The gut dysbiosis-cancer axis: illuminating novel insights and implications for clinical practice

The human intestinal microbiota, also known as the gut microbiota, comprises more than 100 trillion organisms, mainly bacteria. This number exceeds the host body cells by a factor of ten. The gastrointestinal tract, which houses 60%-80% of the host's immune cells, is one of the largest immune organs. It maintains systemic immune homeostasis in the face of constant bacterial challenges. The gut microbiota has evolved with the host, and its symbiotic state with the host's gut epithelium is a testament to this co-evolution. However, certain microbial subpopulations may expand during pathological interventions, disrupting the delicate species-level microbial equilibrium and triggering inflammation and tumorigenesis. This review highlights the impact of gut microbiota dysbiosis on the development and progression of certain types of cancers and discusses the potential for developing new therapeutic strategies against cancer by manipulating the gut microbiota. By interacting with the host microbiota, we may be able to enhance the effectiveness of anticancer therapies and open new avenues for improving patient outcomes.

The nutritional value, bacterial count and sensory attributes of little tuna (Euthynnus affinis) floss incorporated with the banana blossom

The study aimed to evaluate the addition of banana blossom (12.5, 25, 37.5, and 50% w/w) on nutritional quality, histamine content, bacterial count, and sensory characteristic in the fish floss prepared from little tuna (Euthynnus affinis). The crude protein content, essential amino acids, lipid, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) steadily decreased (p <0.05), while the crude fibre, carbohydrate, and ash components of the tuna floss, increased significantly (p <0.05) with increasing levels of banana blossom. The contents of protein, fat, ash, fibre, carbohydrate, and moisture ranged 28.13 – 30.27%, 14.79 – 18.02%, 4.45 – 5.68%, 2.6 – 3.5%, 27.81 – 31.01, and 16.45 – 17.39%, respectively, and most of them met the Indonesian National Standard. For essential and non-essential amino acids, the level varied about 102.82 mg.g-1 to 206.76 mg.g-1 and 79.71 mg.g-1 to 138.76 mg.g-1, respectively in the treated tuna flosses. Moreover, ranging 13.72 – 16.29% of PUFA was found in all treated flosses. The most significant effect was found in the histamine levels of the tuna flosses, especially in the 50% added floss sample. Moreover, bacterial counts and heavy metals content were lower than the maximum limits regulated by the Indonesian National Standard. For sensory evaluation, the banana blossom-added samples significantly increased (p >0.05) the acceptability score for all attributes assessed. Taken together, the tuna floss added with 37.5% of banana blossom may be potentially developed as a low-histamine tuna-based product with high ffibre andEPA+DHA, as well as highly acceptable for consumers.

Production and prebiotic properties of oligofructans from sugarcane juice fermentation by Bacillus subtilis TISTR 001

Oligofructans are potential biological substances that due to their distinctive properties have a positive health-promoting effect. This research aimed to produce oligofructans using sugarcane juice fermentation with Bacillus subtilis TISTR 001 and to study the prebiotic properties in vitro. The results showed that the maximum total oligofructans in the form of free fructose was 2.57% (w/v) at the 84th hour of fermentation with 0.17 g/g reducing sugar and a production yield of 0.031 g/L/h and maximum levansucrase activity of 1.57 × 106 U/mL at that time. The oligofructans contained in the fermented juice had potential functional ingredients that exhibited prebiotic properties that could resist the digestion of enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract under in vitro conditions with digestion of only 6.92%. In addition, the fermented juice promoted the growth of prebiotics, especially Bifidobacterium bifidum TISTR 2129 and inhibited the growth of pathogens using both single culturing and co-culturing with probiotics.