Long-term storage of pink pepper essential oil microencapsulated by chickpea protein/pectin complexes: volatile release, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.

Pink pepper essential oil was microencapsulated with chickpea protein (CP) and chickpea protein/pectin (CP-HMP) by spray drying. The reconstitution and storage properties of the powders were evaluated after drying. The impact of microencapsulation in the volatiles release, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of oil was evaluated during 135 days of storage.

Deletion of impairs biofilm formation, generation of viable but non-culturable cells and stimulates cytokine production in human macrophages.

biofilms are one of the major causes of bloodstream infections related to the use of medical devices. The diagnosis of these infections is challenging, delaying their treatment and resulting in increased morbidity and mortality rates. As such, it is urgent to characterize the mechanisms employed by this bacterium to endure antibiotic treatments and the response of the host immune system, to develop more effective therapeutic strategies.

Nanostructured Antimicrobials for Quality and Safety Improvement in Dairy Products.

In the food sector, one of the most important economic activities is the dairy industry, which has been facing many challenges in order to meet the increasing demand by consumers for natural and minimally processed products with high quality. In this sense, the application of innovative and emerging technologies can be an interesting alternative, for example, the use of nanotechnology in packaging and as delivery systems. This technology has the potential to improve the quality and safety of dairy products, representing an interesting approach for delivering food preservatives and improving the mechanical, barrier and functional properties of packaging.

and Expression Is Induced in Biofilm and Planktonic Populations With Higher Proportions of Viable but Non-Culturable Cells.

biofilm cells can enter a physiological state known as viable but non-culturable (VBNC), where, despite being alive, they do not grow in conventional laboratory media. As such, the presence of VBNC cells impacts the diagnosis of biofilm-associated infections. Previous transcriptomics analysis of strain 9142 biofilms with higher proportions of VBNC cells suggested that the genes and could be involved in the induction of the VBNC state.

Lipid-Based Nanostructures for the Delivery of Natural Antimicrobials.

Encapsulation can be a suitable strategy to protect natural antimicrobial substances against some harsh conditions of processing and storage and to provide efficient formulations for antimicrobial delivery. Lipid-based nanostructures, including liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), and nanostructured lipid nanocarriers (NLCs), are valuable systems for the delivery and controlled release of natural antimicrobial substances. These nanostructures have been used as carriers for bacteriocins and other antimicrobial peptides, antimicrobial enzymes, essential oils, and antimicrobial phytochemicals.

Virulence Factors in Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci.

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) have emerged as major pathogens in healthcare-associated facilities, being , and, more recently, , the most clinically relevant species. Despite being less virulent than the well-studied pathogen , the number of CoNS strains sequenced is constantly increasing and, with that, the number of virulence factors identified in those strains. In this regard, biofilm formation is considered the most important.

Modulation of volatile release and antimicrobial properties of pink pepper essential oil by microencapsulation in single- and double-layer structured matrices.

The bioactivity of essential oils applied in foods to act as natural preservatives can be reduced due to interactions with other components of the food matrix. Microencapsulation can help to increase the functionality of these compounds. In addition, the electrostatic interaction between proteins and polysaccharides can result in double-layered encapsulating structures, ensuring greater protection to essential oils than using only protein as surface active agent.

Comparative analysis between biofilm formation and gene expression in Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates.

Aim: To understand the relationship between ica, aap and bhp gene expression and the implications in biofilm formation in selected clinical and commensal Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates.

Material & Methods: Isolates were analyzed regarding their biofilm-forming capacity, biochemical matrix composition, biofilm spatial organization and expression of biofilm-related genes.

Results: On polysaccharide intercellular adhesin-dependent biofilms, aap and bhp contributions for the biofilm growth were negligible, despite very high levels of expression.

Different cell disruption methods for obtaining carotenoids by and .

Since carotenoids are synthesized inside the cell, it is desirable to find an efficient method to extract carotegenic pigments. This study aimed at comparing the effectiveness of different chemical and mechanical techniques to disrupt the cell wall of and yeasts isolated from environmental samples. Among the techniques under study, the ultrasonic bath and the abrasion with glass beads yielded the most promising results for (84.

Nanostructures for delivery of natural antimicrobials in food.

Natural antimicrobial compounds are a topic of utmost interest in food science due to the increased demand for safe and high-quality foods with minimal processing. The use of nanostructures is an interesting alternative to protect and delivery antimicrobials in food, also providing controlled release of natural compounds such as bacteriocins and antimicrobial proteins, and also for delivery of plant derived antimicrobials. A diversity of nanostructures are capable of trapping natural antimicrobials maintaining the stability of substances that are frequently sensitive to food processing and storage conditions.