Antibacterial Efficacy of Essential Oils and Sodium Nitrite in Vacuum processed Beef Fillet

 Background and Objective: Minimizing the exposure to nitrate and nitrite and therefore reducing the level of potentially carcinogenic nitrosamines is desired due to the strong public demand and political controversy around this issue in many countries. The present study was designed to investigate antibacterial activity of five different types of essential oils alone or in combination with different concentrations of sodium nitrite.Material and Methods: Five types of essential oils Zataria multiflora Boiss, Satureja bachtiarica Bunge, Rosmarinus officinalis L., Mentha pulegium, and Origanum vulgare L were used in the experiments. NaNO2 in concentrations of 0, 100, and 200 mg kg-1 were used to study the growth inhibition of Clostridium spp. inoculated in vacuum processed beef fillet. Essential oils were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Antimicrobial activity against vegetative cells of Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium sporogenes were primarily done by disc diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentration of essential oils against vegetative cells were determined by broth macro dilution. Sensory evaluation of the uninoculated cooked vacuum processed beef fillet samples with three essential oils with higher antibacterial activity against the more resistant Clostridium spp. was done.Results and Conclusion: Among the examined Essential oils Satureja bachtiarica Bunge showed the most inhibition effect on Clostridium perfringens (4.1 mg ml-1) and Clostridium sporogenes (5.5 mg ml-1) followed by Zataria multiflora Boiss, Origanum vulgare L., Mentha pulegium and Rosmarinus officinalis L. The antimicrobial activity of essential oils against Clostridium spp. was increased in combination with sodium nitrite. It can therefore be assumed that the combination of these two additives could have significant repercussion in the control of Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium sporogenes in vacuum processed beef fillet samples without compromising the organoleptic properties. The best result was achieved by the combination of 100 mg kg-1 sodium nitrite and 1.1 %v w-1 Satureja Bakhtiarica Bunge which could inhibit the growth of Clostridium species. The results of the current study showed that the essential oils of interest have had drastic effects on clostridium inhibition and could be used in the meat industry especially for sausages due to their impact on technological, microbiological and sensory properties.Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Health Benefit Characterization of Dominant Lactobacilli in Traditional Doogh

The aim of our study was the characterization and evaluation of isolated lactic acid bacteria(LAB

EGCG Prevents High Fat Diet-Induced Changes in Gut Microbiota, Decreases of DNA Strand Breaks, and Changes in Expression and DNA Methylation of Dnmt1

Obesity as a multifactorial disorder involves low-grade inflammation, increased reactive oxygen species incidence, gut microbiota aberrations, and epigenetic consequences. Thus, prevention and therapies with epigenetic active antioxidants, (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), are of increasing interest. DNA damage, DNA methylation and gene expression of DNA methyltransferase 1, interleukin 6, and MutL homologue 1 were analyzed in C57BL/6J male mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) or a control diet (CD) with and without EGCG supplementation. Gut microbiota was analyzed with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. An induction of DNA damage was observed, as a consequence of HFD-feeding, whereas EGCG supplementation decreased DNA damage. HFD-feeding induced a higher inflammatory status. Supplementation reversed these effects, resulting in tissue specific gene expression and methylation patterns of DNA methyltransferase 1 and MutL homologue 1. HFD feeding caused a significant lower bacterial abundance. The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio is significantly lower in HFD + EGCG but higher in CD + EGCG compared to control groups. The results demonstrate the impact of EGCG on the one hand on gut microbiota which together with dietary components affects host health. On the other hand effects may derive from antioxidative activities as well as epigenetic modifications observed on CpG methylation but also likely to include other epigenetic elements

Changes in Human Fecal Microbiota Due to Chemotherapy Analyzed by TaqMan-PCR, 454 Sequencing and PCR-DGGE Fingerprinting

BACKGROUND: We investigated whether chemotherapy with the presence or absence of antibiotics against different kinds of cancer changed the gastrointestinal microbiota. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Feces of 17 ambulant patients receiving chemotherapy with or without concomitant antibiotics were analyzed before and after the chemotherapy cycle at four time points in comparison to 17 gender-, age- and lifestyle-matched healthy controls. We targeted 16S rRNA genes of all bacteria, Bacteroides, bifidobacteria, Clostridium cluster IV and XIVa as well as C. difficile with TaqMan qPCR, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting and high-throughput sequencing. After a significant drop in the abundance of microbiota (p = 0.037) following a single treatment the microbiota recovered within a few days. The chemotherapeutical treatment marginally affected the Bacteroides while the Clostridium cluster IV and XIVa were significantly more sensitive to chemotherapy and antibiotic treatment. DGGE fingerprinting showed decreased diversity of Clostridium cluster IV and XIVa in response to chemotherapy with cluster IV diversity being particularly affected by antibiotics. The occurrence of C. difficile in three out of seventeen subjects was accompanied by a decrease in the genera Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Veillonella and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. Enterococcus faecium increased following chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Despite high individual variations, these results suggest that the observed changes in the human gut microbiota may favor colonization with C. difficile and Enterococcus faecium. Perturbed microbiota may be a target for specific mitigation with safe pre- and probiotics

New understanding of epigenetics and consequences for environmental health and sustainability

Genetic variation is controlled by two different mechanisms: genetic and epigenetic. Genetic variations are based on differences in DNA-sequences due to mutation and recombination events. Epigenetic variations, on the other hand, are not encoded through the nucleotide sequences of DNA, but rather through the chemical modification of either DNA or its associated proteins which results in certain genes being turned on or off. It appears that methylation, but also acetylation or ubiquitylation, lead to different molecular outcomes, resulting in phenomena such as the inactivation of the X-chromosome, genomic imprinting, or different types of cancer. Epigenetics will have profound effects on our understanding of human and environmental health by forcing us to look afresh on interactions between (wo)men with their natural and social environment and by adding a transgenerational, even evolutionary, aspect to the debate. These findings could strengthen emerging thoughts about sustainable and responsible care taking of our environment and consequently of our health through it

Nutraceutical Approaches of Autophagy and Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review

Aging and the emergence of age-associated illnesses are one of the major challenges of our present society. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is closely associated with aging and is defined by increasing memory loss and severe dementia. Currently, there are no therapy options available that halt AD progression. This work investigates three hallmarks of the disease (autophagy, neuroinflammation, and senescence) and systematically analyzes if there is a beneficial effect from three substances derived from food sources, the so called “nutraceuticals” epigallocatechin gallate, fisetin, and spermidine, on these hallmarks. The results imply a positive outlook for the reviewed substances to qualify as a novel treatment option for AD. A combination of nutraceutical substances and other preventive measures could have significant clinical impact in a multi-layered therapy approach to counter AD

Comprehensive Approach to Distinguish Patients with Solid Tumors from Healthy Controls by Combining Androgen Receptor Mutation p.H875Y with Cell-Free DNA Methylation and Circulating miRNAs

Liquid biopsy-based tests emerge progressively as an important tool for cancer diagnostics and management. Currently, researchers focus on a single biomarker type and one tumor entity. This study aimed to create a multi-analyte liquid biopsy test for the simultaneous detection of several solid cancers. For this purpose, we analyzed cell-free DNA (cfDNA) mutations and methylation, as well as circulating miRNAs (miRNAs) in plasma samples from 97 patients with cancer (20 bladder, 9 brain, 30 breast, 28 colorectal, 29 lung, 19 ovarian, 12 pancreas, 27 prostate, 23 stomach) and 15 healthy controls via real-time qPCR. Androgen receptor p.H875Y mutation (AR) was detected for the first time in bladder, lung, stomach, ovarian, brain, and pancreas cancer, all together in 51.3% of all cancer samples and in none of the healthy controls. A discriminant function model, comprising cfDNA mutations (COSM10758, COSM18561), cfDNA methylation markers (MLH1, MDR1, GATA5, SFN) and miRNAs (miR-17-5p, miR-20a-5p, miR-21-5p, miR-26a-5p, miR-27a-3p, miR-29c-3p, miR-92a-3p, miR-101-3p, miR-133a-3p, miR-148b-3p, miR-155-5p, miR-195-5p) could further classify healthy and tumor samples with 95.4% accuracy, 97.9% sensitivity, 80% specificity. This multi-analyte liquid biopsy-based test may help improve the simultaneous detection of several cancer types and underlines the importance of combining genetic and epigenetic biomarkers

Vitamin and antioxidant rich diet increases <it>MLH1</it> promoter DNA methylation in DMT2 subjects

Abstract Background Oxidative stress may lead to an increased level of unrepaired cellular DNA damage, which is discussed as one risk for tumor initiation. Mismatch repair (MMR) enzymes act as proofreading complexes that maintain the genomic integrity and MMR-deficient cells show an increased mutation rate. One important gene in the MMR complex is the MutL homolog 1 (MLH1) gene. Since a diet rich in antioxidants has the potential to counteract harmful effects by reactive oxygen species (ROS), we investigated the impact of an antioxidant, folate, and vitamin rich diet on the epigenetic pattern of MLH1. These effects were analyzed in individuals with non-insulin depended diabetes mellitus type 2 (NIDDM2) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG). Methods In this post-hoc analysis of a randomized trial we analyzed DNA methylation of MLH1, MSH2, and MGMT at baseline and after 8 weeks of intervention, consisting of 300 g vegetables and 25 ml plant oil rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids per day. DNA methylation was quantified using combined bisulfite restriction enzyme analysis (COBRA) and pyrosequencing. MLH1 and DNMT1 mRNA expression were investigated by qRT-PCR. DNA damage was assessed by COMET assay. Student’s two-tailed paired t test and one-way ANOVA with Scheffé corrected Post hoc test was used to determine significant methylation and expression differences. Two-tailed Pearson test was used to determine correlations between methylation level, gene expression, and DNA strand break amount. Results The intervention resulted in significantly higher CpG methylation in two particular MLH1 promoter regions and the MGMT promoter. DNA strand breaks and methylation levels correlated significantly. The expression of MLH1, DNMT1, and the promoter methylation of MSH2 remained stable. CpG methylation levels and gene expression did not correlate. Conclusion This vitamin and antioxidant rich diet affected the CpG methylation of MLH1. The higher methylation might be a result of the ROS scavenging antioxidant rich diet, leading to lower activity of DNA demethylating enzymes. Our results suggest the hypothesis of CpG demethylation via DNA repair enzymes under these circumstances. NIDDM2 and IFG patients benefit from this simple dietary intervention involving epigenetic and DNA repair mechanisms.</p