Background
The world is facing an extraordinarily unprecedented threat from the COVID-19 pandemic triggered by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Global life has turned upside down, and that several countries ...closed their borders, simultaneously with the blockage of life cycle as a result of the shutdown of the majority of workplaces except the food stores and some few industries.
Main body
In this review, we are casting light on the nature of COVID-19 infection and spread, the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in food products, and revealing the threats arising from the transmission of COVID-19 in food environment between stakeholders and even customers. Furthermore, we are exploring and identifying some practical aspects that must be followed to minimize infection and maintain a safe food environment. We also present and discuss some World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines-based regulations in food safety codes, destined to sustain the health safety of all professionals working in the food industry under this current pandemic.
Conclusion
The information compiled in this manuscript is supporting and consolidating the safety attributes in food environment, for a prospective positive impact on consumer confidence in food safety and the citizens’ public health in society. Some research is suggested on evaluating the use and potentiality of native and chemical modified basic proteins as possible practices aiming at protecting food from bacterial and viral contamination including COVID-19.
Consolidating food safety measures against COVID-19 Abolmaaty, Assem; Amin, Dina H; Abd El-Kader, Reham M M ...
Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association,
11/2022, Letnik:
97, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The world is facing an extraordinarily unprecedented threat from the COVID-19 pandemic triggered by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Global life has turned upside down, and that several countries closed their ...borders, simultaneously with the blockage of life cycle as a result of the shutdown of the majority of workplaces except the food stores and some few industries.
In this review, we are casting light on the nature of COVID-19 infection and spread, the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in food products, and revealing the threats arising from the transmission of COVID-19 in food environment between stakeholders and even customers. Furthermore, we are exploring and identifying some practical aspects that must be followed to minimize infection and maintain a safe food environment. We also present and discuss some World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines-based regulations in food safety codes, destined to sustain the health safety of all professionals working in the food industry under this current pandemic.
The information compiled in this manuscript is supporting and consolidating the safety attributes in food environment, for a prospective positive impact on consumer confidence in food safety and the citizens' public health in society. Some research is suggested on evaluating the use and potentiality of native and chemical modified basic proteins as possible practices aiming at protecting food from bacterial and viral contamination including COVID-19.
Increasingly high levels of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens have necessitated the discovery of novel bioactive compounds. For this reason, two actinomycetes strains, Streptomyces griseorubens and ...Streptomyces rochei, were isolated for the first time from the black sand shores of Kafr El Sheikh in Egypt, which is home to several large fish farms. Isolates were identified via phenotypic, biochemical and 16S rRNA sequence protocols. Both strains exhibited powerful antimicrobial activity against three serious MDR pathogens: Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella enteritidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The bioactive compounds of isolates’ filtrates were identified using gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). For S. griseorubens, the detectable antibacterial compounds were hexanoic acid, 2-ethyl-, 2-ethylhexyl ester, n-Decane, hexadecanoic acid methyl ester, benzene acetic acid, ricinolic acid, and ethylparaben, while S. rochei secretes heptadecane, 2,6-dimethyl-, benzene acetic acid, dibutyl phthalate, octacosane, hexacosane, and vitamin A aldehyde. These results strongly encourage the use of these eco-friendly isolates as a biocontrol against MDR pathogens that attack fish farms.
Significance:
Streptomyces spp. act as strong weapons for fighting multidrug resistance in pathogenic bacteria – one of the most important current threats to public health. They are additionally regarded as eco-friendly organisms that can be used as a biocontrol agent against infections that endanger fish farms.
The aim of this study was to investigate the stability of three major antioxidants of
: thymoquinone (TQ), carvacrol (CR) and thymol (THY), under different stress conditions using HPLC and LC-MS/MS. ...Forced degradation for each compound was performed under different conditions, including oxidation, hydrolysis, photolysis and thermal decomposition. The results showed that both CR and THY were stable under the studied conditions, whereas TQ was not affected by acidic, basic and oxidative forced conditions but the effect of light and heat was significant. The degradation products of TQ were further investigated and characterized by LC-MS/MS. HPLC-UV method has been fully validated in terms of linearity and range, the limit of detection and quantitation, precision, selectivity, accuracy and robustness. The method was successfully applied to quantitative analysis of the principal antioxidants of
TQ, CR and THY in different phytopharmaceuticals.
Mosquitoes prefer stagnant areas near hospitals to live and easily spread pathogenic bacteria. Our current study aims to isolate multidrug-resistant (MDR) Staphylococcus aureus isolates from midguts ...of Mosquito Culex pipiens and study the potential of mint as a biocontrol strategy against C. pipiens larvae and their midgut-borne S. aureus. Samples of the third and fourth larval instars of C. pipiens were collected from water ponds around three Cairo hospitals. Ciprofloxacin, gentamycin and tetracycline, as well as various concentrations of mint leaf extract (MLE) were tested for antibiotic susceptibility. Sixty-five isolates were obtained and showed antibiotic resistance to tetracycline, gentamycin, ciprofloxacin, and undiluted MLE with resistant percentages (%) of 27.69, 30.76, 17.46, and 23.08%, respectively. Undiluted MLE inhibited 61.53% of the multidrug S. aureus isolates, whereas it couldn't inhibit any of these isolates at dilutions less than 50 μg/mL. The MIC of MLE was ≤ 700 µg/mL, while the MIC of the antibiotics ranged from 0.25 to 5.0 µg/mL for the three antibiotics. The most inhibited S. aureus isolate was identified by 16SrRNA sequencing approach and registered in GenBank as S. aureus MICBURN with gene accession number OQ766965. MLE killed all larval stages after 72 h of exposure, with mortality (%) reaching 93.33 and 100% causing external hair loss, breakage of the outer cuticle epithelial layer of the abdomen, and larvae shrinkage. Histopathology of treated larvae showed destruction of all midgut cells and organelles. Gas chromatography (GC) of MLE revealed that menthol extract (35.92%) was the largest active ingredient, followed by menthone (19.85%), D-Carvone (15.46%), Pulegone (5.0579%). Docking analysis confirmed that alpha guanine and cadinol had the highest binding affinity to both predicted active sites of Culex pipiens acetylcholinesterase. As a result, alpha-guanine and cadinol might have a role as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.
Abstract
Mosquito control in Egypt depends on applying chemical synthetic pesticides that impact negatively on human health and the environment as well as the development of antibiotic and chemical ...resistance. This study aims to control the 3rd and 4th instars of
Culex pipiens
larvae using four bacterial strains. According to Phenotypic and molecular identification, the four isolates were identified as
Bacillus subtilis MICUL D2023
,
Serratia marcescens MICUL A2023
,
Streptomyces albus LARVICID
, and
Pseudomonas fluorescens MICUL B2023
. All strains were deposited in GenBank under accession numbers OQ764791, OQ729954, OQ726575, and OQ891356, respectively. Larvicidal activity of all microbial strain metabolites against a field strain of
C. pipiens
explored low LC
50
results and reached its lowest values on the 3rd day with values of 6.40%, 38.4%, and 46.33% for
P. fluorescens
,
S. albus
, and
S. marcescens
, respectively. In addition, metabolites of
P. fluorescence
were more toxic than
those of S. albus
, followed by
S. marcescens. B. subtilis
shows no larvicidal effect on both field and lab mosquito strains. Microscopic alterations of 3rd and 4th instars showed toxic effects on different body parts (thorax, midgut, and anal gills), including losing external hairs, abdominal breakage, and larvae shrinkage, as well as different histological malformations in the digestive tract, midgut, and cortex. GC–MS analysis detected 51, 30, and 32 different active compounds from
S. albus
,
S. marcescens
, and
P. fluorescens
, respectively. GC detected 1, 2-BENZEA2:A52NEDICARBOXYLIC ACID, 2-Cyclohexene-1-carboxylic-acid-5-2-butenyl-methyl ester, and 3 octadecahydro2R3S4Z9Z-11R-12S from
S. albus
,
S. marcesens
, and
P. fluorescens
, respectively. Total protein, Total carbohydrate, and Acetylcholine esterase activity indicated significantly low levels on the 3rd day. All strain metabolites were safe against HSF cell lines. The docking results confirmed the role of the produced metabolites as larvicidal agents and Acetylcholine esterase inhibition. Such a problem need more studies on applying more and more natural pesticides.
•Disease activity (DAS-28-CRP) decreased significantly in the montelukast arm.•The patients’ quality of life improved significantly in the montelukast arm.•Pain severity (VAS score) was lower in the ...montelukast arm compared to control arm.•Shorter duration of morning stiffness was reported in the montelukast arm.•The median serum levels of VCAM-1 were significantly lower in the montelukast arm.
This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of montelukast in conjunction with non-biologic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (nDMARDs) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.
This study was a single-center randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled study. Adult RA patients were included if they had moderate to severe disease activity and were receiving monotherapy or combination of nDMARDs. Eligible patients were randomized, in 1:1 ratio, to receive either 10 mg montelukast or placebo, once daily for 16 weeks. The primary endpoint was the change in the 28-joints disease activity score (DAS28) 16 weeks after treatment. The patients’ quality of life (QoL) was assessed by the Arabic version of the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index. Moreover, serum levels of vascular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) were measured.
A total of 87 patients completed the study; 44 in the montelukast arm and 43 in the control arm. After 16 weeks of treatment, disease activity decreased significantly in the montelukast arm with mean change in DAS28 (95% CIs) of −1.5 (−1.7, −1.2) while the control arm showed no improvement (0.2 (0.0, 0.4), p < 0.01). The QoL of the patients improved significantly from baseline in the montelukast arm (p < 0.01) but not in the control arm (p = 0.08). The median (IQR) serum levels of VCAM-1 were significantly lower in the montelukast arm (22.8 (15.0–32.7)) than in the control arm (28.9 (15.4–42.8), p = 0.004).
The co-administration of montelukast with nDMARDs in RA patients enhanced the anti-rheumatic effect which was reflected clinically by decreased disease activity.
Aspergillus nidulans (accession number MT355567) was selected as a most potent isolated, dried and chemically pretreated biomass was investigated. Various biosorption parameters as pH, initial ...concentration of U, biosorbent dose, biosorbent particles size, temperature and contact time were studied. Maximum uranium removal efficiency was 97% and 98.5% for dried and chemically pretreated biomass, respectively. The optimum pH for U(VI) removal was 4.0 with U concentration 350 mg/L, biomass concentration 0.4 g, biomass size 0.250 mm within 16 and 14 min for dried and chemically pretreated biomass, respectively, at 25°C. Uranium biosorption was closely related to pseudo-second-order kinetic model and obeys the Langmuir isotherm model. Calculation were suggested that U biosorption was not endothermic. According to the calculation the hydroxyl, carboxyl and amino groups on the fungal surface could back to biosorption of U. Desorption of U from the metal laden (68% for dried biomass and 47.5% for chemical-treated biomass) was completely achieved by applying 2 M HNO
3
although the U adsorption capacity of both biosorbents were decreased from 67.5% to 28% for dried biomass and from 47.3% to 26% for chemical-treated biomass after four biosorption-desorption cycles.
Nile tilapia Juveniles (19.50 ± 0.5 g) were fed on a basal diet (control group (CTR)) and a diet supplemented with 1 g Aspergillus oryzae (ASP) per kg diet for 12 weeks. Fish were then subjected to ...different salinity levels (0, 10, 15, and 20 practical salinity units (psu)) for another 15 days. Two-way ANOVA analysis revealed that the individual effects of ASP in Nile tilapia exposed to salinity levels presented a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in values of haemato-biochemical indices (such as glucose, cortisol, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, and malondialdehyde) compared to those in the CTR group exposed to the same salinity levels. Moreover, significant increases (p < 0.05) of blood protein profile (albumin, globulin, and total protein), non-specific immune responses (lysozyme activity, phagocytic activity, and phagocytic index), and antioxidant enzymes activities (glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase) were observed in ASP-supplemented groups. Interestingly, there was significant (p < 0.05) downregulation of the mRNA expression values of heat shock protein 70 and interferon-gamma genes, alongside upregulation of the mRNA expression values of interleukin 1 beta and interleukin 8 genes, in the hepatic tissues of Nile tilapia in ASP-supplemented groups exposed to different salinities compared to those in the CTR group exposed to the same salinity levels. Taken together, these findings supported the potential efficacy of dietary supplementation with ASP in alleviating salinity stress-induced haemato-biochemical alterations, immune suppression, and oxidative stress in the exposed Nile tilapia.
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