0000000000084312
AUTHOR
Maria Consuelo Pina-pérez
Alimentary and Pharmaceutical Approach to Natural Antimicrobials against Clostridioides difficile Gastrointestinal Infection
Incidence of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) has been increasing in recent decades due to different factors, namely (i) extended use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, (ii) transmission within asymptomatic and susceptible patients, and (iii) unbalanced gastrointestinal microbiome and collateral diseases that favor C. difficile gastrointestinal domination and toxin production. Although antibiotic therapies have resulted in successful control of CDI in the last 20 years, the development of novel strategies is urged in order to combat the capability of C. difficile to generate and acquire resistance to conventional treatments and its consequent proliferation. In this regard, vegetable and…
Caenorhabditis elegans as an in vivo model to assess fucoidan bioactivity preventing Helicobacter pylori infection
Currently, Helicobacter pylori is the unique biological carcinogenic agent. The search for antimicrobial alternatives to antibiotics against this pathogen has been categorized as a priority due to the drastic failure associated with current applied antibiotic therapy. The present study assessed the bioactive antimicrobial capability of fucoidan (“Generally Recognized as Safe” approval – European Commission December 2017) from different species of Phaeophyceae algae (Fucus vesiculosus, Undaria pinnatifida, Macrocystis pyrifera) against H. pylori. All the studied fucoidans showed bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects at the studied concentrations [5–100] μg ml−1 and exposure times [0–7 days…
Cold plasma processing of powdered Spirulina algae for spore inactivation and preservation of bioactive compounds
Abstract Technologies for controlling microbial risks in a heat and humidity sensitive food powder are still limited. To preserve bioactive compounds while inactivating Bacillus subtilis spores in powdered Spirulina microalgae (Arthrospira platensis) with a non-thermal atmospheric plasma is the challenge presented in this paper. Artificially contaminated powder was treated with a custom-made surface micro-discharge cold atmospheric pressure plasma (SMD-CAPP) at the effective, specific surface energy of the plasma (Es) of 7–15 mW/cm2. The inactivation of spores in air plasma was faster than in nitrogen plasma. The final effect after 5 min exposure time of close to 2 log10 reduction could be …
Surface Micro Discharge–Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Processing of Common House Cricket Acheta domesticus Powder: Antimicrobial Potential and Lipid-Quality Preservation
The growing world population and the need to reduce the environmental impact of food production drive the exploration of novel protein sources. Insects are being cultivated, harvested, and processed to be applied in animal and human nutrition. The inherent microbial contamination of insect matrices requires risk management and decontamination strategies. Thermal sterilization results in unfavorable cooking effects and oxidation of fatty acids. The present study demonstrates the risk management in Acheta domesticus (home cricket) powder with a low-energy (8.7–22.0 mW/cm2, 5 min) semi-direct surface micro discharge (SMD)–cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP). At a plasma power density lower…