Sprouting Research Articles

Fresh produce-associated foodborne disease outbreaks in Australia, 2001 to 2017.

Fresh produce is an important source of foodborne outbreaks in Australia. Using descriptive analysis, we examined confirmed and suspected foodborne outbreaks associated with fresh produce in Australia recorded in the OzFoodNet outbreak register from 2001 to 2017. The outbreak register contains reports of foodborne disease outbreaks collected by OzFoodNet epidemiologists and public health officials. A fresh produce outbreak was defined as the occurrence of two or more cases of the same illness in which the investigation had implicated a common food and this food contained fresh produce. A total of 92 fresh produce outbreaks were reported, encompassing 3,422 reported illnesses, 446 hospitalisations and four deaths. Of these outbreaks, 76.1% (70/92) were caused by a known pathogen, with the majority caused by either Salmonella enterica (n = 30) or Norovirus (n = 29). Most outbreaks (77.2%; 71/92) were associated with consumption of foods containing multiple ingredients, some of which were not fresh produce. The largest outbreaks associated with a single fresh produce item included bean sprouts contaminated with S. enterica serovar Saintpaul (419 illnesses and 76 hospitalisations) and semi-dried tomatoes contaminated with Hepatitis A (372 illnesses and 169 hospitalisations). Restaurants (45.7%; n = 42/92) and commercial catering (15.2%: n = 14/92) were common settings for fresh produce outbreaks. Outbreaks occurred in all states and territories of Australia and in all seasons, with an increased frequency in the warmer months (September-May). Although the number of fresh produce-associated outbreaks did not seem to be increasing in Australia, integrated surveillance is needed to rapidly identify sources of infection due to the propensity of these outbreaks to be large and widespread.

Sugarcane-YOLO: An Improved YOLOv8 Model for Accurate Identification of Sugarcane Seed Sprouts

Sugarcane is a crop that propagates through seed sprouts on nodes. Accurate identification of sugarcane seed sprouts is crucial for sugarcane planting and the development of intelligent sprout-cutting equipment. This paper proposes a sugarcane seed sprout recognition method based on the YOLOv8s model by adding the simple attention mechanism (SimAM) module to the neck network of the YOLOv8s model and adding the spatial-depth convolution (SPD-Conv) to the tail convolution part. Meanwhile, the E-IoU loss function is chosen to increase the model’s regression speed. Additionally, a small-object detection layer, P2, is incorporated into the feature pyramid network (FPN), and the large-object detection layer, P5, is eliminated to further improve the model’s recognition accuracy and speed. Then, the improvement of each part is tested and analyzed, and the effectiveness of the improved modules is verified. Finally, the Sugarcane-YOLO model is obtained. On the sugarcane seed and sprout dataset, the Sugarcane-YOLO model performed better and was more balanced in accuracy and detection speed than other mainstream models, and it was the most suitable model for seed and sprout recognition by automatic sugarcane-cutting equipment. Experimental results showed that the Sugarcane-YOLO achieved a mAP50 value of 99.05%, a mAP72 value of 81.3%, a mAP50-95 value of 71.61%, a precision of 97.42%, and a recall rate of 98.63%.

Synergistic action of bacteriophage and metabolites of Pseudomonas fluorescens JB3B and Streptomyces thermocarboxydus 18PM against Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus and their biofilm

BackgroundFoodborne disease and food spoilage are the prime public health issue and food security round the globe. Significant disease outbreaks mostly linked to the existence of pathogenic bacteria that extremely challenging due to the persistence of biofilm-forming. Proteins and bacterial metabolites have been shown to have good antibacterial activity and effectively removal bacterial biofilm. Recently, bacteriophage and their encoded lytic proteins such as lysin have attracted attention as potential alternative agent to control undesirable pathogens in human body infection, increasing food safety as advance preservations and medical treatment such as phage therapy. For these reasons, the efficacy of bacteriophage and their potential in combination with bacterial metabolites from Phyllosphere and Actinomycetes bacteria (Pseudomonas fluorescens JB3B and Streptomyces thermocarboxydus 18PM crude extracts) was the aim of this present study.ResultsIn this study, bacteriophage BC-VP (1.28 ± 0.29 × 1011 PFU/ml) and ETEC-phage-TG (8.9 ± 2.19 × 108 PFU/ml) isolated from artificial lake water from previous study showed potential activity to control Bacillus cereus (BC) and Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) population. The combination of BC-VP with metabolite (P. fluorescens JB3B and S. thermocarboxydus 18PM) which were known from previous study had antibiofilm activities were able to inhibit (86.1%; 83.3%) and destruct (41%; 45.5%) biofilm formation of B. cereus respectively. Likewise, the synergy of bacteriophage ETEC-phage-TG with the same crude extract also showed promising activity against biofilm of ETEC with percentage of inhibition (81.9%; 76.4%) and percentage of destruction (54.1%; 44.4%). Application in various food, combination of BC-VP and bacterial metabolite extract (P. fluorescens JB3B; S. thermocarboxydus 18PM) were able to reduce Bacillus cereus population in mashed potato (99.6%; 99.4%) at cold temperature (4 °C) and (68.9%; 56.6%) at room temperature (28 °C), boiled pasta (99.5%; 99.4%) and (84.7%; 75.7%), also soymilk (96.9%; 96.7%) and (42.4%; 39.4%) respectively. Likewise, combination of ETEC-phage-TG and bacterial metabolite (P. fluorescens JB3B; S. thermocarboxydus 18PM) potentially reduced ETEC population after two different temperatures (4 °C and 28 °C) incubation in bean sprouts (TFTC; TFTC) and (47.5%; 49.1%), chicken meat (TFTC; TFTC) and (58.1%; 54%), also minced beef (99.5%; 99.4%) and (41.1%; 28%). GC-MS determination performed, oxalic acid, phenol, phenylethyl alcohol, N-hexadecanoic acid, and pyrolol[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,4-dione, hexadro-3-92-methylpropyl was the most active compound in P. fluorescens JB3B. 2,4-Di-tert-butylphenol, phenyl acetic acid, N-Hexadecanoic acid, pyrolol[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,4-dione, hexadro-3-92-methylpropyl, and Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate was most active compound in the S. thermocarboxydus 18PM isolates.ConclusionsThe combination of isolated bacteriophages and bacterial metabolite showed promising results to be used as biocontrol candidate to overcome biofilm formed by foodborne and food spoilage bacteria using their ability to produce antibiofilm compounds and lytic activity. In addition, this combination also potentially reduces the use or replace the drawbacks of common application such as antibiotic treatment.

A Promising Platform for the Rapid and Sensitive sensing of Mercury Ion and its applications in biological and environmental system

Mercury ion (Hg2+) is one of harmful heavy metal ions that can accumulate inside the human organism and cause some health problems. Herein, a novel NBD derivative, 1-(2-((7-nitrobenzo[c] [1,2,5] oxadiazol-4-yl) amino) ethyl)-3-phenylthiourea (NBD-SCN), has been reasonably designed, which was simply synthesized by introducing NBD moiety as the fluorophore, phenyl-isothionitrate as the reaction site and ethylenediamine as a linker group, resulting in intense fluorescence emission with high fluorescence quantum yields. Intriguingly, probe NBD-SCN provides a dual-mode colorimetric and fluorescence response pattern for the sensing of mercury ion with great limit of detections (3.6 nM) and rapid response time (4 s). The strong combination of mercury ions and sulfur atoms leads to intramolecular cyclization, causing the color of probe solution changed from orange to pale yellow as well as a complete vanishing of fluorescence intensity. The proposed reaction mechanism was verified by fluorescence and UV titration, 1H NMR, FTIR, HRMS analyses and DFT studies. Motivated by an impressive chromatic variation, test strip sensing platform are facilely constructed for real-time and on-site measurement of Hg2+ levels. Furthermore, confocal imaging experiments verify that this probe can be used for monitoring mercury ion in living mung bean sprouts and in biological systems in real time.

Soil burial degradation of chemically compatibilized poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/thermoplastic starch/poly(ε-caprolactone)/cellulose biocomposites

Developing bio-blends and biocomposites has become a widespread strategy to combat plastic pollution in line with sustainability principles and decarbonization necessities. Although chemically modified ternary and quaternary biocomposites are developing rapidly because of their broader processing and performance windows than single matrix and binary counterparts, a few have been reported about their biodegradation. Herein, diisocyanates-based chemically modified ternary biocomposites based on poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate), thermoplastic starch (TPS), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), and cellulose (Mater-Bi/PCL/cellulose) are prepared and undergone soil burial biodegradation providing a broader perspective on biodegradation of complicated systems. The mass gain of sunflower sprouts, weight retention, and the appearance of biocomposites are studied and discussed in the course of biodegradation. The unfilled Mater-Bi/PCL bio-blends presented moderate mass loss over 12 weeks, attributed to the presence of TPS in the Mater-Bi phase. The PCL addition hindered TPS decomposition and featured a noticeably lower degradation rate compared to previous reports. A significant increase in the b* parameter (position on the blue-yellow axis in the CIELAB color space), along with the yellowness and whiteness indices, was observed. Prior to soil burial, roughness differences were negligible. Still, they significantly increased over time due to the higher hydrophilicity of unfilled Mater-Bi/PCL and biocomposite containing unmodified filler.

Pemanfaatan Kecambah Kacang Hijau dan Kacang Kedelai sebagai Sumber Nitrogen pada Produksi Nata de Pina

Pineapple skin, a by-product of the pineapple industry in Lampung, has significant potential for utilization. Pineapple peel extract can be used as a fermentation medium for nata de pina, thereby enhancing its added value. The production of nata de pina requires a nitrogen source that is safe for human consumption and poses no food safety risks. Legume sprouts, such as mung bean and soybean sprouts, have the potential to serve as nitrogen sources in the production of nata de pina. This study aimed to investigate the effect of varying concentrations of nitrogen sources from mung bean or soybean sprouts on the properties of nata de pina, including pH, total acidity, thickness, yield, moisture content, crude fiber, ash content, and sensory attributes (color, aroma, texture). Mung bean and soybean sprout juices were used at two concentration levels, 25% and 50% of the volume of pineapple peel juice (v/v). Data were analyzed using One-Way ANOVA with a 5% significance level, followed by DMRT if significant effects were observed. Nata de pina produced with the addition of 50% soybean juice demonstrated optimal results, with a thickness of 1.4 cm, yield of 67.5%, moisture content of 97.7%, crude fiber of 2.2%, and ash content of 0.16%. The sensory evaluation revealed scores of 4.26 for color (like), 2.92 for aroma (moderate), 3.78 for texture (like), and 3.78 for overall preference (like).

Precooked Jack Bean [Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC] Sprout: Generation of Dipeptidyl Peptidase-IV Inhibitory Peptides during Simulated Digestion.

Bioactive peptides generated from jack bean sprouts are reported to function as dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors. However, no studies have investigated the effect of precooking followed by simulated digestion using pepsin-pancreatin to increase DPP-IV inhibitory peptide generation in jack bean sprouts. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the generation of DPP-IV inhibitory peptides from precooked jack bean [Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC] sprouts during simulated digestion with pepsin-pancreatin. The results showed that peptide fractions of the sample hydrolysate with molecular weight <1 kDa exhibited the strongest DPP-IV inhibitory activity (84.77%±0.49%) after simulated digestion. This activity was slightly greater than that (74.12%±0.85%) observed prior to simulated digestion. These findings demonstrate that the DPP-IV inhibitory activity of precooked jack bean sprouts can be retained following simulated digestion. Moreover, our investigation revealed the sequences of two novel peptides following simulated digestion with critical amino acids. The presence of alanine and glycine at the penultimate N-terminus of AAGPKP and LGDLLK confirmed the presence of DPP-IV inhibitors. Both peptide sequences are nontoxic and interact with the catalytic sites of enzymes through hydrogen bonds.

Influence of ultraviolet-C irradiation treatment on quality and shelf life of mung bean sprouts during storage

This research analyzed the impact of exposing mung bean sprouts to ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation for different periods (2, 5, and 10 min). Treated sprouts were preserved at 5°C and 85-95% relative humidity for 6 days. Irradiation for 10 min effectively reduced fresh weight loss, electrolyte leakage, and microbial count and main-tained the firmness of sprouts. It also positively influenced the bioactive components, including antioxidants, total phenols, and protein, potentially providing health benefits to consumers. In addition, prolonged UV-C exposure for 10 min leads to oxidative stress, marked by a rise in malondialdehyde, proline, and hydrogen peroxide content. These compounds assist in stress reduction and preserve secondary metabolites. This research implies that post-harvest 10 min UV-C irradiation offers a potential approach to uphold quality while maximizing the nutritional value of mung bean sprouts.

Effect of Natural Growth Regulators on the Growth of Coffee Seedlings in the Cotyledon Phase

Coffee is an important agricultural commodity with increasing global demand, so optimizing the growth of coffee seedlings, especially during the seedling phase, is crucial to increase productivity. The use of natural plant growth regulators offers an environmentally friendly and economical solution. This study aims to evaluate the effect of natural plant growth regulators from onion extract and bean sprout extract on the growth of robusta coffee seedlings (Coffea canephora L.) during the seedling phase. The study was conducted using a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three treatments, namely control, onion extract, and bean sprout extract. The parameters measured included plant height, stem diameter, and number of leaves for six weeks. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and BNT test at the 5% level. The results showed that both natural plant growth regulators significantly increased the growth of coffee seedlings compared to the control. Bean sprout extract gave the best results for plant height (16.75 cm), while onion extract was superior in increasing stem diameter (4.65 mm) and number of leaves (12.20). Statistical analysis confirmed significant differences between treatments and controls for all parameters. Thus, the use of onion and bean sprout extracts as natural growth regulators has proven effective in increasing the growth of coffee seedlings in the seedling phase, offering an environmentally friendly and economical alternative for optimizing the growth of coffee seedlings.

Plant Robots: Harnessing Growth Actuation of Plants for Locomotion and Object Manipulation.

Plants display physical displacements during their growth due to photosynthesis, which converts light into chemical energy. This can be interpreted as plants acting as actuators with a built-in power source. This paper presents a method to create plant robots that move and perform tasks by harnessing the actuation output of plants: displacement and force generated from the growing process. As the target plant, radish sprouts are employed, and their displacement and force are characterized, followed by the calculation of power and energy densities. Based on the characterization, two different plant robots are designed and fabricated: a rotational robot and a gripper. The former demonstrates ground locomotion, achieving a travel distance of 14.6mm with an average speed of 0.8mmh-1. The latter demonstrates the picking and placing of an object with a 0.1-g mass by the light-controlled open-close motion of plant fingers. A good agreement between the experimental and model values is observed in the specific data of the mobile robot, suggesting that obtaining the actuation characteristics of plants can enable the design and prediction of behavior in plant robots. These results pave the way for the realization of novel types of environmentally friendly and sustainable robots.

The Natural HASPIN Inhibitor Coumestrol Suppresses Intestinal Polyp Development, Cachexia, and Hypogonadism in a Mouse Model of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (ApcMin/+).

(1) Background: HASPIN kinase is involved in regulating spindle function and chromosome segregation, as well as phosphorylating histone H3 at Thr3 in mitotic cells. Several HASPIN inhibitors suppress cancer cell proliferation. It was recently reported that coumestrol from bean sprouts inhibits HASPIN, and a cultivation method for bean sprouts containing large amounts of coumestrol has been established. Here, we showed the effects of bean sprout ingestion on intestinal polyp development, cachexia, and hypogonadism in a mouse model of familial adenomatous polyposis (ApcMin/+). (2) Methods: ApcMin/+ mice were randomized into control and treatment groups. Mice in the control group were given the standard diet, while those in the treatment group were given the same standard diet with the addition of 15% bean sprouts. Treatments were commenced at 7 weeks old and analyses were performed at 12 weeks old. (3) Results: ingesting bean sprouts suppressed the development of intestinal polyps, cachexia, and hypogonadism, and also increased serum levels of testosterone in male wild-type and ApcMin/+ mice. (4) Conclusions: ingesting bean sprouts helps prevent cancer and increases serum levels of testosterone in a mouse model. These results are expected to be applicable to humans.

Modeling Behavior of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in Raw and Processed Vegetables.

Given the persistent occurrence of foodborne illnesses linked to both raw and processed vegetables, understanding microbial behavior in these foods under distribution conditions is crucial. This study aimed to develop predictive growth models for Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in raw (mung bean sprouts, onion, and cabbage) and processed vegetables (shredded cabbage salad, cabbage and onion juices) at various temperatures, ranging from 4 to 36 °C. Growth models were constructed and validated using isolated strains of Salmonella spp. (S. Bareilly, S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium) and L. monocytogenes (serotypes 1/2a and 1/2b) from diverse food sources. The minimum growth temperatures for Salmonella varied among different vegetable matrices: 8 °C for mung bean sprouts, 9 °C for both onion and cabbage, and 10 °C for ready-to-eat (RTE) shredded cabbage salad. Both pathogens grew in cabbage juice at temperatures above 17 °C, while neither demonstrated growth in onion juice, even at 36 °C. Notably, Salmonella spp. exhibited faster growth than L. monocytogenes in all tested samples. At 8 °C, the lag time (LT) and specific growth rate (SGR) for Salmonella spp. in mung bean sprouts were approximately tenfold longer and threefold slower, respectively, compared to those at 10 °C. A decrease in refrigerator storage temperature by 1 or 2 degrees significantly prevented the growth of Salmonella in raw vegetables. These findings offer valuable insights into assessing the risk of foodborne illness associated with the consumption of raw and processed vegetables and inform management strategies in mitigating these risks.

Exogenous nitric oxide treatment delays the senescence of postharvest mung bean sprouts by regulating ascorbic acid metabolism.

This study evaluated the effects of nitric oxide (NO) treatment on ascorbic acid (AsA) metabolism and mung bean sprout quality. It examined changes in the AsA content, enzyme activity associated with AsA metabolism, antioxidant capacity, cell membrane composition, and cellular structure to clarify the effects of NO on mung bean sprouts. Nitric oxide treatment preserved mung bean sprout quality by enhancing significantly the activity of enzymes involved in the l-galactose pathway (including guanosine diphosphate (GDP)glutathione (-d-mannose pyrophosphorylase, GDP-mannose-3',5'-epimerase, GDP-l-galactose phosphorylase, l-galactose-1-phosphate phosphatase, l-galactose dehydrogenase, and l-galactose-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase) and the AsA-glutathione (GSH)(Beijing Solarbio Science and Technology Co.,Ltd., Beijing, China) cycle (including ascorbate peroxidase, ascorbic acid oxidase, glutathione reductase, dehydroascorbate reductase, and monodehydroascorbate reductase) during the germination and storage stage. Increased enzyme activity led to an increase in AsA content and enhanced antioxidant capacity, and reduced the membrane lipid damage in mung bean sprouts. This was demonstrated by higher levels of DPPH radical scavenging capacity, unsaturated fatty acids and phospholipids, along with lower levels of hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anions, and malondiadehyde, in NO-treated mung bean sprouts. Scanning electron microscopy also revealed that NO treatment maintained the integrity of the cellular structure of the mung bean sprouts. Nitric oxide accelerates AsA metabolism effectively by regulating the biosynthesis and regeneration of AsA in mung bean sprouts. These changes increased AsA levels, alleviated membrane lipid damage, delayed senescence, and maintained the quality of mung bean sprouts during storage. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Advantages of supplementing beers with radish sprouts, relative to broccoli material, as a dietary source of isothiocyanates

Previous research has demonstrated that incorporating broccoli into beer generates beneficial bioactive isothiocyanates (ITC), being sprouts the best source of sulforaphane (SFN). The use of alternative brassicas may yield ITC with enhanced healthy scope or stability compared with broccoli. Thus, radish sprouts deliver high concentrations of alternative ITC, especially sulforaphene (SFE). This work was focused on the elaboration of new radish sprout beers to study the formation of different ITC. The results evidenced matching efficiency in transforming glucoraphene, from radish, into the corresponding SFE, in high concentrations (283.24 μg/100 mL), similar to those previously found in broccoli sprouts supplemented beers (266.34 μg SFN/100 mL). Radish sprouts (77.38 μg/100 mL) were more effective in slowing down the ITC (SFN + SFE) degradation in bottled beers compared to broccoli sprouts (48.97 μg/100 mL). No significant differences were found regarding total volatile compounds (8731.27 and 8971.39 μg/L in radish and broccoli beers, correspondingly), however, new compounds appeared after bottling (methyl hexanoate, methyl octanoate, methyl decanoate, and methyl dodecanoate). This composition was associated with positive attributes (colour, foam persistence, herbal, and aftertaste) of both beers developed. Within the two matrices studied, radish sprouts provided a greater ITC stability, which would tip its selection over broccoli sprouts.

Constructing an S-scheme MnFe2O4/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction with photothermal effect to achieve efficient degradation of tetracycline and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene

In this work, the S-scheme MnFe2O4/ZnIn2S4 (MFO/ZIS) heterostructure was prepared by hydrothermal method, which can degrade tetracycline (TC) and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) efficiently. Under simulated sunlight irradiation, 88.9 % of TC can be degraded within 75 minutes, and 82.7 % of TNT can be degraded within 120 minutes. The photocurrent response of 3 %MFO/ZIS (0.45 µA cm-2) surpassed that of ZIS (0.15 µA cm−2) and MFO (0.08 µA cm−2). This is mainly due to the synergistic effect of the S-scheme electron transport pathway and the photothermal effect in MFO/ZIS, which improves its utilization rate of photogenerated electrons. After being used four times, 3 %MFO/ZIS can still degrade 80.2 % of TC, showing excellent stability. In addition, the TC degradation process was analyzed and the low toxicity of TC after degradation was confirmed by LC-MS, ECOSAR and experiments of cultivating mung bean sprouts, demonstrating the potential application value of MFO/ZIS heterojunction in the wastewater treatment field.

A novel coupled fermentation system for low-molecular-weight xanthan gum with diverse biological activities

Xanthan gum (XG) is a bacterial exopolysaccharide widely used in various industries due to its stability and rheological properties. Low-molecular-weight xanthan gum (LXG) exhibits enhanced properties and broader applications, but current degradation methods are limited. This study introduces an innovative coupled fermentation system for the efficient production of LXG. Endo-xanthanase from Microbacterium sp. XT11 was expressed in Pichia pastoris GS115, exhibiting optimal activity at pH 6.0 and 40 °C, with broad pH tolerance. The optimized coupled fermentation system used bean sprouts juice as nitrogen source, the inoculation quantity of X. campestris: P. pastoris was 1: 3, and the pH was controlled at 6.0. In the bioreactor, the total sugar concentration reached 12.12 g/L, the reducing sugar concentration reached 5.32 g/L, and the endo-xanthanase activity increased to 1150.26 U/L, which were 2.13, 2.3, and 3.71 times higher than those at the shake flask level, respectively. The prepared LXG had a molecular weight of 1093 Da and a monosaccharide ratio of 2.0:1.57:0.89 (glucose, mannose, and glucuronic acid). Bioactivity analysis revealed its antioxidant and prebiotic properties, promoting the growth of beneficial intestinal microbiota and metabolite production. This suggests the potential of LXG as a functional ingredient in intestinal health-focused foods and supplements.

Development of radish extract-loaded transfersomes blended sunscreen formulation for tyrosinase melanin and photoprotective sunscreening effect

Radish sprouts consist of a variety of active compounds, including phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid, which has antityrosinase activity, the key enzyme in melanogenesis. Furthermore, UV radiation cause hyperpigmentation and skin damage. The aim of this study was to develop radish sprouts extract (R)-loaded transfersomes for anti-aging and skin-whitening formulation. To provide UV protection, transfersomes were combined with sunscreen emulgel formulation. The physicochemical characteristics, biological activity, and cytotoxicity to skin cells of formulations were studied. The results showed that R-loaded transfersomes exhibited spherical nanovesicles and negative zeta potential. The vesicles were able to reduce tyrosinase activity and melanin content. However, transfersomes were safe to skin cells at low concentrations. By combining R-loaded transfersomes with sunscreen emulgels, the cytotoxicity of formulation decreased in addition to exhibiting stability under accelerated conditions. The formulation also absorbed UVA and UVB wavelengths with SPF and UVAPF values, due to the photoprotective properties of sunscreening agents. Furthermore, R slowly released from transfersome, emulsion matrix and gel base of the formulation. Thus, R-loaded transfersomes blended sunscreen emulgels could be applied as promising formulation with satisfactory activity for tyrosinase melanin and photoprotective sunscreening effect.

Study on Selenium Assimilation and Transformation in Radish Sprouts Cultivated Using Maillard Reaction Products.

The organic selenium (Se), particularly in the form of selenoamino acids, in non-edible sections or by-products of Se-enriched plants, has the potential to generate Maillard reaction products (MRPs) during thermal treatment or fermentation. To elucidate the recycling process of organic selenium in foods and improve the utilization rate of Se, the biotransformation of organic selenium was studied by the cultivation of edible radish sprouts with Se-MPRs. Maillard reactions were simulated using selenoamino acids (SeAAs; selenomethionine and methylselenocysteine) and reducing sugars (glucose and fructose) for preparing Se-MRPs. The structures of the possible dehydrated Se-MRPs were analyzed using a HPLC-ESI-MS/MS system based on their fragmentation patterns and Se isotopic characteristics. Se absorption by the radish sprouts cultivated using Se-MRPs was estimated by the corresponding Se in the SeAAs and the total Se contents. The capabilities of SeAA transformation and total Se assimilation by the sprouts were related to the substrate composition during the Se-Maillard reaction. A particular Se-MRP (selenomethionine + fructose) increased SeAAs transformation by 33.8% compared to selenomethionine. However, glucose and fructose seemed to inhibit the transformation of the Se-MRPs to SeAAs by 10.0 to 59.1% compared to purified Se-MRPs. These results provide key references for the efficient utilization of organic Se in the cultivation of Se-enriched sprouts.

Catalyst-free regeneration of plasma-activated water via ultrasonic cavitation: Removing aggregation concealment of antibiotic-resistant bacteria with enhanced wastewater sustainability

Aggregation is a crucial factor in bacterial biofilm formation, and comprehending its properties is vital for managing waterborne antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In this study, we examined Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) cell aggregation under varying conditions and assessed the inactivation efficiency of a novel disinfection method, micro-nano bubbles plasma-activated water via ultrasonic stirring cavitation (MPAW-US), on aggregated MRSA cells. Aggregation efficiency increased over time and at low salt concentrations but diminished at higher concentrations. Elevated MRSA cell aggregation in actual water samples represented significant real-life biohazard risks. Unlike conventional disinfection, MPAW-US treatment exhibited minimal change in the inactivation rate constant despite protective outer layers. Enhanced inactivation efficiency results from the synergistic effects of increased intracellular oxidative stress damage and extracellular substance disruption, triggered by ultrasound-activated micro-nano bubbles that improve PAW reactivity and applicability. This approach neither induced MRSA cross-resistance to unfavorable conditions nor increased toxicity or regrowth potential of aggregative MRSA, utilizing ATP levels as potential regrowth capability indicators. Ultimately, this energy-efficient disinfection technology functions effectively across diverse temperature ranges, showcasing exceptional sterilization and nutritional bean sprout production after cyclic filtering, thereby promoting wastewater sustainability amidst carbon emission concerns.

Determination of fluoroquinolones residues in bean sprouts using covalent organic framework based solid-phase extraction coupled with UHPLC-MS/MS

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) method using three-dimensional covalent organic framework (COFs) coupled with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was developed for the detection of 13 fluoroquinolones (FQs) in bean sprout samples. Critical extraction parameters influencing SPE efficiency were optimized and matrix-matched standard curves were used to eliminate matrix effects and validate the proposed method. The analytical method proved to have good linearity in the concentration range of 1.0–100 μg L–1 with correlation coefficients of r≥0.9995. The limits of detection were 0.10–0.45 μg kg–1, whereas the limits of quantification were 0.34–1.51 μg kg–1. The recoveries ranged from 92.7 % to 105 % with satisfactory precision (< 4.82 %). The COFs-packed SPE cartridge maintained recovery efficiency for the target FQs over five reuse cycles. The adsorption selectivity was mainly attributed to π–π interactions, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic attraction between FQs and the adsorbent. Analysis of actual samples revealed the presence of enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and norfloxacin in three batches of bean sprout samples. These results highlight the importance of monitoring antibiotics residues in bean sprouts.