Biotechnological Approach for the Production of Prebiotics and Search for New Probiotics and their Application in the Food Industry

Background and objective: Prebiotics and probiotics intake have been widely recognized in past recent years due to possessing multiple health benefits. Prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates that promote the growth and/or activity of beneficial bacteria in the colon which improves the health. Moreover, the incorporation of probiotics in food has also been a growing practice due to its immunomodulatory effect, the production of organic acids and other compounds that promotes the absorption of nutrients and the general health of the digestive system.Results and conclusion: Biotechnological strategies have been proposed for prebiotic production and purification in order to meet the demand to be included as ingredients in functional food formulation. Different aspects related to the substrates and different fermentation systems for their production as well as the purification and characterization processes are addressed. Also, we will present the benefits promoted by probiotics, the methods of isolation and characterization, as well as the evaluation of these attributes, so that they can be used in the food industry. With the technological developments in prebiotics and probiotics, it will be possible to deliver foods that respond to consumer demand with low cost and with pleasant sensory characteristics as well as providing beneficial health effects.Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Application of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Fermentation Processes to Obtain Tannases Using Agro-Industrial Wastes

Bacteria have been used in the food industry to produce flavors, dyes, thickeners, and to increase food value, because bacterial fermentations favor the obtention of different metabolites such as tannins and different nutritional compounds in food. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum was one the first species to be studied for industrial purposes, and its efficacy to obtaining tannins using fermentation processes. Bacterial fermentation helps to obtain a product with an added value of better quality and without the need to use strong solvents that can reduce their quality and safety. To release tannins, it is necessary to subject the substrate to different conditions to activate the enzyme tannin acyl hydrolase (tannase). The tannase-released compounds can have beneficial effects on health such as antioxidant, anticancer and cardioprotective properties, among others. Therefore, this review analyzes tannase release and other metabolites by fermentation processes

Drug resistance phenotypes and genotypes in Mexico in representative gram-negative species: Results from the infivar network.

AimThis report presents phenotypic and genetic data on the prevalence and characteristics of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and representative carbapenemases-producing Gram-negative species in Mexico.Material and methodsA total of 52 centers participated, 43 hospital-based laboratories and 9 external laboratories. The distribution of antimicrobial resistance data for Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae complex, Acinetobacter baumannii complex, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in selected clinical specimens from January 1 to March 31, 2020 was analyzed using the WHONET 5.6 platform. The following clinical isolates recovered from selected specimens were included: carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, ESBL or carbapenem-resistant E. coli, and K. pneumoniae, carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii complex, and P. aeruginosa. Strains were genotyped to detect ESBL and/or carbapenemase-encoding genes.ResultsAmong blood isolates, A. baumannii complex showed more than 68% resistance for all antibiotics tested, and among Enterobacteria, E. cloacae complex showed higher resistance to carbapenems. A. baumannii complex showed a higher resistance pattern for respiratory specimens, with only amikacin having a resistance lower than 70%. Among K. pneumoniae isolates, blaTEM, blaSHV, and blaCTX were detected in 68.79%, 72.3%, and 91.9% of isolates, respectively. Among E. coli isolates, blaTEM, blaSHV, and blaCTX were detected in 20.8%, 4.53%, and 85.7% isolates, respectively. For both species, the most frequent genotype was blaCTX-M-15. Among Enterobacteriaceae, the most frequently detected carbapenemase-encoding gene was blaNDM-1 (81.5%), followed by blaOXA-232 (14.8%) and blaoxa-181(7.4%), in A. baumannii was blaOXA-24 (76%) and in P. aeruginosa, was blaIMP (25.3%), followed by blaGES and blaVIM (13.1% each).ConclusionOur study reports that NDM-1 is the most frequent carbapenemase-encoding gene in Mexico in Enterobacteriaceae with the circulation of the oxacillinase genes 181 and 232. KPC, in contrast to other countries in Latin America and the USA, is a rare occurrence. Additionally, a high circulation of ESBL blaCTX-M-15 exists in both E. coli and K. pneumoniae