Effects of Dietary Plant Protein Replacement with Insect and Poultry By-Product Meals on the Liver Health and Serum Metabolites of Sea Bream () and Sea Bass ().

The liver health of Gilthead sea bream and European sea bass, fed with fish meal-free diets, including various proportions of plant proteins, as well as insect and poultry by-product meals, was investigated through biochemical and histological analyses using a new liver index (LI) formula. Four isoproteic (45% Dry Matter, DM) and isolipidic (20% DM) diets were compared, including a plant-based control diet (CV) and three other test diets, in which 40% of a plant protein-rich ingredient mixture was replaced with meals from (H40) or poultry by-product (P40) alone, or in combination (H10P30). The trials lasted 12 and 18 weeks for sea bream and sea bass, respectively.

Toxicity of Usnic Acid: A Narrative Review.

Usnic acid (UA) is a dibenzofuran derivative naturally present in lichens, organisms resulting from the symbiosis between a fungus and a cyanobacterium, or an alga. UA shows antimicrobial, antitumor, antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory as well as UV-protective activities. Its use as pharmacological agent is widely described in traditional medicine, and in the past few years, the product has been marketed as a food supplement for the induction of weight loss.

Antiviral properties of whey proteins and their activity against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Native and chemically modified whey proteins and their peptide derivatives are encountering the interest of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries, due to the numerous properties, ranging from antimicrobial to immunological and antitumorigenic, that result in the possibility to employ milk and its protein components in a wide range of treatment and prevention strategies. Importantly, whey proteins were found to exert antiviral actions against different enveloped and non-enveloped viruses. Recently, the scientific community is focusing on these proteins, especially lactoferrin, since in vitro studies have demonstrated that they exert an important antiviral activity also against SARS-CoV-2.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based immunosystem for ultrasensitive detection of the 90K biomarker.

The research and the individuation of tumour markers in biological fluids are currently one of the main tools to support diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of the therapeutic response in oncology. Although the identification of tumour markers in asymptomatic patients is crucial for early diagnosis, its application is still limited by the relatively low sensitivity and the complexity of existing methods (i.e.

Low-cost and reagent-free paper-based device to detect chloride ions in serum and sweat.

The recent goal of sustainability in analytical chemistry has boosted the development of eco-designed analytical tools to deliver fast and cost-effective analysis with low economic and environmental impact. Due to the recent focus in sustainability, we report the use of low-cost filter paper as a sustainable material to print silver electrodes and to load reagents for a reagent-free electrochemical detection of chloride in biological samples, namely serum and sweat. The electrochemical detection of chloride ions was carried out by exploiting the reaction of the analyte (i.

Optimization of construct design and fermentation strategy for the production of bioactive ATF-SAP, a saporin based anti-tumoral uPAR-targeted chimera.

Background: The big challenge in any anti-tumor therapeutic approach is represented by the development of drugs selectively acting on the target with limited side effects, that exploit the unique characteristics of malignant cells. The urokinase (urokinase-type plasminogen activator, uPA) and its receptor uPAR have been identified as preferential target candidates since they play a key role in the evolution of neoplasms and are associated with neoplasm aggressiveness and poor clinical outcome in several different tumor types.

Results: To selectively target uPAR over-expressing cancer cells, we prepared a set of chimeric proteins (ATF-SAP) formed by the human amino terminal fragments (ATF) of uPA and the plant ribosome inactivating protein saporin (SAP).

The Nutraceutical Properties of Ovotransferrin and Its Potential Utilization as a Functional Food.

Ovotransferrin or conalbumin belong to the transferrin protein family and is endowed with both iron-transfer and protective activities. In addition to its well-known antibacterial properties, ovotransferrin displays other protective roles similar to those already ascertained for the homologous mammalian lactoferrin. These additional functions, in many cases not directly related to iron binding, are also displayed by the peptides derived from partial hydrolysis of ovotransferrin, suggesting a direct relationship between egg consumption and human health.