Materials Used for the Microencapsulation of Probiotic Bacteria in the Food Industry

Probiotics and probiotic therapy have been rapidly developing in recent years due to an increasing number of people suffering from digestive system disorders and diseases related to intestinal dysbiosis. Owing to their activity in the intestines, including the production of short-chain fatty acids, probiotic strains of lactic acid bacteria can have a significant therapeutic effect. The activity of probiotic strains is likely reduced by their loss of viability during gastrointestinal transit. To overcome this drawback, researchers have proposed the process of microencapsulation, which increases the resistance of bacterial cells to external conditions. Various types of coatings have been used for microencapsulation, but the most popular ones are carbohydrate and protein microcapsules. Microencapsulating probiotics with vegetable proteins is an innovative approach that can increase the health value of the final product. This review describes the different types of envelope materials that have been used so far for encapsulating bacterial biomass and improving the survival of bacterial cells. The use of a microenvelope has initiated the controlled release of bacterial cells and an increase in their activity in the large intestine, which is the target site of probiotic strains.     

Calculation Methods of Solution Chemical Potential and Application in Emulsion Microencapsulation

Several new biased sampling methods were summarized for solution chemical potential calculation methods in the field of emulsion microencapsulation. The principles, features, and calculation efficiencies of various biased Widom insertion sampling methods were introduced, including volume detection bias, simulation ensemble bias, and particle insertion bias. The proper matches between various types of solution in emulsion and biased Widom methods were suggested, following detailed analyses on the biased insertion techniques. The volume detection bias methods effectively improved the accuracy of the data and the calculation efficiency by inserting detection particles and were suggested to be used for the calculation of solvent chemical potential for the homogeneous aqueous phase of the emulsion. The chemical potential of water, argon, and fluorobenzene (a typical solvent of the oil phase in double emulsion) was calculated by a new, optimized volume detection bias proposed by this work. The recently developed Well-Tempered(WT)-Metadynamics method skillfully constructed low-density regions for particle insertion and dynamically adjusted the system configuration according to the potential energy around the detection point, and hence, could be used for the oil-polymer mixtures of microencapsulation emulsion. For the macromolecule solutes in the oil or aqueous phase of the emulsion, the particle insertion bias could be applied to greatly increase the success rate of Widom insertions. Readers were expected to choose appropriate biased Widom methods to carry out their calculations on chemical potential, fugacity, and solubility of solutions based on the system molecular properties, inspired by this paper.     

Thermal Decomposition of Some Chemical Compounds Used As Food Preservatives and Kinetic Parameters of This Process

Thermal decomposition processes of selected chemicals used as food preservatives such as sodium formate, sodium propionate, sodium nitrates(V and III) and sodium sulphate(IV) were examined by the derivatographic method. Based on the curves obtained, the number of decomposition stages and characteristic temperatures of these compounds have been found. Mass decrements calculated from TG curves ranged from 28.9% for sodium formate to 77.8% for sodium nitrate(V), while sodium sulphate showed a mass increment of 5.6%. Kinetic parameters such as activation energy (E _a ), frequency factor (A ) and reaction order (n ) were calculated from TG, DTG and T curves. Sodium formate shows the highest values of E _a and A which amount to 171.7 kJ mol^–1 and 5.8⋅10¹⁴ s^–1 , respectively, while the lowest ones, E _a =28.2 kJ mol^–1 and A =3.65⋅10² s^–1 belong to sodium nitrate(V). This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

聚苯乙烯对酞菁铜颜料微胶囊化的研究

自１９５４年美国首先将微胶囊化应用于无碳复写纸后［１,２］,这项技术在药物、农药、食品及染料等方面已得到广泛应用［３］．微胶囊（ＭＣ）直径通常是１～５０００μｍ,构造分为囊壁和囊芯两部分［４］．囊壁材料大多使用高分子材料,少数用无机物［５］．有机颜料...     

Leptospermum petersonii as a Potential Natural Food Preservative

Leptospermum petersonii (family Myrtaceae) is often cultivated for ornamental purposes but also serves as a rich source of bioactive essential oils. While several studies focused on the activities of the essential oils, this study analysed the potential of spent L. petersonii leaves as a natural food preservative. Method: We investigated the in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of crude L. petersonii extracts against activities of the purified isolated flavonoid, 6-methyltectochrysin, which was characterized using spectroscopic methods. The antioxidant assays followed ORAC, FRAP and TEAC tests. The antimicrobial activities of the extract and purified flavonoid were analysed against six multi-drug resistant microbial strains in broth dilution assays. Result: The results revealed that both the crude extracts and isolated 6-methyltectochrysin exhibited positive radical ion scavenging antioxidant potential, however the crude extract was about 6-fold more potent antioxidant than the purified 6-methyltectochrysin. The crude extract also showed strong antimicrobial activities against Bacillus cereus, and even more potent antimicrobial agent than the reference ampicillin antibiotic against Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae. A higher resistance was observed for the tested Gram-negative strains than for the Gram-positive ones. 6-methyltectochrysin was generally inactive in the antimicrobial assays. Conclusion: The crude methanolic extract showed significant bioactivity which validates the medicinal relevance of the plant. The observed biological activities, especially against a notorious strain of B. cereus, suggest that L. petersonii could be a promising natural source of food preservatives.     

Synergistic Effect of Mandarin Peels and Hesperidin with Sodium Nitrite against Some Food Pathogen Microbes

Food preservatives such as NaNO₂, which are widely used in human food products, undoubtedly affect, to some extent, human organs and health. For this reason, there is a need to reduce the hazards of these chemical preservatives, by replacing them with safe natural bio-preservatives, or adding them to synthetic ones, which provides synergistic and additive effects. The Citrus genus provides a rich source of such bio-preservatives, in addition to the availability of the genus and the low price of citrus fruit crops. In this study, we identify the most abundant flavonoids in citrus fruits (hesperidin) from the polar extract of mandarin peels (agro-waste) by using spectroscopic techniques, as well as limonene from the non-polar portion using GC techniques. Then, we explore the synergistic and additive effects of hesperidin from total mandarin extract with widely used NaNO₂ to create a chemical preservative in food products. The results are promising and show a significant synergistic and additive activity. The combination of mandarin peel extract with NaNO₂ had synergistic antibacterial activity against B. cereus, Staph. aureus, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa, while hesperidin showed a synergistic effect against B. cereus and P. aeruginosa and an additive effect against Staph. aureus and E. coli. These results refer to the ability of reducing the concentration of NaNO₂ and replacing it with a safe natural bio-preservative such as hesperidin from total mandarin extract. Moreover, this led to gaining benefits from their biological and nutritive values.     

On‐Chip Alginate Microencapsulation of Functional Cells

We report the use of a PTFE‐based microfluidic device for the encapsulation of living, therapeutically‐active cells within monodisperse alginate microspheres. We present a novel microfluidic platform and a flexible experimental method for the production of alginate microspheres. Cell lines HEK293, U‐2 OS and PC12 were separately encapsulated using this method, with minimal loss of cell viability.

     

金属-有机骨架及其功能材料在食品和水有害物质预处理中的应用

食品安全问题是关系人民生命健康和经济社会和谐发展的重大问题。食品类样品残存的痕量有毒有害物质对人体健康产生潜在危害。因此,需要高效的吸附材料用于食品类样品预处理及检测。金属-有机骨架材料(metal-organic frameworks, MOFs) 是一类新型的多孔功能材料,具有高孔隙度、高比表面积、结构可设计与调控、孔径可调及良好的化学和热稳定性等优点。MOFs的早期研究主要集中在结构及功能化设计方面,近年来MOFs及其功能材料在各领域的潜在应用逐渐成为新的研究热点。MOFs具有高度发达的孔隙结构,易通过功能化改变材料表面性质,不同的金属元素和配体种类,以及配位方式的多样化特性,极大地丰富固相萃取的固定相材料种类。尤其是在复杂基质样品预处理中,MOFs及其功能材料表现出强富集能力、强抗基质干扰能力、优异的选择性以及环境友好等优势。本文综述了近几年MOFs及其功能材料在食品和水样品中有害物质预处理方面的研究进展,并对这类材料应用在食品安全分析方面的发展进行了展望。     

Microencapsulation of Calcium Using Water-in-Oil-in-Water Double Emulsion Method

Calcium in the form of tricalcium phosphate was encapsulated in the inner water phase of water-in-oil-in-water emulsion. Efficiency and payload of microcapsules were optimized using a D-optimal mixture design with four components (gelatin, agar, primary water-in-oil emulsion, and water in outer phase). Release profiles of calcium from microcapsules were determined at 4°C over 12 days. It was found that microencapsulation efficiency increased by increasing of water-in-oil emulsion to 45% and then decreased at higher contents of this portion. However, payload increased continuously with increase of water-in-oil fraction. Less calcium was released when both biopolymers and water-in-oil emulsion contents were increased.     

铅铬黄粒子的微胶囊化及其表面形貌的表征

研究了铅铬黄粒子的微胶囊化及其机理；探讨了对粒子表面形貌的量化表征方法．结果表明，在油包水（Ｗ／Ｏ）乳液中对铅铬黄粒子进行无机微胶囊化是一提高其耐酸、碱性的有效方法．颜料粒子的表面形貌可用其表面分形维数（Ｄ）量化表征．     

Development of New Microencapsulation Techniques Useful for the Preparation of PLGA Microspheres

Summary: Intensive efforts were made to develop an efficient, novel microencapsulation system useful to encapsulate a model drug, risperidone, to PLGA microspheres. Methyl dichloroacetate was used as a dispersed solvent for the first time, since it possessed excellent solvency power on PLGA and readily underwent ammonolysis. A dispersed phase composed of methyl dichloroacetate, risperidone, and PLGA was emulsified in an aqueous phase to form an O/W emulsion. Adding ammonia solution into the emulsion rapidly converted methyl dichloroacetate into water‐soluble dichloroacetamide and methanol. As a result, emulsion droplets were immediately transformed into hardened microspheres. The new microencapsulation system allowed us to make PLGA microspheres with a drug payload of >40 wt.‐% and attain almost complete encapsulation efficiencies. In summary, preparing an O/W emulsion and subjecting the emulsion to ammonolysis led to development of an efficient, novel microencapsulation system. It was anticipated that the new system could make it possible to load other bioactive materials into microspheres made of various types of hydrophobic polymers.

SEM micrographs of the external and internal morphology of PLGA/risperidone microspheres.     

Neurotransmitters Regulation and Food Intake: The Role of Dietary Sources in Neurotransmission

Neurotransmitters (NTs) are biologically active chemicals, which mediate the electrochemical transmission between neurons. NTs control numerous organic functions particularly crucial for life, including movement, emotional responses, and the physical ability to feel pleasure and pain. These molecules are synthesized from simple, very common precursors. Many types of NTs have both excitatory and inhibitory effects. Neurotransmitters’ imbalance can cause many diseases and disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, depression, insomnia, increased anxiety, memory loss, etc. Natural food sources containing NTs and/or their precursors would be a potential option to help maintain the balance of NTs to prevent brain and psychiatric disorders. The level of NTs could be influenced, therefore, by targeting dietary habits and nutritional regimens. The progressive implementation of nutritional approaches in clinical practice has made it necessary to infer more about some of the nutritional NTs in neuropsychiatry. However, the importance of the intake of nutritional NTs requires further understanding, since there are no prior significant studies about their bioavailability, clinical significance, and effects on nerve cells. Interventional strategies supported by evidence should be encouraged.     

Microencapsulation of astiban acid for the treatment ofSchistosomiasis mansoni

Schistosomiasis is among the top five diseases in the world in terms of morbidity, affecting perhaps 200 million people in tropical and subtropical countries. Antischistosomal drugs are toxic and rapidly metabolized. Hence, they must be given in a number of spaced doses. In spite of this there are severe side effects leading to poor patient compliance. This is an ideal situation for the application of sustained drug release to avoid the toxic peak concentration of drug. This study was carried out using Astiban acid, an antimonial drug that is effective againstS. mansoni. Unfortunately, the drug is sufficiently soluble that 50 mg will dissolve in 100 mL water in less than a minute. To permit sustained release of intramuscularly injected drug, microcapsules of astiban acid in poly(d,l-lactic acid) were formed by coacervation. Release studies show that an appreciable fraction of the drug is available at the surface for rapid solution. After this surface drug dissolves, the remaining drug is released slowly with half-times of many hours. After the initial burst, the release of drug follows Higuchi’s equation up to approximately 80% release, with exponentially decreasing release rates thereafter.     

高脂饮食对小鼠脂肪代谢和矿物元素代谢的影响

为探讨高脂饮食对小鼠脂肪代谢和矿物元素代谢的影响,用昆明(KM)小鼠24只,出生28 d后随机分成2组,各12只,分别给予高脂饲料与普通饲料,饲养至第9周眼球取血处死,取皮下、腹腔、肠系膜脂肪,毛,肝,血,计算体质量脂肪质量比,测定毛、肝、血中Zn、Ca、Cu、Mn、Mg、Fe含量。结果表明,高脂饮食小鼠体质量增加(P<0.05),单位腹腔脂肪及血Ch显著性增加(P<0.01)。肝Zn、Cu、Mg、Fe、Mn显著降低(P<0.01),血凝块Zn升高(P<0.05),Cu降低(P<0.05),毛Mg降低(P<0.05)。提示高脂饮食引起体质量与血脂增加,脂肪堆积,矿物元素代谢紊乱;不同器官矿物元素的代谢紊乱有差异,以肝脏最显著。     

中国富硒食品的生产现状及趋势

对硒的生物学作用和目前已经开发的富硒食品(富硒西瓜、富硒灵芝、富硒茶叶、富硒牛奶、富硒猪肉和富硒鸡蛋等)进行了概述。当前富硒食品的技术含量大多偏低,技术水平有待提高;价廉物美的富硒食品受市场欢迎,科学论证富硒食品的转化机制是今后科研的一个方向。     

Microencapsulation of a Crop Protection Compound by Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition

In this work, initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) has been employed as a one‐step liquid‐free process combining polymerization and coating for the encapsulation of 3D non‐planar substrates. Coatings have been applied using iCVD specifically to encapsulate microparticles of a highly water‐soluble crop protection compound (CPC) for controlled release. Release behavior has been compared among different coatings synthesized using different iCVD processing conditions, including varying degrees of polymer hydrophobicity, continuous and pulsed deposition, and crosslinking. iCVD has been found to provide tunable synthesis of hydrophobic, crosslinked polymers with control over mass diffusivity, and coating thickness for enhancing barrier properties.