•High N50 and BUSCO scores indicate quality genome assemblies.•IP9 was predicted as diploid; for JP14, ploidy remains unclear.•Mitochondrial genes are rearranged compared to reference S288c.•Mutated ...genes were found for sugar and nitrogen metabolism and stress response.•Both strains contain a killer toxin gene for microbial control.
Products from stingless bees are rich reservoirs of microbial diversity, including yeasts with fermentative potential. Previously, two Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, JP14 and IP9, were isolated from Jataí (Tetragonisca angustula) and Iraí (Nannotrigona testaceicornis) bees, respectively, aiming at mead production. Both strains presented great osmotic and sulfite tolerance, and ethanol production, although they have a high free amino nitrogen demand. Herein, their genomes were sequenced, assembled, and annotated, and the variants were compared to the S. cerevisiae S288c reference strain. The final assembly of IP9 and JP14 presented high N50 and BUSCO scores, and more than 6430 protein-coding genes. Additionally, nQuire predicted the ploidy of IP9 as diploid, but the results were not enough to determine the ploidy of JP14. The mitochondrial genomes of IP9 and JP14 presented the same gene content as S288c but the genes were rearranged and fragmented in different patterns. Meanwhile, the genes with mutations of high impact (e.g., indels, gain of stop codon) for both yeasts were enriched for transmembrane transport, electron transfer, oxidoreductase, heme binding, fructose, mannose, and glucose transport, activities related to the respiratory chain and sugar metabolism. The IP9 strain presented copy number gains in genes related to sugar transport and cell morphogenesis; in JP14, genes were enriched for disaccharide metabolism and transport, response to reactive oxygen species, and polyamine transport. On the other hand, IP9 presented copy number losses related to disaccharide, thiamine, and aldehyde metabolism, while JP14 presented depletions related to disaccharide, oligosaccharide, asparagine, and aspartate metabolism. Notably, both strains presented a killer toxin gene, annotated from the assembling of unmapped reads, representing a potential mechanism for the control of other microorganisms population in the environment. Therefore, the annotated genomes of JP14 and IP9 presented a high selective pressure for sugar and nitrogen metabolism and stress response, consistent with their isolation source and fermentative properties.
The physical, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties of edible k-carrageenan films containing bee pollen and honey extracts, as well as their evaluation in vitro and on beef, are reported for the ...first time. Thickness, tensile strength, elongation at break, puncture force, contact angle, water vapor permeability, UV-screening, thermal analysis, color, antioxidant activity in terms of iron reducing power (FRAP) and antiradical power on DPPH radical, as well as antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas spp., aerobic plate counts were determined. All the extracts significantly increased the physical properties and the hydrophilicity of the films. The use of bee pollen and ulmo honey extracts did not significantly change the films color, whereas the quillay honey extract turned them reddish. Thermal stability of films were not affected by antioxidant bee extracts addition. The antibacterial activity of the films added with the extracts, evaluated in isolation or on beef, was not significantly modified with the use of any of the extracts on any of the bacteria evaluated. On the contrary, the antioxidant and antiradical activity of isolated edible films and on meat increased with the use of all the extracts.
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•All extracts improved significantly the antioxidant activity of films.•Bee pollen extract showed higher antibacterial activity against mesophilic aerobes.•Honeys were more effective against E. coli.•Resistant and elasticity of kc films were improved with extracts addition.
African traditional medicine is one of the oldest and most diverse practices for treating ailments and numerous natural products have been recommended for gastric ulcer treatment. Helicobacter pylori ...is the main causative organism implicated in several diseases, most notably in causing inflammation and the onset of gastric ulcers. Current H. pylori treatment methods are losing efficacy as H. pylori rapidly gains resistance to antibiotics. Hence, a search into natural products and their historical traditional efficacy for the treatment of gastric ulcers is of interest.
This review aimed to summarise the African use of natural products, including medicinal plants noted in ethnobotanical reviews, used traditionally to treat gastric ulcers, and highlights the investigations into the anti-H. pylori activity of medicinal plants and bee products found in Africa.
A systematic review was carried out to identify natural products, including those used traditionally in Africa to treat gastric ulcers, and to correlate this with scientific investigations into the anti-H. pylori activity of natural products used in Africa.
A total of 107 literature sources describing the traditional use of medicinal plants in gastric ulcer treatment were found, from which 360 medicinal plants were identified. Of the plants used traditionally for gastric ulcer treatment, 11% were investigated either in vitro or in vivo for anti-ulcer and anti-H. pylori activity. Of the 122 medicinal plants eliciting antimicrobial or anti-ulcer activity, Hibiscus sabdariffa L. calyx extract and Terminalia macroptera Guill. & Perr. root extract were found to have the most noteworthy antimicrobial activity, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 0.01 mg/mL and 0.03 mg/mL respectively. The essential oils of Piper longum L. and Pachira aquatica Aubl. displayed the most notable in vitro anti-H. pylori activity (MIC of 0.01 mg/mL and 0.02 mg/mL). Several in vivo studies found medicinal plant extracts effective in reducing the H. pylori load along the gastric mucosa. The South African honey variants, Pure Honey and Champagne Royal Train (common names given by supplier) were the most antimicrobially effective (MIC of 0.01–10.0%, 0.63–10.00% v/v) in inhibiting H. pylori when assessed in vitro.
These results highlight the potential of natural products to inhibit H. pylori growth and serve as a possible stepping-stone in understanding the management of ulcers. Furthermore, effective natural product treatment or prophylactic use for preventing H. pylori growth may provide a more affordable option for African populations.
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Bee pollen (BP) has been increasingly studied because it contains a wide variety of bioactive compounds, including vitamins. Brazilian botanical diversity, together with the potential of local ...beekeeping production, makes BP's capacity as a food source of bioactive compounds major focus for research. In this scenario, the objective of this study was to screen and evaluate the chemical composition, including antioxidant vitamins, of BP samples from southern Brazil, and to correlate them with their botanical origin. Analyses of nutritional composition were performed to compare them with the quality parameters established by Brazilian and international regulations. Additionally, individual sugars and vitamins (C, E and pro-vitamin A) were quantified and microscopic analysis for taxon classification was performed to correlate with vitamins and nutritional composition. The results of the chemical analysis showed that the samples were in accordance with the relevant regulations. The composition of vitamins and pollen types varied among the samples. Some BP could be classified as a source of a particular vitamin in a standard dose (25g). Lipid and protein content from Rio Grande do Sul presented higher mean values (p<0.05) compared with the other two states. Some correlations between chemical composition and botanical taxon were observed. Principal component analysis showed that the samples from the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná presented similarities in terms of composition for each location. HCA and PLSDA were not able to classify the samples based on the chemical markers used. The analysis of vitamins confirmed that BP from this region can be a good source of antioxidant vitamins and that it can provide important nutritional information to food researchers and bioactive compounds for consumers.
•Investigation of bioactive compounds on bee pollen from southern Brazil is proposed.•We evaluate the nutritional composition and antioxidant vitamins of bee pollen.•Pollen analysis permits correlation with some bioactive compounds.•Multivariate techniques explain chemical patterns according to producing region.
Approximate composition, physico-chemical, techno-functional, amino acid profile, fatty acid profile, nutritional quality, antioxidant, anti-amylase and anti-lipase properties of bee bread, royal ...jelly, and bee propolis were investigated. The main differences between the analyzed bee products were found in the content of protein (royal jelly), polysaccharides (bee bread), balsam (propolis), wax (propolis), and polyphenol (propolis). Bee products had considerable oil-holding capacity, water-binding capacity, water-holding capacity, emulsifying activity, and foaming capacity. Bee products had higher amounts of glucogenic amino acid, non-essential amino acid, sweet amino acid, hydrophobic amino acid, essential amino acid, ketogenic amino acid, and flavor amino acids and lower amounts of bitter amino acid, non-protein amino acid, branched-chain amino acid, and aromatic amino acid. Bee products contained higher amounts of unsaturated fatty acid, polyunsaturated fatty acid, monounsaturated fatty acid, saturated fatty acid, omega-3, and omega-6, and lower amounts of omega-9 and omega-7. Bee products, especially royal jelly, had a considerable health-promoting index, hypocholesterolemic index, omega-6/omega-3, atherogenicity index, and thrombogenicity index. Bee bread, royal jelly, and bee propolis showed good radical scavenging activity and effectively inhibited amylase and lipase similar to the control. Propolis, bee bread, and royal jelly are proposed as possible techno-functional ingredients for food and health.
•The approximate composition and nutritional quality of bee products were investigated.•Physico-chemical and techno-functional properties of bee products were investigated.•Bee products revealed good lipid and protein nutritional quality.•Bee products revealed good physico-chemical and techno-functional properties.•Bee products revealed excellent antioxidant, anti-amylase, and anti-lipase capacities.
•Red propolis was characterized by infrared-spectroscopy.•Infrared-spectroscopy achieved power comparable to the chromatography method.•Infrared-spectroscopy was used for the fast determination of ...phenolics in propolis.•The antioxidant activity of propolis was modeled by regression with spectroscopy.
Conventional methods for determining phenolics and their bioactive properties are expensive, time-consuming, and laborious. This hinders the quality control of red propolis, recognized for having different types of phenolic constituents with different bioactive properties, for example, its antioxidant properties. In this sense, we present a new application of near and medium infrared spectroscopy to predict phenolic constituents, total flavonoids, gallic acid, kaempferol, pyrocatechin, quercetin, and different antioxidant tests (DPPH radical, reducing power and protection of the β-carotene: linoleic acid system) of red propolis using chemometry. The optimized models showed good predictive capacity with a minimum correlation coefficient of 0.70, low associated error, and figures of merit that indicate the good predictive capacity in the validation of the models. These data show infrared spectroscopy as efficient to simultaneously predict nine quality analyzes of red propolis quickly and simply. This also avoids tedious procedures for traditional chromatographic and spectrophotometric tests.
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•Stingless bee honey has high biological potential.•Stingless bee microbiota may promote natural fermentative process.•Stingless bee honey fermentation may promote deglycosylation of ...polyphenols.•Polyphenols extraction by acid hydrolysis may affect its original composition.
Stingless bees are native to tropical and subtropical countries, such as Brazil. The wide variety of species, the sources of food collection (nectar and pollen), and the climate conditions strongly affect the chemical composition of the honey, making this a unique product with peculiar characteristics. Stingless bee honey presents higher water content, higher acidity, and a lower sugar concentration when compared to Apis mellifera honey. Moreover, there is a wide variety of microorganisms in stingless bees’ environment, which leads their honey to go through a natural fermentative process during its production in the hive. Besides, fermentation and hydrolysis are effective ways to convert glycosides into aglycones, thus increasing the bioavailability of compounds. In this sense, stingless bee honey may possess a greater concentration of phenolic compounds aglycones than glycosides, which would increase its potential benefits. Therefore, this review aims to compile the most recent studies of stingless bee honey phenolic profile and its biological potential (antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activities) and a possible connection to its natural fermentation process.
Honey bee pollen is considered to be a food, and national pollen standards exist in different countries such as Brazil, Bulgaria, Poland and Switzerland. It is the aim of the present work to review ...pollen composition and the analytical methods used for the evaluation of high quality bee pollen. Based on the experience of different countries and on the results of published research, we propose quality criteria for bee pollen, hoping that in the future they will be used as world wide bee pollen standards.
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