Alcoholic Beverages and Human Health: An Overview

Production of alcohol is by fermentation of yeast, sugar, and starches. The consumption of which may be associated with some underlining risk factor depending on the quantity consumed per time. Alcohol can be consumed raw or by mixing in beverages, and whenever an alcoholic beverage is consumed, it can take about an hour for the body to metabolize one-eight of an imperial gallon. The level of the blood alcohol is increased when the quantity of alcohol consumed exceeds the normal dose which the body could metabolize, and then intoxication sets it. The higher the blood alcohol concentration, the higher the risk of diseases associated with the liver, kidney, and pancreas and the abundance of free radicals in the body system. Excessive use of alcohol can lead to alcoholism or alcohol dependence. Withdrawal from which can be life-threatening. Disulfiram, naltrexone, and acamprosate are the three approved oral medications for the treatment of alcoholism or alcohol dependence. On the other hand, moderate consumption of alcohol or red wines has been confirmed to be beneficial to human health particularly because of the antioxidant properties it confers

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Phenotypic and Genomic Characterization of Enterococcus Species from Some Nigerian Fermented Foods

The gram-positive Enterococci bacteria are generally used as a starter and probiotic cultures in foods. However, they have emerged as one of the leading causes of nosocomial infections worldwide, and this feature is aggravated by the development of antibiotic resistance. Accurate identification of Enterococci at the species level is an important task in food microbiology. In this study, 144 strains of Enterococcus species were isolated from traditional fermented vegetable condiment and West African soft cheese (wara) with the most predominant species being E. gallinarum (75%) followed by E. faecium (14.5%), E. faecalis (7.6%), and E. casselliflavus (2.8%). The strains isolated were characterized and identified using the polyphasic taxonomy approach. Phenotypically, 108 strains were characterized and identified to be E. gallinarum, 21 strains as E. faecium, 11 strains as E. faecalis, and 4 strains as E. casselliflavus. Thirty representative strains were also subjected to genomic characterization, and the result obtained with the phenotypic approach was confirmed. Therefore, the polyphasic taxonomy approach was successful in the accurate identification of the Enterococcus species isolate