Publications by authors named "Raquel Madureira"

Glucans, a polysaccharide naturally present in the yeast cell wall that can be obtained from side streams generated during the fermentation process, have gained increasing attention for their potential as a skin ingredient. Therefore, this study focused on the extraction method to isolate and purify water-insoluble glucans from two different Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains: an engineered strain obtained from spent yeast in an industrial fermentation process and a wild strain produced through lab-scale fermentation. Two water-insoluble extracts with a high glucose content (> 90 %) were achieved and further subjected to a chemical modification using carboxymethylation to improve their water solubility.

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Cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG) are two pharmacologically active phytocannabinoids of L. Their antimicrobial activity needs further elucidation, particularly for CBG, as reports on this cannabinoid are scarce. We investigated CBD and CBG's antimicrobial potential, including their ability to inhibit the formation and cause the removal of biofilms.

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Context: Nanotechnology can be applied to deliver and protect antioxidants in order to control the oxidative stress phenomena in several chronic pathologies. Chitosan (CS) nanoparticles are biodegradable carriers that may protect antioxidants with potent biological activity such as rosmarinic acid (RA) in Salvia officinalis (sage) and Satureja montana (savory) extracts for safe and innovative therapies.

Objective: Development and characterization of CS nanoparticles as a stable and protective vehicle to deliver RA for medical applications using natural extracts as sage and savory.

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For dairy products that are consumed fresh, contamination by spoilage microorganisms and pathogens from the environment is a major concern. Contamination has been associated with a number of outbreaks of foodborne illnesses; however, consistent data pertaining to the microbial safety of whey cheeses specifically have not been reported. Hence, the goals of this research effort were (i) to manufacture a probiotic whey cheese with Bifidobacterium animalis and Lactobacillus casei and (ii) to assess the antimicrobial activity of these probiotics against a set of foodborne pathogens (Listeria innocua, Salmonella Enteritidis, and Staphylococcus aureus) and food spoilage microorganisms (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli).

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