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Trends in the developing era to discover and design peptide-based treatments throughout an epidemic infection scenario such as COVID-19 could progress into a more efficient and low-cost therapeutic environment. However, the weakening of proteolysis is one downside of natural peptide drugs. But, peptidomimetics may help resolve this issue. In this review, peptide and peptide-based drug discovery were summarized to target one key entry mechanism of severe coronavirus pulmonary emboli syndrome (SARS-CoV-2), which encompasses the association of the host angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor and viral spike (S) protein. Furthermore, the benefits of proteins, peptides and other possible actions that have been studied for COVID-19 through new peptide-based treatments are discussed in the review. Lastly, an overview of the peptide-based drug therapy environment is comprised of an evolutionary viewpoint, structural properties, operational thresholds, and an explanation of the therapeutic area.

Hypercholesterolemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, and hence, reducing serum cholesterol levels could reduce the incidence. In this study, we ascertained the cholesterol-reducing potential of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from Korean fermented soybean paste. Live, resting, and dead cells of all the bacteria reduced cholesterol in liquid media in a strain-dependent manner. Live cells of Weissella cibaria SCCB2306, Pediococcus acidilactici SDL1402, P. acidilactici SDL1406, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus JDFM6 reduced the most cholesterol in liquid media by 78 ± 3%, 72 ± 3%, 76 ± 3%, 75 ± 5%, and 79 ± 2%, respectively. As the cholesterol levels in the media reduced, cell membrane lipids of P. acidilactici SDL1402, P. acidilactici SDL1406, and L. rhamnosus JDFM6 increased by 23.36 mg/mL, 6.53 mg/mL, and 8.14 mg/mL, respectively, indicating that cholesterol was incorporated into the bacteria cell membranes. All the bacteria displayed bile salt hydrolase activities in a strain-dependent manner. Though all four LAB significantly reduced cholesterol levels in Caenorhabditis elegans irrespective of the order of feeding, L. rhamnosus JDFM6 reduced the most cholesterol in vivo (up to 40% of ingested cholesterol). None of the four LAB hydrolyzed mucin or gelatin and none was toxic to C. elegans. The concentrations of phenylethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, and tyramine produced by the LAB were below the toxic limits of biogenic amines set by the European Food Safety Authority. Taken together, our results demonstrate that Weissella cibaria SCCB2306, P. acidilactici SDL1402, P. acidilactici SDL1405, and L. rhamnosus JDFM6 could be safe cholesterol-reducing probiotic candidates for preventing or managing hypercholesterolemia.

In addition to the ubiquitous roles of cellular RNA in genetic regulations, gene expression and phenotypic variations in response to environmental cues and chemotactic signals, the regulatory roles of a new type of RNA called extracellular RNAs (exRNAs) are an up-and-coming area of research interest. exRNA is transported outside the cell through membrane blebs known as membrane vesicles or extracellular vesicles (EVs). EV formation is predominant and conserved among all microbial forms, including prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and archaea. This review will focus on the three major topics concerning bacterially derived exRNAs, i.e., 1) the discovery of exRNA and influence of extraneous RNA over bacterial gene regulations, 2) the known secretion mechanism for the release of exRNA, and 3) the possible applications that can be devised with these exRNA secreted by different gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. Further, this review will also provide an opinion on exRNA- and EV-derived applications such as the species-specific exRNA markers for diagnostics and the possible roles of exRNA in probiotics and the epigenetic regulations of the gut microbiome.

The bioconversion of onion extracts with P. acidilactici MNL5 enhances the metabolites and has a synergistic lipid-reduction impact that is beneficial for anti-obesity studies. The 48 h fermented onion extracts (FOE) demonstrated an enhanced inhibitory activity against pancreatic lipase (89.5 ± 1.25 %) as compared to the raw onion extract (ROE) (33.4 ± 0.86 %). The antioxidant properties of FOE significantly increased compared to the ROE inhibitory effect on DPPH (99.5 ± 2.40 mg vitamin C equiv./mg, DW FOE), and ABTS (104.5 ± 2.32 mg vitamin C equiv./mg, DW FOE). Based on FOE's higher antioxidant activity, UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS demonstrated dramatic changes in the untargeted metabolite profile as compared to ROE. Moreover, C. elegans supplemented with FOE and quercetin exhibited an enhanced lifespan activity, lipid reduction, and decreased triglycerides. FOE can lower cholesterol and enhance quercetin to promote pancreatic lipase activity for synergistic anti-obesity effects.

There is currently a transformed interest toward understanding the impact of fermentation on functional food development due to growing consumer interest on modified health benefits of sustainable foods. In this review, we attempt to summarize recent findings regarding the impact of Next-generation sequencing and other bioinformatics methods in the food microbiome and use prediction software to understand the critical role of microbes in producing fermented foods. Traditionally, fermentation methods and starter culture development were considered conventional methods needing optimization to eliminate errors in technique and were influenced by technical knowledge of fermentation. Recent advances in high-output omics innovations permit the implementation of additional logical tactics for developing fermentation methods. Further, the review describes the multiple functions of the predictions based on docking studies and the correlation of genomic and metabolomic analysis to develop trends to understand the potential food microbiome interactions and associated products to become a part of a healthy diet.

To monitor the levels of antimicrobials, allergens, pathogens and other contaminants in foods meant for human consumption, it is imperative to have quick, accurate and low-cost tests. Advanced techniques (e.g. label-free biosensor assays) have been developed over the past 10–15 years to solve some of these problems. As biosensors, immunosensors can provide real-time measurements, a high degree of automation, and improved throughput and sensitivity. By comparison with conventional methods, immunosensors are less expensive, less sophisticated physicochemical instruments that require less time for analysis while also being more user-friendly. In this review, we discuss our current knowledge about immunosensors, their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the future of these biosensors in food safety.

In the present study, thirty two lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from fermented Indian herbal medicine. In comparison to other strains, MNL5 had stronger bile salt hydrolase (BSH) and cholesterol-lowering properties. Furthermore, it can withstand the extreme conditions found in the GI tract, due to, e.g., pepsin, bile salts, pancreatin, and acids.

Oxidative stress is known to cause cell apoptosis, tissue damage, and pathological changes in the body, but antioxidant peptides are renowned radical scavengers. This study investigated the antioxidative and protective effect of six novel peptides obtained after microbial fermentation of brown rice. The selected peptides (MW ≤ 8 KDa), namely AVPYPQ (P1), ILTAV (P2), LGDVIGVP (P3), NPIFDYVLLP (P4), VAPFPEV (P5), and VLPVPK (P6) exhibited strong antioxidant potential against in vitro radicals with IC

Aquatic products are becoming increasingly popular as a source of high-quality protein with low levels of saturated fat but are highly perishable due to microbial proliferation and enzymatic and chemical reactions. Effective processing or preservation is required to maintain food quality and prolong shelf life. Cold plasma (CP), a nonthermal technology, is widely used on different types of food due to its efficient antimicrobial effects and the ability to inactivate enzymes while maintaining product quality. The applications of CP to aquatic products such as fish, fish products, and shrimp are discussed herein, and the effect of CP on the viable bacteria count, pH, texture, color, enzymatic reactions, fatty acid composition, lipid oxidation, protein conformation, overall acceptance, and shelf life were evaluated. CP technology alone or combined with other treatments could be applied as a promising processing or preservation technique to maintain the quality and extend the shelf life of aquatic products by inactivating microorganisms with few side effects on or even improvements in some physicochemical properties.

The face mask introduction in SARS-CoV-2 pandemic situation, one of the precautionary measure to reduce the rate of transmission of infection from person to person. There are many type of of face masks enter into our global market with various size and designs. Among those, surgical mask belongs to secure an important place and this aimed to evaluate the degrading efficiency disposable face masks (single use face masks). The present study dealt with, biodegradation of face masks which is made of polypropylene with the help of bacterial strainPesudomonasaeruginosaisolated from the plastic waste dumping sites in an around the Tiruchirappalli, India. The bacteriacould degrade PP mask via the formation of biofilm on a solid medium. To degrade the PP, the mask pieces were incubated with the culture of P. aeruginosain three different solid and liquid medium (nutrient agar, Bushnell Haas agar and mineral salt medium) for 30 days at 37ᵒC. The microbial degradation(up to 33% of weight reduction of PP films within 30 days) was proved by surface changes along with the variation in the intensity of functional groups as well as carbonyl index variations using Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. These results suggested that P.aeruginosa strain can prove to be a suitable candidate for polypropylene mask biodegradation without causing any impairment to our health or environment.

Bioactive peptides are present in most soy products and eggs and have essential protective functions. Infection is a core feature of innate immunity that affects blood pressure and the glucose level, and ageing can be delayed by killing senescent cells. Food also encrypts bioactive peptides and protein sequences produced through proteolysis or food processing. Unique food protein fragments can improve human health and avoid metabolic diseases, inflammation, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes mellitus. This review focuses on drug targets and fundamental mechanisms of bioactive peptides on metabolic syndromes, namely obesity and type 2 diabetes, to provide new ideas and knowledge on the ability of bioactive peptide to control metabolic syndromes.

The scientific community has been releasing whole genomic sequences of SARS-CoV-2 to facilitate the investigation of molecular features and evolutionary history. We retrieved 36 genomes of 18 prevalent countries of Asia, Europe and America for genomic diversity and mutational analysis. Besides, we studied mutations in the RBD regions of Spike (S) proteins to analyze the drug efficiency against these mutations. In this research, phylogenenetic analysis, evolutionary modeling, substitution pattern analysis, molecular docking, dynamics simulation, etc. were performed. The genomic sequences showed >99% similarity with the reference sequence of China.TN93 + G was predicted as a best nucleotide substitution model. It was revealed that effective transition from the co-existing SARS genome to the SARS-CoV-2 and a noticeable positive selection in the SARS-CoV-2 genomes occurred. Moreover, three mutations in RBD domain, Val/ Phe367, Val/ Leu 382 and Ala/ Val522, were discovered in the genomes from Netherland, Bangladesh and the USA, respectively. Molecular docking and dynamics study showed RBD with mutation Val/Leu382 had the lowest binding affinity with remdesivir. In conclusion, the SARS-CoV-2 genomes are similar, but multiple degrees of transitions and transversions occurred. The mutations cause a significant conformational change, which are needed to be investigated during drug and vaccine development.

In the present study, we screened for potential probiotic yeast that could survive under extreme frozen conditions. The antimicrobial and heat-stable properties of the isolated yeast strains Saccharomyces boulardii (S. boulardii) (KT000032, KT000033, KT000034, KT000035, KT000036, and KT000037) was analyzed and compared with commercial probiotic strains. The results revealed that the tested S. boulardii KT000032 strain showed higher resistance to gastric enzymes (bile salts, pepsin, and pancreatic enzyme) at low pH, with broad antibiotic resistance. In addition, the strain also showed efficient auto-aggregation and co-aggregation abilities and efficient hydrophobicity in the in-vitro and in-vivo C. elegens gut model. Further, the KT000032 strain showed higher antimicrobial efficiency against 13 different enteropathogens and exhibited commensal relationships with five commercial probiotic strains. Besides, the bioactive compounds produced in the cell-free supernatant of probiotic yeast showed thermo-tolerance (95 °C for two hours). Furthermore, the thermo-stable property of the strains will facilitate their incorporation into ready-to-eat food products under extreme food processing conditions.

The current study was performed to determine the phenolic compounds composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, and α-glucosidase inhibitory effect of the root extract of Tupistra nutans Wall., in order to validate its use in traditional medicine. HPLC–MS/MS analysis showed the presence of ferulic acid, protocatechuic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, p-coumaric acid, salicylic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, l-phenylalanine as the predominant phenolic compounds. The antioxidant potentials of T. nutans were determined in different solvent extract and found to vary in a concentration-dependent manner. Ethyl acetate-soluble fraction exhibited the highest amount of phenolic acids, flavonoids, antioxidant activity against the DPPH, reduced Fe3+/ferric cyanide complexes to the ferrous form and inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase. Butanol fraction showed the strongest ABTS radical scavenging ability. Methanolic root extract showed higher reduction capability of ferric ions than the other solvent fractions. A significant and higher positive correlation was found between total phenolic content and total flavonoid content with α-glucosidase inhibition and DPPH using ethyl acetate solvent than the other solvent fractions. All the tested microorganisms: Staphylococcus aureus Rosenback (ATCC13150), Salmonella enterica typhimurium Kauffmann and Edwads (ATCC14028), Escherichia coli Castllani and Chalmers (ATCC35150), and fungi: Candida albicans Robin and Berkhout (KTCC7965), Aspergillus fumigatus Fresenius (KTCC6145), A. flavus var. flavus Link ex Fries (KTCC6143), A. niger van Tieghem (KTCC6317) were susceptible to the root extracts at a concentration of 0.12–0.25 mg mL−1. This study may allow us to understand indigenous medicinal values of T. nutans. Furthermore, these results showed that T. nutans is a good source of antioxidants along with antimicrobial and antidiabetic activities and could be used as an important bioresource for the pharmaceutical and food industries.