Search

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Microbes are all pervasive in their distribution and influence on the functioning and well-being of humans, life in general and the planet. Microbially-based technologies contribute hugely to the supply of important goods and services we depend upon, such as the provision of food, medicines and clean water. They also offer mechanisms and strategies to mitigate and solve a wide range of problems and crises facing humanity at all levels, including those encapsulated in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) formulated by the United Nations. For example, microbial technologies can contribute in multiple ways to decarbonisation and hence confronting global warming, provide sanitation and clean water to the billions of people lacking them, improve soil fertility and hence food production and develop vaccines and other medicines to reduce and in some cases eliminate deadly infections. They are the foundation of biotechnology, an increasingly important and growing business sector and source of employment, and the centre of the bioeconomy, Green Deal, etc. But, because microbes are largely invisible, they are not familiar to most people, so opportunities they offer to effectively prevent and solve problems are often missed by decision-makers, with the negative consequences this entrains. To correct this lack of vital knowledge, the International Microbiology Literacy Initiative-the IMiLI-is recruiting from the global microbiology community and making freely available, teaching resources for a curriculum in societally relevant microbiology that can be used at all levels of learning. Its goal is the development of a society that is literate in relevant microbiology and, as a consequence, able to take full advantage of the potential of microbes and minimise the consequences of their negative activities. In addition to teaching about microbes, almost every lesson discusses the influence they have on sustainability and the SDGs and their ability to solve pressing problems of societal inequalities. The curriculum thus teaches about sustainability, societal needs and global citizenship. The lessons also reveal the impacts microbes and their activities have on our daily lives at the personal, family, community, national and global levels and their relevance for decisions at all levels. And, because effective, evidence-based decisions require not only relevant information but also critical and systems thinking, the resources also teach about these key generic aspects of deliberation. The IMiLI teaching resources are learner-centric, not academic microbiology-centric and deal with the microbiology of everyday issues. These span topics as diverse as owning and caring for a companion animal, the vast range of everyday foods that are produced via microbial processes, impressive geological formations created by microbes, childhood illnesses and how they are managed and how to reduce waste and pollution. They also leverage the exceptional excitement of exploration and discovery that typifies much progress in microbiology to capture the interest, inspire and motivate educators and learners alike. The IMiLI is establishing Regional Centres to translate the teaching resources into regional languages and adapt them to regional cultures, and to promote their use and assist educators employing them. Two of these are now operational. The Regional Centres constitute the interface between resource creators and educators-learners. As such, they will collect and analyse feedback from the end-users and transmit this to the resource creators so that teaching materials can be improved and refined, and new resources added in response to demand: educators and learners will thereby be directly involved in evolution of the teaching resources. The interactions between educators-learners and resource creators mediated by the Regional Centres will establish dynamic and synergistic relationships-a global societally relevant microbiology education ecosystem-in which creators also become learners, teaching resources are optimised and all players/stakeholders are empowered and their motivation increased. The IMiLI concept thus embraces the principle of teaching societally relevant microbiology embedded in the wider context of societal, biosphere and planetary needs, inequalities, the range of crises that confront us and the need for improved decisioning, which should ultimately lead to better citizenship and a humanity that is more sustainable and resilient. ABSTRACT: The biosphere of planet Earth is a microbial world: a vast reactor of countless microbially driven chemical transformations and energy transfers that push and pull many planetary geochemical processes, including the cycling of the elements of life, mitigate or amplify climate change (e.g., Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2019, 17, 569) and impact the well-being and activities of all organisms, including humans. Microbes are both our ancestors and creators of the planetary chemistry that allowed us to evolve (e.g., Lifes engines: How microbes made earth habitable, 2023). To understand how the biosphere functions, how humans can influence its development and live more sustainably with the other organisms sharing it, we need to understand the microbes. In a recent editorial (Environmental Microbiology, 2019, 21, 1513), we advocated for improved microbiology literacy in society. Our concept of microbiology literacy is not based on knowledge of the academic subject of microbiology, with its multitude of component topics, plus the growing number of additional topics from other disciplines that become vitally important elements of current microbiology. Rather it is focused on microbial activities that impact us-individuals/communities/nations/the human world-and the biosphere and that are key to reaching informed decisions on a multitude of issues that regularly confront us, ranging from personal issues to crises of global importance. In other words, it is knowledge and understanding essential for adulthood and the transition to it, knowledge and understanding that must be acquired early in life in school. The 2019 Editorial marked the launch of the International Microbiology Literacy Initiative, the IMiLI. HERE, WE PRESENT: our concept of how microbiology literacy may be achieved and the rationale underpinning it; the type of teaching resources being created to realise the concept and the framing of microbial activities treated in these resources in the context of sustainability, societal needs and responsibilities and decision-making; and the key role of Regional Centres that will translate the teaching resources into local languages, adapt them according to local cultural needs, interface with regional educators and develop and serve as hubs of microbiology literacy education networks. The topics featuring in teaching resources are learner-centric and have been selected for their inherent relevance, interest and ability to excite and engage. Importantly, the resources coherently integrate and emphasise the overarching issues of sustainability, stewardship and critical thinking and the pervasive interdependencies of processes. More broadly, the concept emphasises how the multifarious applications of microbial activities can be leveraged to promote human/animal, plant, environmental and planetary health, improve social equity, alleviate humanitarian deficits and causes of conflicts among peoples and increase understanding between peoples (Microbial Biotechnology, 2023, 16(6), 1091-1111). Importantly, although the primary target of the freely available (CC BY-NC 4.0) IMiLI teaching resources is schoolchildren and their educators, they and the teaching philosophy are intended for all ages, abilities and cultural spectra of learners worldwide: in university education, lifelong learning, curiosity-driven, web-based knowledge acquisition and public outreach. The IMiLI teaching resources aim to promote development of a global microbiology education ecosystem that democratises microbiology knowledge.

Water kefir (WK) is a nondairy probiotic beverage produced using water kefir grains that are highly adaptable to diverse food substrates. Fruit and vegetables have been used more in beverage production in recent years due to their plentiful nutritional qualities. In this context, the aim of this study is to develop fruit–vegetable juice‐based beverages fermented with WK grains in order to produce novel, non‐dairy, probiotic water kefir‐like beverages (W‐KLBs) with improved sensory and nutritional properties. In this context, black carrot (BC), apple (A), grape (G), and green cabbage (GC) juices are fermented with commercial WK grains. Results showed that BC‐KLB possessed the highest antioxidant activity (75.50%), total phenolic (1248.60 mg GA/L), and total monomeric anthocyanin (391.31 mg/L as cyaniding‐3‐glucoside equivalent) content. Also, the sensory evaluation demonstrated that BC‐KLB was the most favorable sample, while GC‐KLB received negative feedback. These findings strongly support the suitability of BC juice to develop W‐KLB with high added value and functional properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sunflower oil is an oil that is prone to oxidation due to its chemical structure and prevention of such oxidation is widely studied. This study assessed the the effectiveness of γ-glutamyl cystein (γGC, GC) and glutathione (GSH), in preventing oxidation of sunflower oil stored at 50°C for a period of 15 days. TBHQ was used as a positive control while no additive oil selected as a negatif control. Oxidation level indicators such as peroxide (PV), free fatty acidity (FFA), p-anisidine (p-AV) but also total oxidation (Totox), colour (L*, a*, b*) and fatty acid profile were determined. At the end of storage, oxidation in sunflower oil was substantially reduced by 40 mg/L of GC. Analysis with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) resulted in the following order of IC50; T (0.08±0.01), BHA (0.13±0.03), GC (0.3±0.01), GSH (0.41±0.00), BHT (0.42±0.02). The samples resistance to the generation of primary and secondary oxidation products was T>GCT>GC>GSHT>GSH>C for up to 15 days under storage conditions. The fatty acid profile analysed by GC/MS further demonstrated that these thiols outperformed the control group in terms of performance. Findings demonstrated that GC, precursor of GSH, has stronger antioxidant activity than GSH. As a result, it is recommended to be explored as a potential source of antioxidants in applications for the food industry to prevent lipid oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the effect of microfiltration, storage temperature and time on some quality characteristics of shalgam juices. Shalgam juice samples produced by fermentation with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum were filtered through a 0.45µm diameter filter and stored at 4°C and 20°C temperatures for six months. Significant decreases in the microbial population of beverages were found by microfiltration, and logaritmic reductions were between 3.60 and 4.96 log cuf/mL in shalgam samples. It was found that microfiltration could be used in the production of shalgam juice to reduce the population of microorganisms before storage, and microbial growth could be inhibited by storing micro-filtered juices at 4°C during storage. During storage at 4°C, micro-filtered shalgam juices were preferred over other shalgam samples. Sensory properties of shalgam juices stored at 4°C were preserved better than those of shalgam samples stored at 20°C. Results indicated that microfiltration treatment and/or cold-storage at 4°C could increase the shelf-life and improve sensory properties of shalgam juices, and this combination of treatments could be recommended as an alternative to thermal pasteurization, which might be unfavoured by many consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the effect of different fermentation temperatures on şalgam quality produced by traditional method. For this purpose, carrot fermentation was performed at five different temperatures as 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35°C. Application of different fermentation temperatures significantly affect the physical, chemical, microbiological, and sensorial properties of end‐product. Fermentation time was decreased with increasing fermentation temperature. Total acidity levels of şalgam ranged from 5.45 to 8.23 g/L. Lowering fermentation temperature did not have a negative affect on development of microorganisms during fermentation. Total phenol and anthocyanin contents as well as darkness of şalgam were increased with decreasing temperature. Moreover, L*, a*, b*, chroma and hue values were increased at higher temperatures. Şalgam produced at 15°C was clearly the most favored according to sensory analysis. Thus, application of low temperature in the production of şalgam could be considered as a good practice to improve product quality. Practical applications: Şalgam consumption is quite common in all regions of Turkey, and it has begun to emerge in Europe in recent years. Since there is no standard manufacturing process currently used in production of şalgam, production process and quality of şalgam vary significantly from one factory to another. As far as it is known, there is no previous study optimizing the fermentation temperature of şalgam and comparing the quality of şalgams produced. Fermentation at 15°C was found efficient to increase quality parameters of şalgam. The technique can be further scaled up for pilot plant followed by industrial use as it proved to be better than traditional method used for the production of beverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, studies on the research of traditional fermented foods and beverages with positive health effects have emerged. Not only the production and consumption of şalgam, but also the number of research on şalgam is increasing rapidly. There are two principal procedures used by producers for şalgam production: (1) the traditional and (2) the direct procedure. In the present study, individual and total anthocyanins in şalgams manufactured by traditional procedure, direct procedure, and addition of autochthonous lactic acid bacteria cultures were compared. The lowest total solid, ash, methanol, total phenolic, and color intensity were determined in şalgam produced by the direct procedure, while the highest values were determined in şalgam produced by the addition of Lactobacillus plantarum. Similarly, the lowest individual and total anthocyanins were determined in şalgam produced by the direct procedure. Cyanidin‐3, xylosyl‐glucosyl‐galactoside acylated with ferulic acid was found to be higher than the other individual anthocyanins. The quantities of anthocyanins individually and totally changed significantly for different production procedures. Practical applications: Şalgam contains high levels of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phenolic substances, and anthocyanin. It is a nutritious and healthy drink for people. Consumption of şalgam is currently increasing in Turkey and also some European cities. As far as it is known, no previous work deals with the determine and compare the individual and total anthocyanins of şalgams produced by using autochthonous LAB starter cultures isolated from various previous şalgam fermentations. The aim of this study was to compare not only the şalgams produced with the addition of three different autochthonous LAB, but also the individual and total anthocyanins of şalgams produced by traditional and direct methods. We found that şalgam produced by Lb. plantarum represented the highest amount of solid matter, ash, and color intensity compared to the other şalgams. However, the highest anthocyanin was obtained in şalgam produced by the traditional method, and Cy‐3, xylglc‐gal‐acy‐fer was found to be higher than the other individual anthocyanins in şalgams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to produce instant salgam powder from fermented salgam and to investigate some physicochemical and sensorial characteristics of the final product. Firstly, fermented salgam was produced by traditional method and then moisture of produced salgam was removed by freeze-drying for the production of powder form of salgam. Then freeze-dried salgam was reconstituted by water at different ratios (1.5, 2.5, 3, 3.2 and 3.5 % powder) for the production of instant salgam from powder. According to the pH, total titratable acidity and salt contents, at least 3.2 % powder was chosen as the most suitable reconstitution ratio that fulfills the requirements in the TS 11149 salgam standard. Then for comparing reconstituted salgam (3.2 %) with fermented salgam, pH, total titratable acidity, salt, total solid matter, total phenol content, anthocyanin content, turbidity, colour characteristics (L*, a*, b*) and sensorial analyses were performed on the fermented and reconstituted salgam samples. According to the results of the sensorial analyses, instant salgam had close score to the fermented salgam from the sensorial point of view and preferred by panelists as the ready-to-use product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]