Search results for "Ficus"

Integral Extraction of Opuntia ficus-indica Peel Bioproducts via Microwave-Assisted Hydrodiffusion and Hydrodistillation

2019

The microwave-assisted hydrodiffusion extraction process affords high quality pectin and betanin from the peel of red and green Opuntia ficus-indica fruits under mild conditions. An aqueous mixture of valued bioproducts is readily obtained from the fruit peel cell water itself, without any water addition. The integral extract can be used as such to formulate nutraceutical beverages and products or, upon straightforward separation, to isolate pectin and betanin devoid of chemical contaminants suitable as ingredients for products ranging from food and beverage to cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors. Betanin shows exceptional stability thanks to the high amounts of antioxidant polyphenols in t…

Susceptibility of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) to vibriosis due to Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2 (serovar E)

2002

The present study documents the susceptibility of Nile tilapia to the experimental vibriosis caused by Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2 (serovar E) using a reference strain (Spanish Collection of Type Cultures, CECT 4604) selected for its high degree of virulence for eels. The biotype 1 of this species is one of the usual organisms involved in epizootics occurred in tilapia. After intraperitoneal injection, the selected strain developed a haemorrhagic septicaemia similar to eel vibriosis with a LD50 four log units lower than that exhibited by the type strain of the species, which belongs to the biotype 1. The results obtained in waterborne and intubation challenges indicated that water and feed …

Potential production of biogas from prinkly pear (opuntia ficus-indica L.) in sicilian uncultivated areas

2017

The aim of this work is to evaluate the potential production of biogas and, indirectly, biomethane or electric and thermal energy, from prinkly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L.), to be grown in a part of Sicilian uncultivated areas and co-digested together with the available livestock manure and slurry. In order to increase the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and reduce the dependency from fossil ones, the conversion of biomass into biogas through Anaerobic Digestion (AD) process is paramount for producing biomethane, to be used as fuel for means of transport and agricultural machines or heating, or electric and thermal energy through Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants. Moreover, the digestat…

Influence of aquatic microbiota on the survival in water of the human and eel pathogen Vibrio vulnificus serovar E

2004

Summary The eel and human pathogen Vibrio vulnificus serovar E (biotype 2) is seldom isolated from natural waters, although it can survive in sterilized artificial seawater microcosms for years. The main objective of the present study was to investigate whether aquatic microbiota can limit its survival and recovery from water samples. A set of preliminary experiments of survival in microcosms containing natural seawater and water from eel farms showed that the persistence of this pathogen was mainly controlled by grazing, and secondarily by bacterial competition. The bacte- rial competition was further analysed in artificial seawater microcosms co-inoculated with selected virulent serovar E…

Biochemical alterations and quality of ready to eat Opuntia ficus indica L. Miller differently packaged

2009

Plasmid diversity in Vibrio vulnificus biotypes.

2009

Vibrio vulnificus is a heterogeneous bacterial species that can be virulent for humans and fish. Virulence in fish seems to rely on a recently described plasmid that can be transmitted between strains, aided by a conjugative plasmid. The main objective of this work was to analyse the plasmid content of a wide collection of strains from the three biotypes of the species, as well as to identify putative conjugative and virulence plasmids by means of Southern hybridization with specific probes and sequence analysis of selected gene markers. We found 28 different plasmid profiles in a total of 112 strains, which were relatively biotype- or serovar-specific. Biotype 1 lacked high-molecular-mass…

Vibrio vulnificus: from water to host

2017

Vibrio vulnificus is an aquatic pathogen autochthonous from temperate, tropical and subtropical ecosystems where it lives either as a sessile cell, forming biofilms or as a free-swimming cell. From these locations, the pathogen can occasionally infect humans and fish causing a disease named vibriosis. The most severe form of human and fish vibriosis is associated with the pathogen’s ability to spread from the infection site to the bloodstream and multiply, process known as invasion. Before invasion, the pathogen has to colonize the mucosal host surface, process that involves not only bacterial attachment/adhesion but also resistance to mucosal immunity, commensal microbiota (competitors) an…

Betalains: colours for human health.

2022

In the last years, the use of natural phytochemical compounds as protective agents in the prevention and treatment of obesity and the related-metabolic syndrome has gained much attention worldwide. Different studies have shown health benefits for many vegetables such Opuntia ficus-indica and Beta vulgaris and their pigments collectively referred as betalains. Betalains exert antioxidative, anti-inflammation, lipid lowering, antidiabetic and anti-obesity effects. This review summarizes findings in the literature and highlights the therapeutic potential of betalains and their natural source as valid alternative for supplementation in obesity-related disorders treatment. Further research is ne…

Transcriptomic analysis of host-pathogen relationship in Vibrio vulnificus

2020

Vibrio vulnificus es un patógeno bacteriano que habita en ecosistemas costeros de salinidades intermedias localizados en zonas del planeta templadas y cálidas. Esta especie es una de las más sensibles al calentamiento global habiendo experimentado una expansión en su distribución geográfica hacia zonas costeras de aguas frías como las que rodean países tan próximos al círculo polar como como Noruega y Groenlandia, de las que se aísla en las épocas cálidas del año. En su medio natural la bacteria puede encontrarse en un estado metabólico inactivo, conocido como estado VBNC (viable but not culturable) que es inducido en circunstancias ambientales adversas (temperaturas por debajo de 10ºC, sal…

Iron and virulence in the zoonotic pathogen Vibrio vulnificus

2014

Vibrio vulnificus es un patógeno humano emergente que es autóctono de ecosistemas acuáticos salobres de climas templados, tropicales y subtropicales. La especie se subdivide en 3 biotipos (Bt), de los cuales el Bt2 contiene un grupo de cepas que, además de poder infectar al hombre, pueden causar infecciones en peces. Este grupo es un complejo clonal serológicamente homogéneo que denominamos serovar E o serovar zoonótica (VvBt2SerE). Como patógeno humano, VvBt2SerE causa casos esporádicos de infecciones graves en heridas que pueden derivar en septicemia secundaria en pacientes inmunocomprometidos y como patógeno de peces, brotes o epizootias de una septicemia hemorrágica conocida como vibrio…