Protopanaxadiol triggers G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human cervical cancer HeLa cells through the PPER pathway

Food Bioscience, 62, 2024, 105388

Protopanaxadiol (PPD) is considered to be the most active pharmacological element in ginseng and has been widely studied for its anticancer effects. However, the detailed anticancer mechanism of this compound in cervical cancer (CC) HeLa cells has yet to be thoroughly understood. In this research, we discovered that PPD effectively inhibits CC HeLa cell proliferation and cause morphological changes, with an IC50 measured at 34.18 μM. Based on mRNA-seq analysis, we revealed the mechanism by which PPD inhibits HeLa cell proliferation. The results from Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis indicated significant enrichment of DGEs in the cell cycle and protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum (PPER) pathway. By inducing DNA damage, PPD resulted in G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest, inhibited Bcl-2 to cause ROS production, upregulated cytochrome c (Cyto-c) expression, thereby further reducing mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm), activated the caspase family, and induced cell apoptosis. In addition, PPD promoted Ca2+ leakage, downregulated the PPER pathway (PERK, ATF6, and IRE1α), increased Chop expression levels, and mediated programmed cell death. These observations imply that PPD can induce apoptosis in HeLa cells, highlighting its potential as a novel natural therapeutic for cervical cancer.

Consolidating collaboration with China

Professor Jesus Simal-Gandara, former coordinator of our research group, has imparted a lecture entitled "Moving toward a sustainable food future" during his visit to the People's Republic of China.

Metabolic Profiling via UPLC/MS/MS and In Vitro Cholinesterase, Amylase, Glucosidase, and Tyrosinase Inhibitory Effects of Carica papaya L. Extracts Reveal Promising Nutraceutical Potential

Food Anal. Methods (2024)

Carica papaya (Family Caricaceae) is endowed with a myriad of biological activities as gastroprotective, antidiabetic, antimalarial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory agent. We performed for the first time an extensive comparative metabolite profiling of different plant organs considering both male and female leaves, seeds, and fruits of different maturity stages. The phytochemical fingerprinting-via UPLC/MS/MS- of C. papaya led to tentative identification of 84 metabolites belonging to different primary and secondary phytoconstituents to include alkaloids (carpaine derivatives), flavonoids, glucosinolates, organic and phenolic acids, amino acids, and carbohydrates. The seeds’ profile was enriched with hydroxybenzoic acids and their derivatives, while leaves were characterized by the prevalence of carpaine alkaloids, flavonoids, lipids, and alkylated sugars. Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between total phenolic content and the antioxidant assays (ferric reducing antioxidant property (FRAP), 2, 2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC)). Principal component analysis was applied to find out possible phytochemical trends across C. papaya matrices, where PC1 and PC2 accounted for 46.57 and 19.93% of the variability in the data set with well-separated extracts into groups mostly on the basis of plant organ. The PCA model showed that immature seeds had the highest antioxidant properties, while leaves separated from fruit and mature seeds due to higher butyrylcholinesterase and α-amylase inhibition, but lower acetylcholinesterase and α-glucosidase inhibition activity. We corroborate the better exploitation of both edible and inedible parts of C. Papaya in nutraceutical supplements after sufficient in vivo and toxicity studies.

Machine Learning Models to Classify Shiitake Mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) According to Their Geographical Origin Labeling

Foods 2024, 13(17), 2656

The shiitake mushroom has gained popularity in the last decade, ranking second in the world for mushrooms consumed, providing consumers with a wide variety of nutritional and healthy benefits. It is often not clear the origin of these mushrooms, so it becomes of great importance to the consumers. In this research, different machine learning algorithms were developed to determine the geographical origin of shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) consumed in Korea, based on experimental data reported in the literature (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O, δ34S, and origin). Regarding the origin of shiitake in three categories (Korean, Chinese, and mushrooms from Chinese inoculated sawdust blocks), the random forest model presents the highest accuracy value (0.940) and the highest kappa value (0.908) for the validation phase. To determine the origin of shiitake mushrooms in two categories (Korean and Chinese, including mushrooms from Chinese inoculated sawdust blocks in the latter ones), the support vector machine model is chosen as the best model due to the high accuracy (0.988) and kappa (0.975) values for the validation phase. Finally, to determine the origin in two categories (Korean and Chinese, but this time including the mushrooms from Chinese inoculated sawdust blocks in the Korean ones), the best model is the random forest due to its higher accuracy value (0.952) in the validation phase (kappa value of 0.869). The accuracy values in the testing phase for the best selected models are acceptable (between 0.839 and 0.964); therefore, the predictive capacity of the models could be acceptable for their use in real applications. This allows us to affirm that machine learning algorithms would be suitable modeling instruments to determine the geographical origin of shiitake.

“A crecente demanda de alimentos, impulsada polo aumento da poboación e os cambios nos patróns de consumo, oprimirá aínda máis os recursos naturais”

 

Jesús Simal, catedrático da Universidade de Vigo, institución que coordina o proxecto SOSFood, explica que con esta iniciativa deseñaranse solucións en forma de ferramentas de toma de decisións adaptadas a cada nivel do sistema e personalizables para adaptarse ao contexto e prioridades de cada usuario.

Recentemente púxose en marcha o proxecto de investigación a nivel europeo, financiado polo Programa Marco ‘Horizonte Europa’ da Comisión, SOSfood. Centrará os seus esforzos en utilizar o potencial das tecnoloxías de explotación de datos e a Intelixencia Artificial (IA) para proporcionar unha imaxe precisa e global do sistema alimentario europeo, promovendo así o desenvolvemento de ferramentas intuitivas.

Trátase dun consorcio no que participan 17 entidades de todo o continente baixo a dirección da Universidade de Vigo, e que conta coa participación do CiTIUS (Centro Singular de Investigación en Tecnoloxías Intelixentes da USC). O proxecto xorde da colaboración entre a Universidade de Santiago, o hub de innovación dixital Datalife e a Universidade de Vigo, institución que coordina o proxecto a través do Grupo de Investigacións Agro-ambientais e Alimentarias dirixido polo catedrático Jesús Simal Gándara.

Nesta entrevista, Simal explica as claves do proxecto e tamén que beneficios traerá para o sector agrario.

– Que é SOSFood e en que punto se atopa esta investigación?

SOSFood ten como obxectivos:

(1) crear unha rede de múltiples actores para recompilar datos dos sistemas sociais, políticos, educativos, legais, económicos, tecnolóxicos, alimentarios, de saúde, ambientais e climáticos, ademais de promover a transparencia e o intercambio de datos en todo o sistema alimentario;

(2) modelar o sistema alimentario cunha estratexia multidimensional e multiactor, e explotar a interoperabilidade dos datos co fin de indagar nas relacións que existen entre os sistemas mencionados para avaliar o seu impacto na sustentabilidade do sistema de alimentación por medio de análise de impacto avanzados e tecnoloxías innovadoras de Intelixencia Artificial; e, finalmente,

(3) deseñar solucións en forma de ferramentas de toma de decisións adaptadas a cada nivel do sistema (produtores, consumidores, responsables políticos) e personalizables para adaptarse ao contexto e as prioridades de cada usuario.

– Quen forman parte do proxecto e que papel ten o Grupo de Investigacións Agroambientais e Alimentarias (AA1) que dirixe vostede?

Grazas ao seu consorcio multidisciplinario, SOSFood acelerará a transición verde do sistema alimentario con expertos en todos os ámbitos, do sector público e privado e do sector académico, de investigación, e industrias alimentarias: saúde e nutrición, e de ciencias sociais (UVIGO, UNL), tecnoloxías de intelixencia artificial (CiTIUS-USC), desenvolvemento de software (SOFTEAM), ecosistemas de intercambio de datos e protección de plataformas (JIBE), ciencias ambientais e avaliación do ciclo de vida (SRU, UNIFE, UCSC), política e economía das innovacións (UNIFE, AGADER), xestión de datos (DIH DATALIFE, AFL DIH, SAH), e finalmente, EUROCOOP, JOTIS, VKA, CUEVAS, AGADER representarán a todas as partes interesadas do sistema alimentario (consumidores, industrias, produtores primarios e responsables políticos). O consorcio tamén inclúe un especialista en explotación, comunicación e difusión (CTA).

Aínda que se tomaron varias iniciativas para reducir os residuos e desperdicio agroalimentario, non se logrou plenamente considerar o panorama global do sistema alimentario

– A IA ten un papel fundamental, como se integra no proxecto? Que ferramentas de IA empregarán?

O CiTIUS en SOSFood propón utilizar o gran potencial intuitivo das tecnoloxías de Intelixencia Artificial para proporcionar ferramentas adaptadas a todas as partes interesadas na cadea do sector alimentario, que facilitarán a toma de decisións ben informadas, cun enfoque multifactorial, multiactor e multiescala. Así se identificarán aqueles factores máis relevantes na avaliación da sustentabilidade para proporcionar unha imaxe holística e completa do sistema alimentario europeo, respondendo a preguntas do tipo de “e se pasa isto, que sucedería?”.

– O proxecto SOSFood naceu nun momento que os agricultores se manifestaban pola Axenda 2030. Que importancia ten este proxecto para a agricultura?

Aínda que se tomaron varias iniciativas para reducir os residuos e desperdicio agroalimentario, axudar aos agricultores a adaptar as súas prácticas agrícolas para que sexan máis respectuosas co medio ambiente, loitar contra a alimentación pouco saudable da poboación, promover os produtos alimentarios locais, impulsar á industria manufacturera e distribuidora a optimizar os seus procesos, etc., logrou plenamente considerar o panorama global do sistema alimentario. Ademais, as ferramentas ou canles utilizadas para alcanzar ese obxectivo non sempre foron os máis adecuados e non sempre alcanzaron o seu obxectivo, xa sexa por ser demasiado complicados de entender ou non alcanzables para todos.

– Como se poderán aplicar os resultados obtidos os agricultores? E os consumidores?

SOSFood dará como resultado un espazo consolidado de datos alimentarios dedicado á mellora da sustentabilidade do sistema alimentario, ademais de ferramentas de toma de decisións adaptadas a cada nivel da cadea de subministración alimentaria. Así, obterase un panel predictivo que mostrará os datos e variables de predición para os usuarios da industria; e unha aplicación de teléfono móbil dirixida aos consumidores, que ofrece suxestións sobre opcións máis xustas, saudables e sustentables (incluído un gráfico de visualización de impresións dixitais eco-saudables, un indicador ecolóxico das industrias, e receitas típicas da UE reformuladas para promover ingredientes saudables, locais e de tempada, así como consellos nutricionais xenerais). Para garantir a viabilidade da proposta e a representatividade dos algoritmos desenvolvidos, os resultados de SOSFood se validarán en tres estudos de caso a nivel rexional (Galicia), metropolitano (Atenas) e nacional (Lituania).

– Tamén forma parte do Centro de Investigación Interuniversitario das Paisaxes Atlánticas Culturais (CISPAC). Que investigacións está a levar a cabo?

Atopar solucións duradeiras neste escenario requirirá inevitablemente revisar o desenvolvemento rural e a agricultura en pequena escala, e lograr cambios estruturais en beneficio das partes interesadas. Mellores sistemas agrícolas, novas tecnoloxías, educación de calidade, así como modelos comerciais eficaces, poden ser útiles para crear empregos decentes, resolver as limitacións de recursos, ampliar a participación no mercado, e aliviar as dificultades no sector agrícola, especialmente, entre as mulleres e os mozos. Doutra banda, temos que enfrontar desafíos apremiantes que inclúen dietas pouco saudables, xeración de desperdicio de alimentos, equilibrio da produción de alimentos e biocombustibles, e desenvolvemento de políticas agrícolas xustas.

Debemos alcanzar maiores niveis de produtividade, eficiencia de recursos, seguridade e trazabilidade dos alimentos, e respecto ao medio ambiente, a fin de proporcionar leccións útiles para o desenvolvemento tecnolóxico e a vixilancia na cadea alimentaria global. Por iso, tras presentar o estado actual da sustentabilidade alimentaria, e como a súa gobernanza global vincúlase coas dimensións ambiental, económica e social, revisaranse algunhas medidas e indicadores para o seguimento dos avances, co obxectivo final de achegar solucións e recomendacións para a sustentabilidade do sistema de produción e consumo de alimentos. Todos os retos no campo agroalimentario deben ser respectuosos coa contorna e por tanto protexer ese patrimonio que representa a paisaxe.

– Dentro do Grupo de Investigacións Agroambientais e Alimentarias (AA1), en que outros proxectos se atopan inmersos?

Na actualidade participamos en 5 proxectos europeos:

1.- “An integrated approach to the challenge of sustainable food systems: adaptive and mitigatory strategies to address climate change and malnutrition (SYSTEMIC)”, granted by ERA-HDHL Knowledge Hub on Food and Nutrition Security in collaboration with JPI-OCEANS and FACCE-JPI (2020-2024).

2.- “Sustainable and cost-effective production process for the upcycling of olive, grape and nut by-products into 4 natural and healthy ingredients for nutraceutical and cosmetic applications (UP4HEALTH)”, granted by H2020-BBI-JTI-2019 (2020-2024).

3.- “Unravelling the potential of the wheat microbiome for the development of healthier, more sustainable and resilient wheat-derived food & feed products (WHEATBIOME)”, granted by HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01 (2023-2027).

4.- “Alternative proteins from microbial fermentation of non-conventional sea sources for next-generation food, feed and no-food bio-based applications (PROMISEANG)”, granted by HORIZON-JU-CBE-2022-R-04 (2023-2027). Coordinado por nós.

5.- “Sustainability Optimization for Secure Food Systems (SOSFood)”, granted by HORIZON-CL6-2023-GOVERNANCE-01-17 (2024-2028). Coordinado por nós.

– Como ve o futuro do sector?

O futuro inmediato do sistema agroalimentario enfróntase a desafíos e oportunidades significativos. A crecente demanda de alimentos, impulsada polo aumento da poboación e os cambios nos patróns de consumo, presionará aínda máis os recursos naturais. A innovación tecnolóxica, como a agricultura de precisión, a biotecnoloxía, e o uso de intelixencia artificial, espérase que mellore a eficiencia e sustentabilidade da produción agrícola. Con todo, os efectos do cambio climático, como eventos climáticos extremos e a variabilidade das precipitacións, poden afectar negativamente os rendementos agrícolas.

A adopción de prácticas agrícolas sustentables e a diversificación de cultivos serán cruciais para mitigar estes riscos. Ademais, a globalización e as cadeas de subministración interconectadas poden ofrecer novas oportunidades, pero tamén expoñen o sistema a vulnerabilidades como as interrupcións comerciais e as enfermidades transfronteirizas. A colaboración entre gobernos, sector privado, e organizacións internacionais será esencial para abordar estes desafíos e asegurar a resiliencia do sistema agroalimentario.

Fuente: INNOVA Campo Galego

Alkaline Fading of Malachite Green in β-Cyclodextrins

Compounds 2024, 4(2), 351-360

The basic hydrolysis of Malachite Green (MG) in the presence of β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) has been studied using UV-Vis spectroscopic techniques and at 20 °C. β-CD was found to catalyze the basic hydrolysis. Indeed, this basic hydrolysis is catalyzed by the interaction cyclodextrin hydroxyl group, in its deprotonated form with the carbocation in the host-guest complex. The proposed model has been successfully applied to a reaction catalyzed by CD. It considers two simultaneous pathways in the aqueous medium involving free hydroxyl ions and the substrate-CD complex. The model allows us to obtain the kinetic parameters including the bimolecular rate constant between MG and HO− in bulk water (kw = 1.47 ± 0.01 mol−1s−1), the rate constant between MG and the deprotonated hydroxyl group of β-CD inside the host-guest complex (kCD = 0.25 ± 0.03 s−1) and the binding constant of MG inside the β-CD (KS = 2500 ± 50). This behavior is like the hydrolysis of Cristal Violet (CV) in the same reaction media.

Job Offer

OFFER REFERENCE 2423-123307

INFORMATION OF THE RESEARCH ACTIVITY/PROJECT

Name of the research Project: Sustainability Optimization for Secure Food Systems 

Principal researcher: Jesús Simal Gándara

Research area: Sustainability Optimization for Secure Food Systems

Reference: SOSFood

Department: C07 Analytical and food chemistry

LABOUR CONTRACT DETAILS

Contract type: Contracts for the realisation of projects and for the execution of plans (Art. 32bis Science Act). Indefinite duration

Number of positions: 1

Work to be performed:  European Project Manager.

Functions to be performed:

• 1. Monitoring of project activities and the work plan, administrative and technical support for its development, communication management, technical and administrative justification of the project. 
• 2. Technical support in the preparation of reports, organization of events and communication of project activities.
• 3. Support in the preparation and writing of new European project proposals."

Gross Monthly salary: 2.666,66 € (including the apportionments of extra payments)

Expected start date: Subject to the final approval of the funding by the financing institution (Secondadditional provision of the UVIGO research staff recruitment regulations).

Workday: Full Time (37.5 hours per week)

Employment status: Research specialized technician - Type B

Duration of the contract: indefinite

Place of Work: FACULTY OF SCIENCE - OURENSE

REQUIREMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF APPLICANTS

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS Master’s degree, Bachelor’s degree, engineering or equivalent in scientific-technical or legal-social areas.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED [ITEM/DESCRIPTION/POINTS]

• Item nº1 Academic training, related to scientific-technical or legal-social areas. (15)
• Item nº2 Minimum C1 level of English with official certificate and Spanish. (15)
• Item nº3 Specific, creditable training in the field of management of activities with international financing (25)
• Item nº4 Creditable work experience in the field of management of activities with international financing, management of industrial and intellectual property, management of ethical aspects, open data and open science , dissemination of R&D results, justification of international activities (30)
• Item nº5 Personal interview. The interview will be conducted only with the 3 persons with the highest scores (15)

The deadline for applications is 23:59 hours on January 2, 2023 (link)

Crecemento económico e contaminación, unha aproximación dende a aprendizaxe automática

El Grupo de Investigaciones Agroambientales y Alimentarias (AA1) dispone desde hace breves semanas de un nuevo proyecto de investigación bajo la convocatoria de Ayudas a Grupos de Investigación del Campus de Ourense, INOU-CAMPUS AUGA 2023.

Estas ayudas tienen como finalidad "la financiación de proyectos de interés para la Universidad de Vigo y la Diputación de Ourense, apoyando las investigaciones que contribuyan al desarrollo social y económico de la provincia de Ourense y al conocimiento de su realidad, así como la especialización del Campus de Ourense-Campus Agua".

En este sentido se ha conseguido financiación para le proyecto "Crecimiento económico y contaminación, una aproximación desde el aprendizaje automático" cuyos IPs son los doctores Gonzalo Astray y Luis Velasco.

Exploration of Indian Traditional recipe “Tarvaani” from the drained rice gruel for nutritional and probiotic potential

 Int. J. Gastron. Food Sci. 31, 100670, 2023

Study background

Traditional fermented foods are the source of probiotic bacteria which can be envisaged as formulation ingredients in various food and beverages.

Scope and approach

The present research aimed to explore one of the Indian traditional recipes, “Tarvaani,” for nutritional and probiotic potential as a part of its healthy perspectives.

Main findings and conclusion

The traditional recipe was found to contain the lactic acid bacteria and isolated. The isolated product showed prominent curdling activity after 48 h, and bacterial growth was seen in all the pH (pH 3–7) tested. The antibiotic susceptibility test found that streptomycin, vancomycin, and kanamycin were resistant to the bacterial culture, and imipenem, gentamycin, rifampicin, and tetracycline were found to be resistant susceptible to the bacterial culture according to zone diameter interpretative criteria given in ICMR SOP 2015. A clear halo zone around the tested colony was obtained in the amylase test, which indicated that starch was degraded and α-amylase was produced. The culture also showed prominent antimicrobial action and inhibited the growth of the pathogenic strains tested by a well-diffusion assay. Moreover, the isolates only showed no haemolysis activity after incubation at 30 °C for 24 h under anaerobic conditions. Overall, the present research findings showcase the nutritional and probiotic potential of Lactobacillus sp. of “Tarvaani” as a viable option as a formulation ingredient in traditional-based functional foods.

Emerging Technologies to Extract Fucoxanthin from Undaria pinnatifida: Microwave vs. Ultrasound Assisted Extractions

Mar. Drugs 2023, 21(5), 282

Macroalgae are an extensive resource for the obtention of bioactive compounds, mainly phenolic compounds, phlorotannins, and pigments. Fucoxanthin (Fx) is the most abundant pigment present in brown algae and has shown several useful bioactivities that can be used to fortify products in the food and cosmetic industries. Nevertheless, to date, there is still insufficient literature reporting on the extraction yield of Fx from U. pinnatifida species from green technologies. In this regard, the present study aims to optimize the extraction conditions to obtain the highest Fx yield from U. pinnatifida through emerging techniques, namely microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). These methods will be compared with the conventional methodologies of heat-assisted extraction (HAE) and Soxhlet-assisted extraction (SAE). According to our results, even though the extraction yield could be slightly higher when using MAE than UAE, the Fx concentration obtained from the alga was double when using UAE. Thus, the Fx ratio in the final extract reached values of 124.39 mg Fx/g E. However, the optimal conditions should also be considered since UAE needed 30 min to perform the extraction, whereas MAE was able to obtain 58.83 mg Fx/g E in only 3 min and 2 bar, meaning less energy expenditure and minimum cost function. To our knowledge, this study obtains the highest concentrations of Fx ever reported (58.83 mg Fx/g E for MAE and 124.39 mg Fx/g E for UAE), with low energy consumption and short times (3.00 min for MAE and 35.16 min for UAE). Any of these results could be selected for further experiments and proposed for industrial scaling-up.

Method development and validation for acrylamide in potato cutlet by UHPLC-MS/MS

 Food Control, 109817 (2023)

Surge in consumption of healthy and safe foods has challenged researcher to develop sensitive, precise, robust detection and quantification of food contaminants like acrylamide even if they are present in trace. Keeping this in view, a robust and sensitive analytical method was developed and validated for acrylamide quantification in a potato-based food product (potato cutlet), using LC-MSMS with positive electrospray ionization (+ESI). The method consists of adding acrylamide-d3 (deuterium labelled acrylamide) as an internal standard, extraction by modified QuEChERS method with d-SPE clean-up. Extracts were run on a reverse phase C-18 column for analysis by liquid chromatography. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were determined as 0.7 and 2.0 μg kg−1, respectively, demonstrating the sensitivity of the method for trace detection. The developed method showed excellent results in terms of recoveries (91.0–109.16%), repeatability (RSD 1.8–10.60%), reproducibility (RSD 2.3–11.24%) and robustness (RSD 1.74–4.54%). The repeatability, reproducibility and robustness respectively, show the consistency, accuracy and stability of the developed method. The deviations in ion ratio and retention time were 17.25% and −0.01 min, respectively. Compared to previous findings, the current study has achieved lower LOD and LOQ levels that reveal the higher sensitivity of this method for acrylamide quantification in potato cutlet.

Jesús Simal incorpórase ao comité internacional mixto FAO/OMS que avalía a seguridade dos aditivos alimentarios

 

A Organización Mundial da Saúde (OMS) e a Organización das Nacións Unidas para a Alimentación e a Agricultura (FAO) crearon en 1956 o Comité Mixto de Expertos e Aditivos Alimentarios (JECFA). Inicialmente encargado da avaliar a inocuidade dos aditivos alimentarios, na actualidade o JECFA ocúpase tamén da valoración de riscos e inocuidade de coadyuvantes de elaboración, aromatizantes, residuos de medicamentos veterinarios en produtos animais, contaminantes e toxinas naturais, avaliando durante estas décadas máis de 2500 aditivos alimentarios, uns 40 contaminantes e toxinas naturais e residuos duns 90 medicamentos veterinarios. Actividades ás que a partir de agora sumará a súa experiencia e coñecementos o catedrático da UVigo Jesús Simal, trala súa recente incorporación ao JECFA, que unicamente conta con Simal e a docente da Universidad Miguel Hernández, María Fernández, como representantes españois.

“Para min, que ademais traballo en equipo nun ambiente internacional, supón poder contribuír á seguridade e inocuidade dos alimentos, minimizando os riscos químicos na cadea alimentaria e axudarame a estar ao día nestes temas, ademais de abrirme a porta a colaboracións internacionais na materia e impulsar colaboracións con outros, ao ter a oportunidade de incidir nas políticas públicas”, explica o docente e investigador do Departamento de Química Analítica e Alimentaria da UVigo sobre a súa inclusión no Comité Mixto FAO/OMS de Expertos en Aditivos Alimentarios. A súa pertenza ao Comité Científico de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición da Agencia Española de Consumo, Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Aecosan) e os coñecementos como catedrático na área de nutrición e bromatoloxía, considera Simal que son as achegas que pode realizar ao JECFA, no que “podo contribuír a axudar no desenvolvemento integral de expertos, uso de ferramentas dixitais ou promoción de competencias brandas, como motivación pola aprendizaxe continua, compromiso e transparencia, flexibilidade e versatilidade, xestión do tempo, superación, etc.”.

Simal e os e as expertas que integran o comité ofrecerán asesoramento científico para o establecemento das normas mundiais de inocuidade dos alimentos do Codex Alimentarius, entre outras. “Todos os países necesitan ter acceso a avaliacións fiables de riscos das substancias químicas utilizadas nos alimentos, pero relativamente poucos contan cos coñecementos e fondos necesarios para facer avaliacións individuais e JECFA cumpre unha función vital ao proporcionar unha fonte axeitada de asesoramento de expertos, que algúns países utilizan para elaborar os seus propios programas de regulamentación”, explica o catedrático da UVigo.

Para aditivos alimentarios, contaminantes e substancias tóxicas naturalmente presentes nos alimentos, o comité establece principios para avaliar a súa inocuidade, realiza valoracións toxicolóxicas e determina inxestións diarias admisibles (IDA) ou tolerables. No caso dos residuos de medicamentos veterinarios nos alimentos, JECFA elabora principios para avaliar a súa inocuidade e establece as inxestións diarias e recomenda límites máximos de residuos. “No caso dos aditivos alimentarios, o comité establece normalmente as IDA sobre a base da información toxicolóxica e demais información pertinente dispoñible, ademais de elaborar especificacións de identidade e pureza para os aditivos, que contribúen a garantir que o produto que entre no comercio sexa da calidade apropiada, poida ser fabricado normalmente e sexa equivalente ao material sometido ao ensaio toxicolóxico”, detalla Jesús Simal.

Para os medicamentos veterinarios, o comité avalía os datos sobre boas prácticas e recomendan os correspondentes límites máximos de residuos nos tecidos dos animais, o leite e/os ovos, coa finalidade de asegurar que cando o medicamento se utilizar axeitadamente, a inxestión de residuos do medicamento presente nos alimentos probablemente non superará a IDA correspondente

Fonte: DUVI

Enhancing the biorefinery of chestnut burrs. Part I. Study of the pretreatment with choline chloride urea diluted deep eutectic solvent

 Biomass & Bioenergy, 173, 106786, 2023

Chestnut burrs (CB) are agro-industrial wastes produced in large amounts during chestnut processing. Despite their high value composition, this type of biomass has been scarcely studied, becoming an important material to be valorized. In this work, a green technology based on the use of diluted choline chloride urea (ChCl:U) deep eutectic solvent (DES) was postulated to deconstruct the lignocellulosic structure. The pretreatment was evaluated using untreated CB and CB previously processed (washed CB or the solid residue obtained after prehydrolysis). Following a biorefinery concept, the samples obtained in this work will be further enzymatically hydrolyzed in Part II to reach fermentable sugars-containing solutions. Several operational parameters such as time (4, 8 and 16 h), temperature (60, 80, 100 and 120 °C), and liquid-solid ratio (LSR) (10:1, 15:1 and 20:1) were studied to improve CB deconstruction. Physicochemical transformations were investigated by ATR-FTIR and SEM analysis. The best delignification rate (∼40%) was achieved applying the DES pretreatment in untreated CB at 100 °C for 16 h and 20:1 (w/w) LSR, being corroborated by physicochemical changes observed by FTIR and SEM.

A UVigo participa nunha investigación europea para desentrañar o potencial do microbioma do trigo e desenvolver alimentos e pensos máis sans e sostibles

Xunto á UVigo, a Universitat de València e as empresas Contactica, Isanatur Spain e Editorial Agrícola Española conforman a representación española no proxecto que ten como obxectivo principal comprender de que modo a microbiota impacta, dunha banda, o cultivo do trigo e a calidade nutricional de forma xeral e específica, respecto ás proteínas causantes la enfermidade celíaca; a produción de novos alimentos para humanos e animais usando microbiota autóctona con carácter probiótico, así como outros microorganismos con coñecida capacidade probiótica; a percepción de sabor a través do estudo da interacción composición alimento-microbiota, alimento-microbiota humana, e o impacto na saúde a través dos estudo da interacción composición alimento microbiota, alimento-microbiota humana.

“Contamos con expertos das áreas de edafoloxía e química agrícola, ciencia e tecnoloxía dos alimentos e nutrición, alimentación animal e ciencias veterinarias, bioloxía molecular e celular e nutrixenómica e estudos clínicos”, detalla a coordinadora de Wheatbiome, que engade que este traballo será complementado con expertos en transferencia de coñecemento (formación ao sector primario), a industria alimentaria (encargada dos prototipos de alimentos a testar en humanos) e un equipo de bioinformáticos, para desenvolver unha ferramenta de toma de decisións nunha perspectiva transnacional para modelizar os datos obtidos para predicir comportamentos futuros. 

En canto ao papel que a UVigo desenvolve no proxecto Wheatbiome, o catedrático Jesús Simal sinala que “se centra en investigar os efectos dos novos produtos derivados do trigo, fermentados ou non, na súa calidade hixiénico-sanitaria e nutricional e a riqueza en compostos bioactivos, realizando estudos de proteómica e metabolómica, así como estudos de interacción entre proteínas e compostos bioactivos, determinando a súa bioaccesibilidade  e a bioctividade de propiedades antioxidante, prebiótica e antiinflamatoria en ensaios in vitro, para entender os potenciais efectos dietéticos do seu consumo animal e humano”, detalla o docente e investigador o Departamento de Química analítica e alimentaria. Estes traballos serán realizados na área de Nutrición e Bromatoloxía, da calidade hixiénico-sanitaria e nutricional e a riqueza en compostos bioactivos encargarase o grupo de investigación AA1, liderado polo catedrático Jesús Simal e os estudos de interacción molecular, bioaccesibilidade  e a bioctividades serán desenvolvidos no CF1, baixo a dirección de Rosa Pérez.

Con 5 millóns de euros de orzamento, a investigación prolongarase ata decembro de 2026

Fonte: DUVI

Anti-diabetic potential of apigenin, luteolin, and baicalein via partially activating PI3K/Akt/Glut-4 signaling pathways in insulin-resistant HepG2 cells

 Food Science and Human Wellness, 12 (6), 1991-2000 (2023)

Dietary flavonoids are abundant in natural plants and possess multiple pharmacological and nutritional activities. In this study, apigenin, luteolin, and baicalein were chosen to evaluate their anti-diabetic effect in high-glucose and dexamethasone induced insulin-resistant (IR) HepG2 cells. All flavonoids improves the glucose consumption and glycogen synthesis abilities in IR-HepG2 cells via activating glucose transporter protein 4 (GLUT4) and phosphor-glycogen synthase kinase (GSK-3β). These flavonoids significantly inhibited the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), which were closely related to the suppression of the phosphorylation form of NF-κB and P65. The expression levels of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1), insulin receptor substrate-2 (IRS-2) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway in IR-HepG2 cells were all partially activated by the flavonoids, with variable effects. Furthermore, the intracellular metabolic conditions of the flavonoids were also evaluated.

Most Recent Research Progress in Moringa oleifera: Bioactive Phytochemicals and Their Correlated Health Promoting Effects

 Food Reviews International, 2023

Moringa oleifera Lam. (M. oleifera) is a fast-growing and esculent plant with high nutritional and medicinal values. Traditionally, M. oleifera has been applied to treat anaemia, asthma, pain in joints, headaches, diarrhoea and so forth. Phytochemical studies have manifested that more than 300 components, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, organic acids, alkaloids, lignans, glucosinolates, carotenoids, proteins, fats, minerals, and so on, are present in different parts of M. oleifera. Simultaneously, M. oleifera has exhibited extensive notable pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-cancer, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, hypotensive, hepatoprotective, etc. Consequently, on the one hand, this work aims to comprehensively and holistically review the nutritional components, chemical constituents and pharmacological activities on various parts of M. oleifera, as well as its applications in functional food products and medicines. On the other hand, this work also looks forward to the new prospects and the future developments in the research of M. oleifera, and thus provides valuable insights for the follow-up and in-depth studies of this multifunctional tree.

Potential of essential oils for protection of Couscous against Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin B1 contamination

 Food Control, 145, 109474, 2023

Our study was aimed to evaluate antifungal, antiaflatoxin, and antioxidant potential of Mentha pulegium, Myrtus communis, and Mentha piperita essential oils (EOs). The EOs showed efficacy as a couscous preservative. A total of 387 fungal species were isolated from Couscous samples, with Aspergillus flavus BN (20) which is identified as the highest aflatoxin producer. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of M. pulegium and M. communis EOs against the toxigenic strain of A. flavus BN (20) determined to be 4.00 μL/mL, whereas the MIC of M. piperita was 3.50 μL/mL. The EOs inhibited the aflatoxin B1 production at lower concentrations. The EOs showed fungitoxicity against wide-ranging of fungi and high antioxidant activity. The IC50 value of the oils ranged between 3.27 and 4.31 μL/mL. EOs may be able to contribute preservation of food commodities against quantitative and qualitative losses. During fumigation assays in Algerian traditional food system (Couscous), the three EOs showed protection of Couscous from A. flavus contamination indicating their efficacy as sustainable fumigant in food systems.

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Possible role of nutrition in the prevention of inflammatory bowel disease–related colorectal cancer: A focus on human studies

 Nutrition, 110, 111980 (2023)

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at substantially high risk for colorectal cancer (CRC). IBD-associated CRC accounts for roughly 10% to 15% of the annual mortality in patients with IBD. IBD-related CRC also affects younger patients compared with sporadic CRC, with a 5-y survival rate of 50%. Regardless of medical therapies, the persistent inflammatory state characterizing IBD raises the risk for precancerous changes and CRC, with additional input from several elements, including genetic and environmental risk factors, IBD-associated comorbidities, intestinal barrier dysfunction, and gut microbiota modifications. It is well known that nutritional habits and dietary bioactive compounds can influence IBD-associated inflammation, microbiome abundance and composition, oxidative stress balance, and gut permeability.

Additionally, in recent years, results from broad epidemiologic and experimental studies have associated certain foods or nutritional patterns with the risk for colorectal neoplasia. The present study aimed to review the possible role of nutrition in preventing IBD-related CRC, focusing specifically on human studies. It emerges that nutritional interventions based on healthy, nutrient-dense dietary patterns characterized by a high intake of fiber, vegetables, fruit, ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and a low amount of animal proteins, processed foods, and alcohol, combined with probiotic supplementation have the potential of reducing IBD-activity and preventing the risk of IBD-related CRC through different mechanisms, suggesting that targeted nutritional interventions may represent a novel promising approach for the prevention and management of IBD-associated CRC.

Fumonisin B1 Biosynthesis Is Associated with Oxidative Stress and Plays an Important Role in Fusarium proliferatum Infection on Banana Fruit

 J. Agric. Food Chem. 2023

Fungal response to oxidative stress during infection on postharvest fruit is largely unknown. Here, we found that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) treatment inhibited the growth of Fusarium proliferatum causing crown rot of banana fruit, confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation. H2O2 exposure increased endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) production in F. proliferatum, possibly by modulating FUM or ROS-related gene expression. Importantly, H2O2 treatment inhibited F. proliferatum growth in vivo but induced FB1 accumulation in banana peel. Finally, we constructed the FpFUM21 deletion mutant (ΔFpfum21) of F. proliferatum that was attenuated in FB1 biosynthesis and less tolerant to oxidative stress. Moreover, the ΔFpfum21 strain was less virulent compared to the wild type (WT) due to the inability to induce FB1 production in the banana host. These results suggested that FB1 biosynthesis is associated with oxidative stress in F. proliferatum and contributes to fungal infection on banana fruit.