Suchergebnisse

The treatment and management of chronic wounds presents a massive financial burden for global health care systems, with significant and disturbing consequences for the patients affected. These wounds remain challenging to treat, reduce the patients' life quality, and are responsible for a high percentage of limb amputations and many premature deaths. The presence of bacterial biofilms hampers chronic wound therapy due to the high tolerance of biofilm cells to many first- and second-line antibiotics. Due to the appearance of antibiotic-resistant and multidrug-resistant pathogens in these types of wounds, the research for alternative and complementary therapeutic approaches has increased. Bacteriophage (phage) therapy, discovered in the early 1900s, has been revived in the last few decades due to its antibacterial efficacy against antibiotic-resistant clinical isolates. Its use in the treatment of non-healing wounds has shown promising outcomes. In this review, we focus on the societal problems of chronic wounds, describe both the history and ongoing clinical trials of chronic wound-related treatments, and also outline experiments carried out for efficacy evaluation with different phage-host systems using in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo animal models. We also describe the modern and most recent delivery systems developed for the incorporation of phages for species-targeted antibacterial control while protecting them upon exposure to harsh conditions, increasing the shelf life and facilitating storage of phage-based products. In this review, we also highlight the advances in phage therapy regulation. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 713640. A.M.P. acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for the grant SFRH/BD/138138/2018. The authors also thank NORTE 2020 (2014–2020 North Portugal Regional Operational Programme) and the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) under the Grant ...

Understanding consumers' food choices and the psychological processes involved in their preferences is crucial to promote more mindful eating regulation and guide food design. Fortifying foods minimizing the oral dryness, rough, and puckering associated with many functional ingredients has been attracting interest in understanding oral astringency over the years. A variety of studies have explored the sensorial mechanisms and the food properties determining astringency perception. The present review provides a deeper understanding of astringency, a general view of the oral mechanisms involved, and the exciting variety of the latest methods used to direct and indirectly quantify and simulate the astringency perception and the specific mechanisms involved ; The research leading to these results has received funding from Nanotechnology-based functional solutions, funded by ERDF and CCDR-N, under the call Norte2020 (Ref. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000019) and the from FODIAC–Food for Diabetes and Cognition, funded by European Union, under the call Marie Skłodowsk-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (Ref. H2020-MSCA-RISE-778388). This work was also supported by FCT with the reference project UID/EEA/04436/2019. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

There is a current demand for novel active food packaging solutions using biodegradable materials and no chemical antimicrobial compounds, to ensure food quality and safety. This work involved the incorporation of Salmonella Enteritidis bacteriophage Felix O1, for potential use as an anti-Salmonella agent, into polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) coatings and fibers deposited by casting and electrospinning on polyhydroxybutyrate/polyhydroxyvalerate (PHBV) films. PHBV films (pristine, with coating, and with nanofibers) were characterized in terms of water sensitivity, mechanical performance, morphology, and thermal properties. Additionally, X-ray diffraction and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy were performed to assess possible chemical modifications on PHBV films after PVOH deposition and the presence of bacteriophage. PVOH increased the moisture content from 5.98% (PHBV) to 8.94% and 8.28% for PHBV/coating films and PHBV/nanofiber films respectively, increased the solubility from 0% (PHBV) to 30.32% (PHBV/coating films) and to 32.42% (PHBV/nanofiber films), and increased the hydrophilicity of the films (contact angle of 76.31° for PHBV, 64.01° for PHBV/coating films and 30.90° for PHBV/nanofiber films), leading to an increased water affinity of their surface. Felix O1 was successfully added and maintained antimicrobial activity (106 titer) after the formation of the coating and nanofibers, demonstrating that these solutions can potentially be used in future packaging materials to avoid Salmonella contamination. ; This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/ BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER 006684). This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agree ment No 713640. Maria Jos´e Costa is recipient of a fellowship supported by a Doctoral Program (SFRH/BD/122897/2016) funded by the Portu guese Foundation for Science and Technology ...

Understanding consumers' food choices and the psychological processes involved in their preferences is crucial to promote more mindful eating regulation and guide food design. Fortifying foods minimizing the oral dryness, rough, and puckering associated with many functional ingredients has been attracting interest in understanding oral astringency over the years. A variety of studies have explored the sensorial mechanisms and the food properties determining astringency perception. The present review provides a deeper understanding of astringency, a general view of the oral mechanisms involved, and the exciting variety of the latest methods used to direct and indirectly quantify and simulate the astringency perception and the specific mechanisms involved. ; The research leading to these results has received funding from Nanotechnology-based functionalsolutions, funded by ERDF and CCDR-N, under the call Norte2020 (Ref. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000019)and the from FODIAC–Food for Diabetes and Cognition, funded by European Union, under the call MarieSkłodowsk-Curie Research and Innovation StaffExchange (Ref. H2020-MSCA-RISE-778388). This work was alsosupported by FCT with the reference project ...

Notwithstanding the implementation of good processing practices in food companies and appropriate washing of food products by the consumer, Salmonella and Escherichia coli outbreaks continue to occur. In this study, different combinations of bacteriophages (phages) and cinnamaldehyde (CNMA) were incorporated on sodium alginate emulsion-based films to impart them with antimicrobial activity towards S. Enteritidis and E. coli. Films were prepared by casting and they were characterized in terms of CNMA and/or phages loading, thickness, moisture content, water vapor permeability (WVP), swelling index (SW), chemical interactions by FTIR, surface morphology by SEM and antimicrobial performance. Results showed that phages incorporation was not compromised by CNMA as evidenced by their viability inside the films. Increasing CNMA concentration yielded formulations less heterogeneous and a higher amount of CNMA loaded. Films characterization revealed that, in general, phages incorporation did not introduce significant changes on films parameters while the presence of CNMA increased the roughness, thickness and swelling ability of films. Sodium alginate films incorporated with EC4 and Ï135 phages displayed antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S. Enteritidis, respectively, while CNMA empowered the films with activity against both species. Combination of both phages with the higher concentration of CNMA resulted in a synergic antimicrobial effect against E. coli and a facilitative effect against Salmonella. Overall, incorporation of EC4 and Ï135 phages together with CNMA on alginate emulsion-based films holds great potential to be further applied in food packaging to prevent food contamination. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 713640. This study was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2019 unit and BioTecNorte operation ...

In the last few decades, consumers' growing attention to the close relationship between health and nutrition is emerging as a new trend, mostly regarding the incorporation of natural ingredients into food. Among those ingredients, microalgae are considered as innovative and promising compounds, rich in valuable nutrients and bioactive molecules. In the present work, 3D printed cookies were fortified with the microalga Arthrospira platensis aiming at developing a new functional food with antioxidant properties. A. platensis antioxidants were recovered using ultrasound-assisted extraction in hydroalcoholic solutions. Ethanol/water and biomass/solvent ratios were optimised through a Design of Experiments (DOE) approach, using the antioxidant activity (ORAC and ABTS) and total phenolic content (TPC) as response variables. The highest ORAC, ABTS and TPC values were observed in the extract obtained with 0% ethanol and 2.0% biomass; thus, this extract was chosen to be incorporated into a printable cookie dough. Three different incorporation approaches were followed: (1) dried biomass, (2) freeze-dried antioxidant extract and (3) antioxidant extract encapsulated into alginate microbeads to enhance the stability to heat, light, and oxygen during baking and further storage. All dough formulations presented shape fidelity with the 3D model. The cookies had aw values low enough to be microbiologically stable, and the texture remained constant after 30 days of storage. Moreover, the extract encapsulation promoted an improvement in the ORAC value and colour stability when compared to all other formulations, revealing the potential of A. platensis for the development of a functional 3D food-ink. ; This work was funded by the European Union INTERREG Atlantic Area Programme and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the project "Enhance Microalgae: High added-value industrial opportunities for microalgae in the Atlantic Area" (Ref. EAPA_338/2016). ...

β-carotene loaded bio-based nanoparticles (NPs) were produced by the solvent-displacement method using two polymers: zein and ethylcellulose. The production of NPs was optimised through an experimental design and characterised in terms of average size and polydispersity index. The processing conditions that allowed to obtain NPs (<100 nm) were used for β-carotene encapsulation. Then β-carotene loaded NPs were characterised in terms of zeta potential and encapsulation efficiency. Transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis were performed for further morphological and chemical characterisation. In the end, a static in vitro digestion following the INFOGEST protocol was performed and the bioaccessibility of β-carotene encapsulated in both NPs was determined. Results show that the best conditions for a size-controlled production with a narrow size distribution are lower polymer concentrations and higher antisolvent concentrations. The encapsulation of β-carotene in ethylcellulose NPs resulted in nanoparticles with a mean average size of 60 ± 9 nm and encapsulation efficiency of 74 ± 2%. β-carotene loaded zein-based NPs resulted in a mean size of 83 ± 8 nm and encapsulation efficiency of 93 ± 4%. Results obtained from the in vitro digestion showed that β-carotene bioaccessibility when encapsulated in zein NPs is 37 ± 1%, which is higher than the value of 8.3 ± 0.1% obtained for the ethylcellulose NPs. ; This research was funded by "MobFood—Mobilizing scientific and technological knowledge in response to the challenges of the agri-food market" (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-024524; LISBOA-01-0247-FEDER024524), by "MobFood" Consortium, and financed by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Incentive System to Research and Technological development, within the Portugal2020 Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program. The research also received funding from the European Union's H2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie ...

In this work, three active bio-based multilayer structures, using a polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate film with a valerate content of 8 % (PHBV8) as support, were developed. To this end, a zein interlayer with or without cinnamaldehyde (CNMA) was directly electrospun onto one side of the PHBV8 film and the following systems were developed: (1) without an outer layer; (2) using a PHBV8 film as outer layer; and (3) using an alginate-based film as outer layer. These multilayer structures were characterized in terms of water vapour and oxygen permeabilities, transparency, intermolecular arrangement and thermal properties. The antimicrobial activity of the active bio-based multilayer systems and the release of CNMA in a food simulant were also evaluated. Results showed that the presence of different outer layers reduced the transport properties and transparency of the multilayer films. The active bio-based multilayer systems showed antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes being the multilayer structure prepared with CNMA and PHBV outer layers (PHBV + zein/CNMA + PHBV) the one that showed the greater antibacterial activity. The release of CNMA depended on the multilayer structures, where both Fick's and Case II transport-polymer relaxation explained the release of CNMA from the multilayer systems. ; Acknowledgments: Miguel A. Cerqueira (SFRH/BPD/72753/2010) andAnaI.Bourbon(SFRH/BD/73178/2010)arerecipientofafellowship from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE Portugal). J.L. Castro-Mayorga is supported by the Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (Colciencias) of Colombian Government. M. J. Fabra is a recipient of a Ramon y Cajal contract (RyC-2014-158) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and of the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/ 0179/2012 ...

The antioxidant activity of baked foods is of utmost interest when envisioning enhancing their health benefits. Incorporating functional ingredients is challenging since their bioactivity naturally declines during baking. In this study, 3D food printing and design of experiments are employed to clarify how the antioxidant activity of cookies enriched with encapsulated polyphenols can be maximized. A synergistic effect between encapsulation, time, temperature, number of layers, and infill of the printed cookies was observed on the moisture and antioxidant activity. Four-layer cookies with 30% infill provided the highest bioactivity and phenolic content if baked for 10 min and at 180 °C. The bioacitivity and total phenolic content improved by 115% and 173%, respectively, comparing to free extract cookies.Moreover, the proper combination of the design and baking variables allowed to vary the bioactivity of cooked cookies (moisture 35%) between 300 and 700 ?molTR/gdry. The additive manufacture of foods with interconnected pores could accelerate baking and browning, or reduce thermal degradation. This represents a potential approach to enhance the functional and healthy properties of cookies or other thermal treated bioactive food products. ; The research leading to these results has received funding from FODIAC – Food for Diabetes and Cognition, funded by European Union, under the call Marie Skłodowsk-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (Ref. H2020-MSCA-RISE-778388); PhD grantship from Fondazione di Piacenza e Vigevano (Doctoral School on the Agro-Food System, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore); Fondazione Cariplo through the project ReMarcForFood – Biotechnological strategies for the conversion of Winemaking by-products and their recycling into the food chain: development of new concepts of use, 2016-0740 grant. ...

Escherichia coli and Salmonella Enteritidis are foodborne pathogens forming challenging biofilms that contribute to their virulence, antimicrobial resistance, and survival on surfaces. Interspecies interactions occur between species in mixed biofilms promoting different outcomes to each species. Here we describe the interactions between E. coli and S. Enteritidis strains, and their control using specific phages. Single-species biofilms presented more cells compared to dual-species biofilms. The spatial organization of strains, observed by confocal microscopy, revealed similar arrangements in both single- and dual-species biofilms. The EPS matrix composition, assessed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, disclosed that the spectra extracted from the different dual-species biofilms can either be a combination of both species EPS matrix components or that the EPS matrix of one species predominates. Phages damaged more the single-species biofilms than the mixed biofilms, showing also that the killing efficacy was greatly dependent on the phage growth characteristics, bacterial growth parameters, and bacterial spatial distribution in biofilms. This combination of methodologies provides new knowledge of species-species and phage-host interactions in biofilms of these two major foodborne pathogens. ; This project also received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreements No 713640, and No. 778388. This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. CM and MDS acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for their grants SFRH/BD/94434/2013 and SFRH/BD/128825/2017. The pNUT086 plasmid was kindly provided by Dr. Knut ...