Publications by authors named "Esther Floris"

An adequate and balanced supply of nutrients is essential for maintaining health, and an optimal immune response is fast, contained and properly controlled, curbing infections quickly while minimizing damage. Several micronutrients contribute to normal immune function and certain dietary fibers, for example pectic polysaccharides, can play an important role in educating and regulating immune cell responses. The aim of this paper is to elaborate on our initial findings that dietary supplementation with carrot-derived rhamnogalacturonan-I (cRG-I) accelerates and augments local innate immune and anti-viral interferon response to a rhinovirus-16 (RV16) infection and reduces the severity and duration of symptoms in humans.

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Article Synopsis
  • Acute respiratory infections are a significant health issue, with plant-derived rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) traditionally used for prevention.
  • A study tested the effects of carrot-derived RG-I (cRG-I) supplements on 177 healthy adults following rhinovirus infection, focusing on symptoms, viral load, and immune responses.
  • Results showed that cRG-I was safe and improved immune responses, with 0.3 g/day significantly reducing symptom severity and duration by 20% and 25%, respectively, while higher doses had varying effects due to a feedback mechanism.
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People experiencing sleep problems may benefit from nutrients supporting serotonin metabolism and stress reduction. We studied the effect of a dairy-based product (DP) containing protein, galacto-oligosaccharides, vitamins and minerals, on sleep quality, stress, and gut-microbiota. In a cross-over RCT (three weeks intervention; three weeks washout), adults ( = 70; 30-50 y) with sleep disturbances (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) ≥ 9) consumed products 1 h before bed-time.

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The establishment of the infant gut microbiota is a highly dynamic process dependent on extrinsic and intrinsic factors. We characterized the faecal microbiota of 4 breastfed infants and 4 formula-fed infants at 17 consecutive time points during the first 12 weeks of life. Microbiota composition was analysed by a combination of 16S rRNA gene sequencing and quantitative PCR (qPCR).

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The aim of this work was to investigate the behavior of thermophilic esterase EST2 from Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius in milk and cheese models. The pure enzyme was used to compare the EST2 hydrolytic activity to the activity of endogenous esterase EstA from Lactococcus lactis. The results indicate that EST2 exhibits 30-fold-higher esterase activity than EstA.

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Background: The NIsin-Controlled gene Expression system NICE of Lactococcus lactis is one of the most widespread used expression systems of Gram-positive bacteria. It is used in more than 100 laboratories for laboratory-scale gene expression experiments. However, L.

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