Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum) Preparations in the Design of Novel Functional Pasta

This study investigated the design of novel pasta enriched with different forms of wild garlic (WG): a powder, an extract and an encapsulated extract applied at three enrichment levels (low/middle/high). The effect of cooking on changes in the content of bioactive compounds, antioxidative activity, cooking behaviour, texture, colour and sensory properties of the cooked pasta was evaluated. WG preparations significantly increased the antioxidant potential (by 185-600%) as well as the content of phenolics (by 26-146%), flavonoids (by 40-360%) and potassium (up to three-fold) in the cooked pasta, depending on WG type and enrichment level. Flavonoids were dominantly present in the free form. Cooking resulted in a significant loss of flavonoids (39-75%) whereas phenolics were liberated from the matrix. The highest increase in total phenolics and antioxidant activity was exerted by the WG powder and extract. Pasta hardness and adhesiveness were increased, but encapsulated WG deteriorated cooking behaviour. The best-scored enriched pasta regarding sensory quality and texture was that enriched with WG powder at the low/moderate level.

The Accumulation of Electrical Energy Due to the Quantum-Dimensional Effects and Quantum Amplification of Sensor Sensitivity in a Nanoporous SiO2 Matrix Filled with Synthetic Fulvic Acid

A heterostructured nanocomposite MCM-41<SFA> was formed using the encapsulation method, where a silicon dioxide matrix-MCM-41 was the host matrix and synthetic fulvic acid was the organic guest. Using the method of nitrogen sorption/desorption, a high degree of monoporosity in the studied matrix was established, with a maximum for the distribution of its pores with radii of 1.42 nm. According to the results of an X-ray structural analysis, both the matrix and the encapsulate were characterized by an amorphous structure, and the absence of a manifestation of the guest component could be caused by its nanodispersity. The electrical, conductive, and polarization properties of the encapsulate were studied with impedance spectroscopy. The nature of the changes in the frequency behavior of the impedance, dielectric permittivity, and tangent of the dielectric loss angle under normal conditions, in a constant magnetic field, and under illumination, was established. The obtained results indicated the manifestation of photo- and magneto-resistive and capacitive effects. In the studied encapsulate, the combination of a high value of ε and a value of the tgδ of less than 1 in the low-frequency range was achieved, which is a prerequisite for the realization of a quantum electric energy storage device. A confirmation of the possibility of accumulating an electric charge was obtained by measuring the I-V characteristic, which took on a hysteresis behavior.

Nano-delivery systems for food bioactive compounds in cancer: prevention, therapy, and clinical applications

Bioactive compounds represent a broad class of dietary metabolites derived from fruits and vegetables, such as polyphenols, carotenoids and glucosinolates with potential for cancer prevention. Curcumin, resveratrol, quercetin, and β-carotene have been the most widely applied bioactive compounds in chemoprevention. Lately, many approaches to encapsulating bioactive components in nano-delivery systems have improved biomolecules' stability and targeted delivery. In this review, we critically analyze nano-delivery systems for bioactive compounds, including polymeric nanoparticles (NPs), solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), liposomes, niosomes, and nanoemulsions (NEs) for potential use in cancer therapy. Efficacy studies of the nanoformulations using cancer cell lines and in vivo models and updated human clinical trials are also discussed. Nano-delivery systems were found to improve the therapeutic efficacy of bioactive molecules against various types of cancer (e.g., breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancer) mainly due to the antiproliferation and pro-apoptotic effects of tumor cells. Furthermore, some bioactive compounds have promised combination therapy with standard chemotherapeutic agents, with increased tumor efficiency and fewer side effects. These opportunities were identified and developed to ensure more excellent safety and efficacy of novel herbal medicines enabling novel insights for designing nano-delivery systems for bioactive compounds applied in clinical cancer therapy.

Fabrication of fish gelatin / sodium alginate double network gels for encapsulation of probiotics

BACKGROUND

To improve the environmental resistance of probiotics, and particularly their survival in the gastrointestinal environment, a fish gelatin (FG) / sodium alginate (SA) double network gelation (FSDN) was developed to encapsulate them. Thermal treatment and calcium ion inducement were adopted to fabricate fish gelatin and sodium alginate gels. It was feasible to scale up this process. The effects of FG concentration (0-60 g/L) on FSDN properties, including morphology, water-holding capacity, and encapsulation efficiency were evaluated.

RESULTS

The results indicated that the addition of FG could improve the transparency, rehydration, and water-holding capacity of FSDN. Scanning electronic microscope (SEM) images revealed that FSDN had a denser and more complete structure than SA. Encapsulation efficiency improved from 15.85% to 91.91% as the FG concentration ranged from 0 to 50 g/L. Bifidobacterium longum embedded by FSDN showed better thermal stability than when it was free. Compared with bare probiotics (1.7%), the encapsulated ones exhibited higher viability (above 15%) in simulated gastric fluid.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, interpenetrating FSDN is an effective barrier constituent and could achieve the targeted delivery of probiotics. It is a potential new delivery carrier for the oral administration of probiotics. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

The encapsulation of powdered doum extract in liposomes and its application in yoghurt

BACKGROUND

Doum fruit extract has many dietary benefits, but, due to the potential interaction between its phenolic compounds and milk proteins, its antioxidant activity is reduced in dairy formulations. To overcome this problem, encapsulation in liposomes has been used to improve the bioavailability of the phenolic com- pounds by protecting them from oxygen and acids, creating the conditions for better delivery and controlling their release into the body.

METHODS

A liposome was used to encapsulate doum extract powder (DEP), and the encapsu- lated DEP was used to fortify yoghurt. The physicochemical properties of the yoghurt produced, including pH, acidity, water holding capacity and texture, were investigated in fresh yoghurt and after 21 days of stor- age at 4&deg;C.

RESULTS

Adding 5% DEP liposome to yoghurt gave a product with characteristics similar to the control sam- ple but with higher antioxidant activity.

CONCLUSIONS

Doum extract powder has been successfully encapsulated in liposomes. The high encapsulation efficiency, particle size, and TEM examination indicate successful encapsulation of up to 1% DEP. The addi- tion of 5% DEP liposomes into yoghurt had some effects on the development of acidity, textural parameters, and water holding capacity of the yoghurt, compared to a control. The addition of higher percentages of DEP liposomes significantly affected the functional properties of yoghurt. It is recommended that 5% DEP liposomes can be added to yoghurt in order to increase its antioxidant activity.

Antibodies@MOFs: An In Vitro Protective Coating for Preparation and Storage of Biopharmaceuticals

Antibodies have emerged as a fast-growing category of biopharmaceuticals that have been widely applied in scientific research, medical diagnosis, and disease treatment. However, many antibodies and other biopharmaceuticals display inferior biophysical properties, such as low stability and a propensity to undergo aggregation. Enhancing the stability of biopharmaceuticals is essential for their wide applications. Here, a facile in vitro protective coating strategy based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is proposed to efficiently protect antibodies against perturbation environments and quickly recover them from the MOFs before usage, which avoids introducing protective additives into the body, which may cause biosafety risks. The protected antibodies exhibit extraordinary thermal, chemical, and mechanical stabilities, and they can survive for long-term storage (>3 weeks) under severe temperature variation (4 ↔ 50 °C) at a fast ramp rate (25 °C min^-1 ). More importantly, the encapsulated antibodies can be easily released as quickly as 10 s with high efficiency (≈100%) to completely remove the MOFs before use. This study paves a new avenue for the facile preparation and storage of biopharmaceuticals represented by antibodies under ambient or perturbation conditions, which may greatly broaden and promote the applications of both MOFs and biopharmaceuticals.

Facile Fabrication of BCN Nanosheet-Encapsulated Nano-Iron as Highly Stable Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Catalyst

The few layered boron carbon nitride nanosheets (BCNNSs) have attracted widespread attention in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. Herein, we report an innovative one-pot route to prepare the catalyst of BCNNSs-encapsulated sub-10 nm highly dispersed nanoiron particles. Then the novel catalyst was used in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis for the first time and it exhibited high activity and superior stability. At a high temperature of 320 °C, CO conversion could reach 88.9%, corresponding catalytic activity per gram of iron (iron time yield, FTY) of 0.9 × 10^-4 mol_CO g_Fe^-1 s^-1, more than 200 times higher than that of pure iron. Notably, no obvious deactivation was observed after 1000 h running. The enhanced stability of the catalyst can be ascribed to the special encapsulated structure. Furthermore, the formation mechanism of highly dispersed iron nanoparticle also was elaborated. This approach opens the way to designing metal nanoparticles with both high stability and reactivity for nanocatalysts in hydrogenation application.

In vitro interaction of antifungal and antibacterial drugs against Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii before and after capsular induction

This study evaluated the synergistic interactions between amphotericin B (AMB) and azithromycin (AZM), daptomycin (DAP), linezolid (LNZ), minocycline (MINO), fluconazole (FLZ), flucytosine (5FC), linezolid (LZD), or tigecycline (TIG) against clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii before and after capsule induction. High synergism (>75%) was observed for the combinations, AMB+5FC, AMB+TIG, AMB+AZM, AMB+LZD and AMB+MINO but only in the strains after capsule induction. The results show that the presence of the capsule may lower the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of antifungal agents, but antimicrobial activity can be improved by combining antifungal and antibacterial agents.