Influence of Three Probiotics Strains, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. Lactis BB-12 and Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 on the Biochemical and Haematological Profiles and Body Weight of Healthy Rabbits

Currently, probiotics are used as growth promoters on a large scale to improve the productivity of several animals’ species within the aim of reducing the presence of antibiotic residues in animal products consumed by humans. Several reports evidenced the positive effect of probiotic supplementation on the growth performances and health of rabbits, mainly through the balance of the intestinal microbiota of the host animal. Therefore, certain probiotics, including Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria, Saccharomyces, can improve the biochemical and haematological profiles, especially in production animals. In this context, this study was performed on rabbits for the economic importance they play as a source of meat proteins in developing countries and their use as experimental models in research and biomedicine. This study then aimed to evaluate the effect of three strains of probiotics: Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. Lactis BB-12 and Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745, on the biochemical and haematological parameters and their influence on the rabbit’s weight of the ITELV2006 strain. The findings evidenced that the probiotic strain affected the biochemical and haematological parameters. Further, the strains showed a positive effect on the weight gain of the rabbits.This study aimed to investigate the effects of three strains of probiotics, these being Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. Lactis BB-12 and Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745, on the body weight, animal performances and blood parameters of rabbits (male and female) of the ITELV2006 strain. The supplementation of the feed of the rabbits with the three probiotic strains allowed observing positive effects on most of the biochemical and haematological parameters investigated during a period of 60 days (30 days of supplementation and 30 days without treatment). Further, there was a significant improvement in the body weight of the rabbits at the end of the experiment. The effect of the three probiotics investigated in this trial was found to be related to the sex of the rabbits and to the intake period (duration). Ultimately, these findings raise the possibility of using probiotics to investigate in an in-depth and specific manner based on fixed factors such as the strain, the gender and age of the animals, the main underlying mechanisms and effects, which would allow achieving optimal and adapted health benefits and sustainable production. In the context of animal production, it is worth investigating in a targeted study the effect of the three strains on muscle growth and development and finding evidence of the possible consequences on meat quality traits of the rabbits supplemented with probiotics

Green Coating Polymers in Meat Preservation

Edible coatings, including green polymers are used frequently in the food industry to improve and preserve the quality of foods. Green polymers are defined as biodegradable polymers from biomass resources or synthetic routes and microbial origin that are formed by mono-or mul-tilayer structures. They are used to improve the technological properties without compromising the food quality, even with the purpose of inhibiting lipid oxidation or reducing metmyoglobin for-mation in fresh meat, thereby contributing to the final sensory attributes of the food and meat prod-ucts. Green polymers can also serve as nutrient-delivery carriers in meat and meat products. This review focuses on various types of bio-based biodegradable polymers and their preparation techniques and applications in meat preservation as a part of active and smart packaging. It also outlines the impact of biodegradable polymer films or coatings reinforced with fillers, either natural or syn-thesized, via the green route in enhancing the physicochemical, mechanical, antimicrobial, and an-tioxidant properties for extending shelf-life. The interaction of the package with meat contact sur-faces and the advanced polymer composite sensors for meat toxicity detection are further consid-ered and discussed. In addition, this review addresses the research gaps and challenges of the current packaging systems, including coatings where green polymers are used. Coatings from renewable resources are seen as an emerging technology that is worthy of further investigation toward sustainable packaging of food and meat products

Antifungal activity of essential oils of three aromatic plants from western Algéria against five fungal pathogens of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill)

The antifungal effect of the essential oils from Thymus capitatus L., Daucus crinitus Desf. and Tetraclinis articulate Vahl., aerial parts was evaluated in vitro against five phytopathogenic fungi of tomato (Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria solani, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp1 and Penicillium sp2). Our results showed that among the three plant species tested, T. capitatus oil was the most potent antifungal against the fungi (inhibition of mycelial growth of 100 % at a concentration of 2 µg mL-1). Furthermore, the essential oil of T. articulata was also effective against F. oxysporum, A. solani, A. niger, Penicillium sp1 and Penicillium sp2 with an inhibition of mycelial growth greater than 57 % at a concentration of 5 µg mL-1. D. crinitus essential oil was less effective. T. capitatus essential oil was dominated by carvacrol (69.6 %) and p-cymene (12.4 %). The isochavicol isobutyrate (44.9 %) and isochavicol 2-methylbutyrate (9.7 %) were the major compounds in D. crinitus essential oil, while the most abundant compounds in T. articulata were α-pinene (32.0 %), cedrol (11.0 %) and 3-carene (9.6 %).The plant essential oils were found to be an effective antifungal against of mycelial growth and, therefore, can be exploited as an ideal treatment against disease rot of tomato or as a new potential source of natural additives for the food and/or pharmaceutical industries

Preliminary investigation of the antimicrobial and mechanisms of resistance of Enterobacteria isolated from minced meat in the Northeast of Algeria: The case of butchers from Constantine

peer-reviewedFood products of animal origin such as fresh meat are easily contaminated by microorganisms if handling, processing and storage conditions are not fully respected. The present study aimed first to evaluate the bacterial load and microbial contamination rates of ground raw beef to identify the main pathogenic flora that dominate and second, to determine the resistance patterns and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) of isolated Gram-negative strains against certain families of antibiotics. Therefore, 39 samples have been collected from 5 butcher shops located in Constantine province in the North-East of Algeria. The samples were analysed for total bacterial count, presence of total and faecal coliforms, Staphylococci and Salmonella. Furthermore, 23 antibiotics were tested using the diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton agar, towards 22 strains isolates. Bacterial analyses showed a high contamination by total aerobic bacteria, total and faecal coliforms. Escherichia coli, Citrobacter spp., Enterobacter spp., Hafnia alvei, Salmonella pullorum and Staphylococcus spp (except Staphylococcus aureus) were further revealed in some samples. The results of the antibiogram test exhibit multi-resistance to more than eight antibiotics with varied effects. From the whole tested strains isolates, the fully susceptibility effect was for spectinomycin (SPT). This study reveals that the analysed minced meat was found to be highly contaminated with antibiotic resistant bacteria. This study allows concluding that appropriate use of antibiotics in compliance with good hygiene practices is essential to reduce the antibiotic resistance identified in this preliminary study

Staphylococcus spp. and mecA gene in pregnant women: a neglected health risk to mother and child

This study aimed to determine the phenotypic, molecular and epidemiological profile of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus spp. in pregnant women. Were included 100 asymptomatic pregnant women between 16 and 38 years old, who underwent microbiological examination by collecting a vaginal swab at the first trimester of pregnancy. The isolates were subjected to isolation, characterization, phenotypic and molecular tests were performed. Among the samples analyzed, were detected coagulase-negative Staphylococcus in 83%, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus, 6% and Streptococcus spp. in 5%, and there was no bacterial growth in 6%. The antibiotics that showed the highest resistance were amoxicillin + clavulanic acid and sulfamethoxazole + trimethoprim (92.77%) in coagulase-negative Staphylococcus and penicillin and sulfamethoxazole + trimethoprim in coagulase-positive Staphylococcus (100%), where in the latter S. aureus was the species identified in 66.67% of the samples. As for the identification of the mecA gene in Staphylococcus spp. samples, this gene was detected in 40.5% of the samples of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, and it was not detected in the samples of coagulase-positive Staphylococcus. The epidemiological study showed that prior treatment with antibiotics was significantly (p≤0.016) associated with oxacillin resistance in vaginal swab samples. The presence of the mecA gene in coagulase-negative Staphylococcus isolates demonstrated a bacterial profile in this type of biological sample, different from what is already presented in the scientific literature. New studies are warranted to understand the epidemiology of the bacterial species involved and later to implement health education actions both in the target population and in health care professionals

Acellular Bone Marrow Extracts Significantly Enhance Engraftment Levels of Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells in Mouse Xeno-Transplantation Models

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) derived from cord blood (CB), bone marrow (BM), or mobilized peripheral blood (PBSC) can differentiate into multiple lineages such as lymphoid, myeloid, erythroid cells and platelets. The local microenvironment is critical to the differentiation of HSCs and to the preservation of their phenotype in vivo. This microenvironment comprises a physical support supplied by the organ matrix as well as tissue specific cytokines, chemokines and growth factors. We investigated the effects of acellular bovine bone marrow extracts (BME) on HSC in vitro and in vivo. We observed a significant increase in the number of myeloid and erythroid colonies in CB mononuclear cells (MNC) or CB CD34+ cells cultured in methylcellulose media supplemented with BME. Similarly, in xeno-transplantation experiments, pretreatment with BME during ex-vivo culture of HSCs induced a significant increase in HSC engraftment in vivo. Indeed, we observed both an increase in the number of differentiated myeloid, lymphoid and erythroid cells and an acceleration of engraftment. These results were obtained using CB MNCs, BM MNCs or CD34+ cells, transplanted in immuno-compromised mice (NOD/SCID or NSG). These findings establish the basis for exploring the use of BME in the expansion of CB HSC prior to HSC Transplantation. This study stresses the importance of the mechanical structure and soluble mediators present in the surrounding niche for the proper activity and differentiation of stem cells

A blood atlas of COVID-19 defines hallmarks of disease severity and specificity.

Treatment of severe COVID-19 is currently limited by clinical heterogeneity and incomplete description of specific immune biomarkers. We present here a comprehensive multi-omic blood atlas for patients with varying COVID-19 severity in an integrated comparison with influenza and sepsis patients versus healthy volunteers. We identify immune signatures and correlates of host response. Hallmarks of disease severity involved cells, their inflammatory mediators and networks, including progenitor cells and specific myeloid and lymphocyte subsets, features of the immune repertoire, acute phase response, metabolism, and coagulation. Persisting immune activation involving AP-1/p38MAPK was a specific feature of COVID-19. The plasma proteome enabled sub-phenotyping into patient clusters, predictive of severity and outcome. Systems-based integrative analyses including tensor and matrix decomposition of all modalities revealed feature groupings linked with severity and specificity compared to influenza and sepsis. Our approach and blood atlas will support future drug development, clinical trial design, and personalized medicine approaches for COVID-19

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics' resources: focus on curated databases

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (www.isb-sib.ch) provides world-class bioinformatics databases, software tools, services and training to the international life science community in academia and industry. These solutions allow life scientists to turn the exponentially growing amount of data into knowledge. Here, we provide an overview of SIB's resources and competence areas, with a strong focus on curated databases and SIB's most popular and widely used resources. In particular, SIB's Bioinformatics resource portal ExPASy features over 150 resources, including UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, ENZYME, PROSITE, neXtProt, STRING, UniCarbKB, SugarBindDB, SwissRegulon, EPD, arrayMap, Bgee, SWISS-MODEL Repository, OMA, OrthoDB and other databases, which are briefly described in this article

Effect of hydrothermal treated corn flour addition on the quality of corn-field bean gluten-free pasta

Corn semolina supplemented by field bean semolina in ratio of 2/1 (w/w) were used for obtaining protein and fiber enriched gluten-free pasta. The effect of hydrothermal treatment of corn flour on its applicability as gluten-free pasta improver was tested. A central composite design involving water hydration level and the amount of hydrothermal treated corn flour were used. Instrumental analyses of pasta (cooking loss, water absorption capacity, hydration and pasting properties, textural parameters and microstructure) were carried out to assess the impact of experimental factors. Results showed that hydrothermal treatment of corn flour affected in different extent on pasta properties, improving cooking and textural characteristics of pasta. The optimum formulation of corn-field bean contained 7.41 g of treated corn flour and 77.26 mL of water was selected on the base of desirability function approach with value of 0.825 which showed the best pasta properties. Obtained results showed also that addition of treated flour induced significant differences (p < 0.05) in all parameters in comparison with control pasta