Research Progress of Food Freshness Indicator Packaging Based on Natural Pigment

As awareness of food safety grows, consumers want to know the quality of the food they buy in a quicker and more intuitive way. Food freshness indicator packaging, which offers information about the quality of food throughout transport and storage, has become more common as a result of this. Considering the safety of food, more and more researchers are using natural pigments derived from plants as indicators. This paper reviews the current status of research on food freshness indicator films using anthocyanins, curcumin, alizarin and shikonin as dyes in recent years. The principles of the application of natural pigment-based food freshness indicator films in raw meat, aquatic products, milk and fruits and the progress of their research are analysed, and the prospects of research and application of food freshness indicator packaging are also prospected

Combination of Chitosan, Tea Polyphenols, and Nisin on the Bacterial Inhibition and Quality Maintenance of Plant-Based Meat

Plant-based meat products have gained attention in the food industry and with consumers. Plant-based meat products primarily comprise plant proteins and are rich in nutrients. However, the products are highly susceptible to bacterial contamination during storage. Biological preservatives are easily degradable alternatives to chemical preservatives and can preserve different kinds of food. In order to investigate the preservation properties of chitosan (CS), tea polyphenols (TPs), and nisin treatments on plant-based meats, the sensory evaluation, color difference, pH, TBARS, and the total plate count of E. coli, S. aureus, and Salmonella, indicators of the biological preservative-treated plant-based meat, were determined in this study. The experiment involved blank control- and biological preservative-treated samples. We found that the total microbial count exceeded the national standard provisions in the control samples stored for 14 days. The colors, tissue structures, and flavors of plant-based meat have gradually deteriorated, with the sensory score dropping from 90 to 52. The sample had a loose tissue structure and an obvious sour taste. However, the shelf life of the plant-based meat samples treated with different combinations of the biological preservatives increased compared to the shelf life of the control samples. After 56 d of storage, 1% chitosan, 2.5% tea polyphenols, and 0.04% nisin sensory reduction to 56, the total number of colonies and S. aureus were 4.91 and 2.95 lg CFU/g, approaching the national standard threshold; E. coli was 2 lg CFU/g, reaching the national standard threshold. Thus, the samples treated with 1% chitosan, 2.5% tea polyphenols, and 0.04% nisin had the longest shelf life (56 days) among all experimental groups. Hence, this study reveals that a combination of biological preservatives may be a non-toxic alternative for the efficient preservation of plant-based meat products

Spoilage-related bacterial diversity of vacuum-packed plant-based meat as affected by essential oil and preservative

ABSTRACTPlant-based meat products have the potential to alleviate meat shortages, and has a limited shelf life of a few days under refrigeration. The main cause of food spoilage is the microorganism growth. In order to investigate which bacteria caused the spoilage and spoilage of plant-based meat, high-throughput sequencing technology was used to determine the predominant spoilage bacterial flora in untreated vacuum-packed (Placed for 14 days) plant-based meat and vacuum-packed plant-based meat treated with a composite essential oil (Placed for 112 days) or composite preservative (Placed for 70 days). The dominant flora in vacuum-packed plant-based meat was Enterococcus (accounting for 86.2%). The main bacterial families in the compound essential oil treatment group were norank_chloroplast and Lactobacillaceae (accounting for 74.2% and 14.23% of total abundance), and in the compound preservative treatment group were norank_chloroplast, Pseudomonadaceae, and Carnobacteriaceae (accounting for 35.98%, 33.19%, and 17.96% of total abundance). Treatment with compound essential oil or compound preservative not only prolongs the shelf life of plant-based meat but also modifies the spoilage bacterial flora. Afterwards, research needs to be continued on the molds and fungi that cause the spoilage of plant-based meat, filling the gap in this research direction. Due to provide practical support for the development of the plant-based meat preservation industry

MAGEB2-Mediated Degradation of EGR1 Regulates the Proliferation and Apoptosis of Human Spermatogonial Stem Cell Lines

Spermatogonial stem cells are committed to initiating and maintaining male spermatogenesis, which is the foundation of male fertility. Understanding the mechanisms underlying SSC fate decisions is critical for controlling spermatogenesis and male fertility. However, the key molecules and mechanisms responsible for regulating human SSC development are not clearly understood. Here, we analyzed normal human testis single-cell sequencing data from the GEO dataset (GSE149512 and GSE112013). Melanoma antigen gene B2 (MAGEB2) was found to be predominantly expressed in human SSCs and further validated by immunohistology. Overexpression of MAGEB2 in SSC lines severely weakened cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis. Further, using protein interaction prediction, molecular docking, and immunoprecipitation, we found that MAGEB2 interacted with early growth response protein 1 (EGR1) in SSC lines. Reexpression of EGR1 in MAGEB2 overexpression cells partially rescued decreased cell proliferation. Furthermore, MAGEB2 was shown to be downregulated in specific NOA patients, implying that abnormal expression of MAGEB2 may impair spermatogenesis and male fertility. Our results offer new insights into the functional and regulatory mechanisms in MAGEB2-mediated human SSC line proliferation and apoptosis

Biobased Composites Prepared Using an Environmentally Friendly Water-Slurry Methodology

To improve processability of benzoxazine monomer in preparation of composites, a water-slurry strategy was examined using several laboratory-scale instances. The water slurries were fabricated by mixing solid resin powder of 3-furfury-8-methoxy-3,4-dihydro-2<i>H</i>-1,3- benzoxazine with water and one type of filler particle, i.e., calcium carbonate, montmorillonite, or hollow glass beads. Experimental data show that approving liquidity can be achieved when more than 180 phr of water was mixed in the solid mixtures containing the resin powder and 100 phr of solid filler. The biobased composite prepared using the optimized condition exhibits outstanding mechanical properties and antifatigue performance as the composites prepared via solvent method. This water-slurry approach provides an environmentally friendly strategy to manuscript benzoxazine composites, offering benzoxazine with more promising applications in many industries such as building, wind energy, aircraft, and automobile

Salvia przewalskii extract of total phenolic acids inhibit TLR4 signaling activation in podocyte injury induced by puromycin aminonucleoside in vitro

Background: TLR4 signaling is known to be involved in podocyte injury. We have previously shown that Salvia przewalskii extract of total phenolic acids (SPE) and its active monomer salvianolic acid B (SalB) and rosmarinic acid (RA) protect podocytes from injury induced by PAN. In the present study, we test whether SPE inhibits TLR4 signaling. Methods: The conditionally immortalized mouse podocytes were treated with SPE, SalB, RA, SalB + RA or tacrolimus for 30 min, followed by PAN (100 μg/mL) for 24 h. The F-actin staining with phalloidin was used to assess cytoskeletal injury in the podocytes. Western blotting and semi-quantitatives RT-PCR were used to assess the changes of the components in the TLR4 signaling pathway. Results: (1) The F-actin stress fibers of podocytes were almost completely disrupted after PAN treatment for 24 h, and the disruption was significantly alleviated by SPE; (2) the PAN-induced elevation of mRNA levels of TLR4, MyD88 and p65 were inhibited except p65 with high-dose SalB; (3) consistently, the protein levels of TLR4, MyD88 and pp65 were significantly elevated by PAN, and SPE, SalB, RA and admixture, respectively, attenuated the elevations of TLR4 and pp65 proteins; (4) SPE and tacrolimus have a similarly strong effect on inhibition of the expression of TLR4 signaling components. Conclusions: SPE protects podocytes from PAN-induced injury at least partly through inhibiting TLR4 signaling. SPE is as strong as tacrolimus in inhibiting TLR4 signaling in podocytes

Warm-needling acupuncture and medicinal cake-separated moxibustion for hyperlipidemia: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Acupuncture and moxibustion has been widely applied to hyperlipidemia treatment in clinical practice in China, serving as an alternative treatment to statins. Warm-needling acupuncture and medicinal cake-separated moxibustion have been separately reported with potential therapeutic effects on hyperlipidemia treatment in several studies but with limitations in study methodology. Combining these two modalities may provide a more advantageous strategy in treating hyperlipidemia. Therefore, a strict evaluation through well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCT) is necessary to determine their efficacy and safety on hyperlipidemia. Methods The study a multicenter, open-label, randomized, stratified, active-controlled, noninferiority trial with two parallel groups. Subjects with hyperlipidemia will be stratified into different groups by risk levels of heart diseases. They then will be instructed to the Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC) diet. Those who have not reached the target lipid level will be randomly assigned to the treatments of either acupuncture and moxibustion or simvastatin with a 1:1 allocation. One hundred and thirty subjects are aimed to be recruited. The duration of intervention for this study will be 12 weeks, followed by another 4 weeks for post-treatment assessment. The primary outcome is percentage change from baseline to the end of the study in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Other indicators in lipid change, safety and adherence will also be assessed secondarily. The repeated measures, linear mixed-effects model will be applied to the analysis. Discussion Acupuncture and moxibustion could be a potentially effective treatment alternative for hyperlipidemia. A study with careful design is developed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combined acupuncture and moxibustion, by integrating the traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) regimens with the standardized Western medicine appraisal approach. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02269046 . Registered on 26 September 2014.Other UBCNon UBCReviewedFacult