsed electric field in nanocellulose preparation. In general, studies have shown that the application of emerging technologies enhances the extraction yield and properties of nanocellulose. This article presents a review of the most recent works reported on the application of emerging technologies in nanocellulose production.