Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered an attractive generation of novel antibiotics due to their advantageous properties such as a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity against pathogens, low cytotoxicity, and drug resistance. Although they have common structural features and it has been widely demonstrated that bacterial membranes represent the main target of the peptide activity, the exact mechanism underlying the membrane perturbation by AMPs is not fully understood. Nevertheless, all the proposed modes of action implicate the preliminary interaction of AMPs with the negatively charged lipids in bacterial membranes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe valorization of milk whey appears to be a promising strategy for managing by-products from dairy food industries, which incur demanding economic costs for treatment and/or disposal. Thanks to its numerous bioactive components, whey is expected to be increasingly incorporated into foods in the future. We investigated the safety of ovine milk whey through in vitro experiments on human primary gingival fibroblast (HGF-1) proliferation and wound healing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe buffalo dairy sector is extending its boundaries to include new buffalo cheese productions beyond mozzarella, overcoming some barriers that make cheeses expensive and unsustainable. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of both the inclusion of green feed in the diet of Italian Mediterranean buffaloes and an innovative ripening system on buffalo cheese quality, providing solutions capable of guaranteeing the production of nutritionally competitive and sustainable products. For this purpose, chemical, rheological, and microbiological analyses were carried out on cheeses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWet-aging (WA) and dry-aging (DA) methods are usually used in the beef industry to satisfy the consumers' tastes; however, these methods are not suitable for all anatomical cuts. In this study, WA and DA were applied to improve the quality of two cuts of Charolais beef ( and ). For 60 days (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFoodborne infections cause illness and death every year worldwide. The aim of this study was to describe trends in 2013-2019 in the occurrence of human cases of salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, listeriosis, and hepatitis A in the Campania region. Human case data were provided by the National Surveillance System of disease and were grouped by year, province, age group, and sex.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSince penicillin was discovered, antibiotics have been critical in the fight against infections. However, antibiotic misuse has led to drug resistance, which now constitutes a serious health problem. In this context, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) constitute a natural group of short proteins, varying in structure and length, that act against certain types of bacterial pathogens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSuperoxide dismutase (SOD) is a fundamental antioxidant enzyme that neutralises superoxide ions, one of the main reactive oxygen species (ROS). Extremophile organisms possess enzymes that offer high stability and catalytic performances under a wide range of conditions, thus representing an exceptional source of biocatalysts useful for industrial processes. In this study, SODs from the thermo-halophilic (SOD) and the thermo-acidophilic (SOD) were heterologously expressed in transgenic tomato cell cultures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFresh fishery products are highly perishable foods mainly due to their high-water content and high level of pH which act as promoters of spoilage processes. In these matrices, the deterioration phenomena are the result of the action of oxidative, and enzymatic processes due in part to the presence of specific microorganisms. Indeed, the microbial communities responsible for spoilage are a small fraction of the flora detectable in the fish and are known as specific spoilage organisms (SSOs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFresh fish are highly perishable, owing mainly to their moisture content, high amount of free amino acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Microorganisms and chemical reactions cause the spoilage, leading to loss in quality, human health risks and a market value reduction. Therefore, the fishing industry has always been willing to explore new technologies to increase quality and safety of fish products through a decrease of the microbiological and biochemical damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study focused on the characterization of salami produced with meat from different pig breeds. The aim consisted in evaluating the added value of the inclusion of Apulo-Calabrese meat in the production of salami, which was characterized by production until the end of maturation (1, 30, 60, and 120 days). The experimental design involved three types of salami, two of which were produced by partial inclusion of 50 and 75% of the Italian breed pork meat (S50 and S75, respectively).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWater-bath stunning represents the most-applied stunning system in poultry slaughtering, but within the European Union, specific indications on electric parameters that should be used, such as voltage, are missing. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of two commercially available types of electrical equipment (A and B) on broilers with different live body weights and the influence of the tested parameters on meat quality. Experimental trials in a European Union-approved slaughterhouse were carried out using two different stunners.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecently, several concerns have been expressed on red meat quality and consumption. The aims of this study were to evaluate the influence of different breeding techniques and a prolonged post dry aging (PDA) maturation process on biomolecules level in raw buffalo meat. In the first experiment, two groups of animals were maintained with different space availability (15 vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBeef burgers are meat preparations with easy perishability. To ensure a longer shelflife, the Regulation EU 1129/11 allows the use of some additives. However, healthconscious consumers prefer products which do not contain synthetic substances.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe common dentex ( (Linnaeus, 1758)) is an iconic fish in the Mediterranean diet. Due to its commercial and organoleptic importance, this sparid is highly appreciated in European markets and is often subjected to species substitution frauds. Comparative mitogenomics is a suitable approach for identifying new and effective barcode markers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFand are considered the principal target species for commercial fishing in Europe and are widely consumed as semipreserved products. Although they are considered shelf-stable products, if treatment is not correctly applied, their consumption may represent a public health risk in regard to anisakiasis and allergic reactions. Little is known about the prevalence of spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis a well-known and important medicinal plant, with a long history of traditional medicine use. Several studies showed that it contains many bioactive compounds with a wide range of pharmacological effects. In light of these past researches, were chosen to consider its potential antimicrobial action.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFresh products are characterized by reduced shelf-life because they are an excellent growth medium for a lot of microorganisms. Therefore, the microbial spoilage causing significant food supply losses has become an enormous economic and ethical problem worldwide. The antimicrobial packaging is offering a viable solution to tackle this economic and safety issue by extending the shelf-life and improving the quality and safety of fresh products.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a long ageing period on the microbiological, rheological and physicalchemical characteristics of bovine beef. For the trial n. 3 Marchigiana bovine breed (live weight of 760 kg approximately), slaughtered at 34 months were chosen and the loin muscles were undergone to a prolonged ageing process.
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