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Food Chemistry Oct 2023As a natural polyphenol, curcumin has been used as an alternative to synthetic preservatives in food preservation. Different from previous reviews that mainly focus on... (Review)
Review
As a natural polyphenol, curcumin has been used as an alternative to synthetic preservatives in food preservation. Different from previous reviews that mainly focus on the pH-responsive discoloration of curcumin to detect changes in food quality in real time, this paper focuses on the perspective of the delivery system and photosensitization of curcumin for food preservation. The delivery system is an effective means to overcome the challenges of curcumin like instability, hydrophobicity, and low bioavailability. Curcumin as a photosensitizer can effectively sterilize to preserve food. The practical fresh-keeping effects of the delivery system and photosensitization of curcumin on foods (fruits/vegetables, animal-derived food, and grain) were summarized comprehensively, including shelf-life extension, maintenance of physicochemical properties, nutritional quality, and sensory. Future research should focus on the development of novel curcumin-loaded materials used for food preservation, and most importantly, the biosafety and accumulation toxicity associated with these materials should be explored.
Topics: Animals; Curcumin; Food Preservation; Food Quality; Nutritive Value; Fruit
PubMed: 37247602
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.136464 -
Research in Veterinary Science Sep 2023Antibiotics have the potential to have both direct and indirect detrimental impacts on animal and human health. For instance, antibiotic residues and pathogenic... (Review)
Review
Antibiotics have the potential to have both direct and indirect detrimental impacts on animal and human health. For instance, antibiotic residues and pathogenic resistance against the drug are very common in poultry because of antibiotics used in their feed. It is necessary to use natural feed additives as effective alternatives instead of synthetic antibiotics. Curcumin, a polyphenol compound one of the natural compounds from the rhizomes of turmeric (Curcuma spp.) and has been suggested to have several therapeutic benefits in the treatment of human diseases. Curcumin exhibited some positive responses such as growth promoter, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, anticoccidial, anti-stress, and immune modulator activities. Curcumin played a pivotal role in regulating the structure of the intestinal microbiome for health promotion and the treatment of intestinal dysbiosis. It is suggested that curcumin alone or a combination with other feed additives could be a dietary strategy to improve poultry health and productivity.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Curcumin; Poultry; Antioxidants; Diet; Curcuma; Anti-Bacterial Agents
PubMed: 37517298
DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2023.104958 -
European Journal of Pharmaceutics and... Jan 2024Recently, there has been an accelerating interest in novel biocompatible wound dressings made of nano-sized materials, especially nanofibers. Electrospun nanofibers...
Recently, there has been an accelerating interest in novel biocompatible wound dressings made of nano-sized materials, especially nanofibers. Electrospun nanofibers provide high surface area and mimic the extracellular matrix which enhances biocompatibility. Besides, nanofibrous structures have high active ingredient loading capacity as a result of their high surface-to-volume ratio and porosity. In the present study, curcumin-loaded poly(ω-pentadecalactone-co-δ-valerolactone)/gelatin (PDL-VL/Gel) nanofibrous membranes were fabricated to be used for healing skin wounds. Poly(ω-pentadecalactone-co-δ-valerolactone) copolymer has been enzymatically synthesized in previous studies, thus it improves the originality of the membrane. It was aimed to obtain a synergetic effect and increase the novelty of the work by blending synthetic and natural polymers. Moreover, it was preferred to provide antibacterial activity by the incorporation of a herbal ingredient (curcumin) as a natural alternative to commercial antibiotics. Varied amounts of curcumin (5-25 %, w:v) were electrospun together with PDL-VL/Gel (equal volume ratio) polymer blend (fiber diameters ranged between 554 and 1074 nm) and several characterizations (morphological and molecular structure, wettability characteristics, and thermal behavior) were applied to examine the curcumin incorporation. Afterwards, in vitro curcumin release studies were carried out and mathematical modeling was applied to release data to clarify the transport mechanism. Curcumin release profiles comprised of an initial burst release in the first hour followed by a sustained release through 24 h. Based on the antibacterial activity test results, 15 % curcumin loading ratio was found to be sufficient for the treatment of skin wounds infected by Gram-negative (E. coli) and Gram-positive (S. aureus and B. subtilis) bacteria. Additionally, nanofibrous membranes did not lead to cytotoxicity, and curcumin content further enhanced the viability of fibroblasts. Thus, the presented antibacterial nanofibrous membrane is suggested to be applied for the treatment of wound infections and accelerating the healing process.
Topics: Nanofibers; Gelatin; Staphylococcus aureus; Curcumin; Escherichia coli; Anti-Bacterial Agents
PubMed: 38042509
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2023.11.021 -
Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy =... Dec 2023Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a form of retinal microangiopathy that occurs as a result of long-term Diabetes mellitus (DM). Patients with Diabetes mellitus typically... (Review)
Review
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a form of retinal microangiopathy that occurs as a result of long-term Diabetes mellitus (DM). Patients with Diabetes mellitus typically suffer from DR as a progression of the disease that may be due to initiation and dysregulation of pathways like the polyol, hexosamine, the AGE/RAGE, and the PKC pathway, which all have negative impacts on eye health and vision. In this review, various databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Science Direct, were scoured for data relevant to the aforementioned title. The three most common therapies for DR today are retinal photocoagulation, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy, and vitrectomy, however, there are a number of drawbacks and limits to these methods. So, it is of critical importance and profound interest to discover treatments that may successfully address the pathogenesis of DR. Curcumin and β-glucogallin are the two potent compounds of natural origin that are already being used in various nutraceutical formulations for several ailments. They have been shown potent antiapoptotic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, and pro-vascular function benefits in animal experiments. Their parent plant species have been used for generations by practitioners of traditional herbal medicine for the treatment and prevention of various eye ailments. In this review, we will discuss about pathophysiology of Diabetic retinopathy and the therapeutic potentials of curcumin and β-glucogallin one of the principal compounds from Curcuma longa and Emblica officinalis in Diabetic retinopathy.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Diabetic Retinopathy; Curcumin; Retina; Hydrolyzable Tannins; Diabetes Mellitus
PubMed: 37989030
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.115881 -
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Sep 2023Climate change due to the continuous increase in the release of green-house gasses associated with anthropogenic activity has made a significant impact on the... (Review)
Review
Climate change due to the continuous increase in the release of green-house gasses associated with anthropogenic activity has made a significant impact on the sustainability of life on our planet. Methane (CH) is a green-house gas whose concentrations in the atmosphere are on the rise. CH measurement is important for both the environment and the safety at the industrial and household level. Methanotrophs are distinguished for their unique characteristic of using CH as the sole source of carbon and energy, due to the presence of the methane monooxygenases that oxidize CH under ambient temperature conditions. This has attracted interest in the use of methanotrophs in biotechnological applications as well as in the development of biosensing systems for CH quantification and monitoring. Biosensing systems using methanotrophs rely on the use of whole microbial cells that oxidize CH in presence of O, so that the CH concentration is determined in an indirect manner by measuring the decrease of O level in the system. Although several biological properties of methanotrophic microorganisms still need to be characterized, different studies have demonstrated the feasibility of the use of methanotrophs in CH measurement. This review summarizes the contributions in methane biosensing systems and presents a prospective of the valid use of methanotrophs in this field. KEY POINTS: • Methanotroph environmental relevance in methane oxidation • Methanotroph biotechnological application in the field of biosensing • Methane monooxygenase as a feasible biorecognition element in biosensors.
Topics: Methane; Oxidation-Reduction; Gases; Biotechnology; Climate Change; Soil Microbiology
PubMed: 37486352
DOI: 10.1007/s00253-023-12629-7 -
Global Change Biology Jun 2024Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, more potent than carbon dioxide, and emitted from a variety of natural sources including wetlands, permafrost, mammalian guts and... (Review)
Review
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, more potent than carbon dioxide, and emitted from a variety of natural sources including wetlands, permafrost, mammalian guts and termites. As increases in global temperatures continue to break records, quantifying the magnitudes of key methane sources has never been more pertinent. Over the last 40 years, the contribution of termites to the global methane budget has been subject to much debate. The most recent estimates of termite emissions range between 9 and 15 Tg CH year, approximately 4% of emissions from natural sources (excluding wetlands). However, we argue that the current approach for estimating termite contributions to the global methane budget is flawed. Key parameters, namely termite methane emissions from soil, deadwood, living tree stems, epigeal mounds and arboreal nests, are largely ignored in global estimates. This omission occurs because data are lacking and research objectives, crucially, neglect variation in termite ecology. Furthermore, inconsistencies in data collection methods prohibit the pooling of data required to compute global estimates. Here, we summarise the advances made over the last 40 years and illustrate how different aspects of termite ecology can influence the termite contribution to global methane emissions. Additionally, we highlight technological advances that may help researchers investigate termite methane emissions on a larger scale. Finally, we consider dynamic feedback mechanisms of climate warming and land-use change on termite methane emissions. We conclude that ultimately the global contribution of termites to atmospheric methane remains unknown and thus present an alternative framework for estimating their emissions. To significantly improve estimates, we outline outstanding questions to guide future research efforts.
Topics: Isoptera; Methane; Animals; Climate Change; Greenhouse Gases
PubMed: 38899583
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17390 -
Science China. Life Sciences Jan 2024
Topics: Protein Engineering; Methane
PubMed: 37955778
DOI: 10.1007/s11427-023-2470-5 -
Water Research Sep 2023Stormwater infrastructure has been recently indicated as a potential hotspot for methane (CH) emissions. Although local assessments based on direct CH measurements are... (Review)
Review
Stormwater infrastructure has been recently indicated as a potential hotspot for methane (CH) emissions. Although local assessments based on direct CH measurements are increasingly available, there is currently no standardized approach for evaluating CH emissions from different types of stormwater infrastructure, including permanently impounded or fast-draining structures in Urban Drainage Systems (UDS). Therefore, a comparative analysis with wastewater infrastructure systems, such as wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), is not yet possible. Here, we present a conceptual framework for the first-order quantification and upscaling of CH emissions from stormwater infrastructure at local and national scales. We combined in-situ and ex-situ measurements of CH emissions with purposely acquired data from selected stormwater facilities to provide initial estimates of CH emissions and emission factors for stormwater infrastructure in Germany. The results show that while stormwater infrastructure might emit comparable amounts of CH per area as natural and anthropogenically impacted inland waters, it may exhibit higher mean emission factors (up to 7 times) than conventional WWTPs, indicating less efficiency in limiting CH emissions than WWTPs. This is particularly true for permanently impounded facilities, which showed substantially higher mean surface CH emissions (up to 632 mg m d) than fast-draining infrastructure (0.5-1.28 mg m d). Permanently impounded sedimentation basins for stormwater management alone may reach up to 60% of the total CH emissions originating from WWTPs in Germany. These results are in conflict with the ongoing trend towards increasing implementation of impounded stormwater infrastructure systems, highlighting the urgent need for more extensive assessments of their impact on CH dynamics.
Topics: Methane; Wastewater; Germany
PubMed: 37482003
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120334 -
Biomedical Microdevices Aug 2023The association of machine learning (ML) tools with the synthesis of nanoparticles has the potential to streamline the development of more efficient and effective...
The association of machine learning (ML) tools with the synthesis of nanoparticles has the potential to streamline the development of more efficient and effective nanomedicines. The continuous-flow synthesis of nanoparticles via microfluidics represents an ideal playground for ML tools, where multiple engineering parameters - flow rates and mixing configurations, type and concentrations of the reagents - contribute in a non-trivial fashion to determine the resultant morphological and pharmacological attributes of nanomedicines. Here we present the application of ML models towards the microfluidic-based synthesis of liposomes loaded with a model hydrophobic therapeutic agent, curcumin. After generating over 200 different liposome configurations by systematically modulating flow rates, lipid concentrations, organic:water mixing volume ratios, support-vector machine models and feed-forward artificial neural networks were trained to predict, respectively, the liposome dispersity/stability and size. This work presents an initial step towards the application and cultivation of ML models to instruct the microfluidic formulation of nanoparticles.
Topics: Liposomes; Microfluidics; Drug Delivery Systems; Curcumin; Nanoparticles; Particle Size
PubMed: 37542568
DOI: 10.1007/s10544-023-00671-1 -
Journal of Hazardous Materials Oct 2023Hydrocarbon pollution poses substantial environmental risks to water and soil. Bioremediation, which utilizes microorganisms to manage pollutants, offers a...
Hydrocarbon pollution poses substantial environmental risks to water and soil. Bioremediation, which utilizes microorganisms to manage pollutants, offers a cost-effective solution. However, the role of viruses, particularly bacteriophages (phages), in bioremediation remains unexplored. This study examines the diversity and activity of hydrocarbon-degradation genes encoded by environmental viruses, focusing on phages, within public databases. We identified 57 high-quality phage-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) related to hydrocarbon degradation, which we refer to as virus-encoded hydrocarbon degradation genes (vHYDEGs). These genes are encoded by taxonomically diverse aquatic phages and highlight the under-characterized global virosphere. Six protein families involved in the initial alkane hydroxylation steps were identified. Phylogenetic analyses revealed the diverse evolutionary trajectories of vHYDEGs across habitats, revealing previously unknown biodegraders linked evolutionarily with vHYDEGs. Our findings suggest phage AMGs may contribute to alkane and aromatic hydrocarbon degradation, participating in the initial, rate-limiting hydroxylation steps, thereby aiding hydrocarbon pollution bioremediation and promoting their propagation. To support future research, we developed vHyDeg, a database containing identified vHYDEGs with comprehensive annotations, facilitating the screening of hydrocarbon degradation AMGs and encouraging their bioremediation applications.
Topics: Biodegradation, Environmental; Phylogeny; Hydrocarbons; Bacteriophages; Alkanes
PubMed: 37597386
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132299