Journal of Food and Drug Analysis最新文献

Limosilactobacillus reuteri is a probiotic bacterium known for its numerous beneficial effects on human health and is commonly utilized in various dietary supplements. Previously, we encountered difficulties in isolating L. reuteri from retail dietary supplements containing complex probiotic compositions by using non-selective media such as de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) agar. Our findings reveal that MRS agar with d-gluconic acid as the carbon source and peptone from soymeal as the nitrogen source provides a growth advantage for L. reuteri. Furthermore, all the tested L. reuteri strains exhibit higher resistance to oxacillin compared with non-L. reuteri strains, and the recovery of L. reuteri is significantly higher than that of non-L. reuteri strains on modified MRS agar (MRS-GSOT agar) supplemented with either 4 or 10 μg/mL oxacillin. Results of spiking tests indicate that MRS-GSOT agar with 10 μg/mL oxacillin can selectively inhibit the growth of species other than L. reuteri in single culture or mixed bacterial broth within food matrices. However, the recovery of L. reuteri is relatively low when subjected to the spiking tests with various ratios of non- L. reuteri. Testing results of 15 retail dietary supplements also show that MRS-GSOT agar could efficiently isolate L. reuteri from retail dietary supplements with complex compositions of probiotic bacteria. In addition, we observe that L. reuteri exhibits two different colony morphologies on MRS-GSOT agar with 10 μg/mL oxacillin, yet they shared a common feature: a noticeable metallic (golden) sheen on the colony surface when the plate is slightly tilted, which can be used to distinguish them from non-L. reuteri species, such as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum, Levilactobacillus brevis, and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum. In conclusion, we have developed MRS-GSOT agar containing d-gluconic acid, peptone from soymeal, oxacillin, and 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride for efficient isolation of L. reuteri from dietary supplements.

Cordycepin, a key bioactive compound produced by Cordyceps militaris, faces the challenge of low productivity for commercial use. In this study, alanine supplementation in Cordyceps militaris boosted cordycepin production, peaking at 3 mg/g with 12 g/L concentration. Transcriptome analysis revealed 1711 differentially expressed genes, Pathway analysis indicates that protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum was the most affected pathway. In addition, the transcriptome showed that adenylosuccinate lyase is essential for the synthesis of cordycepin. The modulation of four genes (Cns1-4) points to a regulatory mechanism that could increase cordycepin biosynthesis, offering a strategy to overcome low productivity for commercial applications.

Cinnamic acid (CA) possesses important cardiovascular effects such as cardioprotective, antiatherogenic, antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant, which predicts its potential role in the treatment of hypertension. The study was executed to investigate the antihypertensive potential of CA in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats followed by evaluation in diverse vascular preparations. Invasive blood pressure monitoring technique was used in normotensive and hypertensive rats, under anesthesia. Isolated aortic rings from rat and rabbit, Langendorrf's perfused isolated rabbit heart and guinea-pig right atria were used to probe the underlying mechanisms. The responses were recorded with pressure and force transducers connected to PowerLab Data Acquisition System. Intravenous administration of CA induced a respective 54% and 38% fall in mean arterial pressure (MAP) in the hypertensive and normotensive rats, respectively. In rat aortic rings, the CA exhibited muscarinic receptors-linked NO and indomethacin-sensitive endothelium-dependent (>50%) and calcium antagonistic and KATP-mediated endothelium-independent vasodilator effects. The CA showed negative inotropic and chronotropic effects in guinea-pig atrial strips. The CA suppressed force of ventricular contraction and heart rate while caused a 25% increase in coronary flow. This study supports the medicinal importance of CA as antihypertensive agent.

Nowadays, food preservation, quality maintenance, and safety are major emerging concerns in the food industry. Methods for removing pathogens from the outside surfaces of food products would be an effective way to prevent bacterial contamination. Nanotopographies found on natural surfaces have been shown to mechanically damage the membranes of foodborne bacteria. Thus, using bioinspired mechanobactericidal nanostructures in food packaging and processing materials has the potential to lower surface bacterial contamination while increasing food safety. However, putting this concept into practice remains a challenge. This review discussed recent advances in understanding mechanobactericidal mechanisms, issues concerning the durability of nanotopography under external forces, and the scalability of nanostructures over larger areas. Furthermore, this review provides insight into critical research on the long-term efficiency of mechanobactericidal nanostructures and their potential for implementation in the food industry.

Taiwanese oolong tea is renowned for its excellent quality and enjoys a prestigious reputation both domestically and internationally. In recent years, there has been an issue with imported Taiwanese-style oolong tea being sold as genuine Taiwanese oolong tea, which has adversely affected the brand value of Taiwanese oolong tea. In this study, samples of domestic oolong tea (Taiwanese oolong tea) and Taiwanese-style oolong tea produced abroad (including China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, etc.) were collected. A multi-elements analysis method was applied to establish an elemental database of tea leaf samples. Subsequently, various widely used classification methods were employed to develop a discrimination model for identifying the origin of Taiwanese oolong tea. Utilizing the discrimination model established from a database of 727 samples to determine whether the tea leaves were Taiwanese or external, the statistical performances of classification models such as LDA, Ridge, Random Forest, Boosting, and SVM are nearly consistent. These models achieved an accuracy rate of 97.1%-97.8%, a recall rate (true positive rate) for Taiwanese origin of 98.4%-99.0%, and a precision value for predicting Taiwanese origin of 97.3%-97.8%. This identification technology has become an officially recognized and publicly recommended testing method in Taiwan (TFDAF0032.00, released on November 5, 2021) and has been effectively utilized in official administrative inspections for identification of origin, as well as providing evidence for investigative cases.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is commonly treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). However, adverse events from such treatment can lead to treatment discontinuation and additional medical expenditures. Ambulatory care from oncology pharmacists in patient education and symptom management can benefit patients with NSCLC. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of an oncology pharmacy service at a medical center in Taiwan. We retrospectively enrolled 137 patients with NSCLC who initiated treatment with afatinib, gefitinib, or erlotinib between January 2017 and December 2021; 40 of them utilized the oncology pharmacy service (intervention group), and the remaining 97 did not (nonintervention group). To determine the effectiveness of the oncology pharmacy service, we analyzed the following outcomes: adverse event rates, number of hospital visits (unexpected outpatient department visits, emergency department visits, and hospitalization), and medical expenditure. The intervention group had significantly more skin-related adverse events (acneiform rash: 75% vs. 49%; mucositis: 40% vs. 21%; dermatitis: 30% vs. 9%; and paronychia: 85% vs. 28%) but significantly fewer monthly emergency department visits (0.04 vs. 0.17) and unexpected outpatient department visits (0.15 vs. 0.34). The intervention group also had significantly lower expenditure for emergency department visits (NT$166.4 vs. NT$734.8) and nonsignificantly lower expenditure for outpatient department visits. Our findings indicate the value of pharmacist-managed ambulatory oncology care. Although this service did not reduce the incidence rates of adverse events, it reduced the number of unplanned outpatient and emergency department visits and reduced the emergency department expenditure of patients with NSCLC receiving TKIs.

Ascorbic acid (AA) is used as a food additive for its antibacterial and antioxidant properties. However, excessive intake of AA is harmful to humans. Therefore, the detection of Fe³⁺ and AA is generally recognized to be meaningful. In this work, a one-step hydrothermal tactics is developed for the preparing nitrogen and phosphorus co-doped carbon nanoparticles (N, P-CNPs) by using sucrose and ammonium orthophosphate as raw materials. The N, P-CNPs not only exhibited an enhanced fluorescent efficiency with a relatively high quantum yield up to 28%, but also showed satisfactory stability, water solubility and photostability. The fluorescence of N, P-CNPs can be effectively quenched by Fe³⁺ by a combination of inner filter effect (IFE) and static quenching and recovered upon the addition of AA due to the easy conversion of Fe³⁺ to reduced states Fe²⁺ by AA. Therefore, a turn-off-on fluorescent sensing strategy can be constructed for sequential detection of Fe³⁺ and AA with detection limits of 0.03 μM and 6 nM with the corresponding linear ranges of 0.05-500 μM and 0.01-500 μM respectively. The proposed fluorescent sensor exhibits excellent sensing performance and has been applied to the determination of Fe³⁺ in tap water and the analyses of AA in canned fruit soup with satisfactory results. Therefore, this fluorescent sensor expressed high potential in water quality monitoring, and could be further used to be a tool for practical food additives detection.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are primarily generated through the incomplete combustion or pyrolysis of organic materials in various industrial processes. Foods may become contaminated with environmental PAHs found in air, soil, or water, or through industrial food processing methods such as smoking, roasting, drying, and grilling. The Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan has established maximum levels for benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and indicative values for BaP as well as PAH4 (the sum of benz[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, and benzo[a]pyrene) in foods as operational guidelines. The current study developed an analytical method for simultaneous determination of PAH4 levels in katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), cocoa bean shells, and plant-based food supplements using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Sample preparation methods were assessed using cyclohexane extraction and solid-phase extraction (SPE) for purification. PAH4 levels were subsequently quantified with matrix-matched calibration curves combined with isotopic internal standards. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) for each PAH was 5 μg/kg for katsuobushi and plant-based food supplements, and 1 μg/kg for cocoa bean shells. The effectiveness of the method was validated through each PAH analyte in the matrices of katsuobushi, cocoa bean shells, and plant-based food supplements. The average recoveries of PAH4 for fortified samples in each matrix ranged from 101.1 to 115.6% with all coefficients of variation being less than 6.5%. This method is applicable for routine analysis of PAH4 in a diverse array of food products to ensure food safety.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has emerged as a promising nanomaterial with a wide range of potential applications due to their unique structural, mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. However, numerous obstacles must be overcome for CNTs to be used successfully, including low solubility, aggregation, and a lack of specialized functions. Diverse techniques have been developed for the manufacture, purification, and functionalization of CNTs in order to overcome these issues. The main aim of this review article is to provide brief knowledge about CNTs and strategies to use this revolutionized nanomaterial in drug delivery. Prepare CNTs cannot be directly used as drug carrier molecules due to the presence of impurities, so purification is an essential aspect of their use. In addition, various functionalization procedures are used frequently for drug conjugation with other benefits, such as reduced toxicity and targeted delivery. Their nano needle structure can penetrate any cell without damaging it with improved efficiency in targeted drug delivery, cancer cell identification, anticancer molecule delivery, antifungal treatment, and transdermal approaches. This nanostructure also has some antimicrobial activity, and conjugation with some antimicrobial agents shows a synergistic response.

This study introduces an innovative bio-based sorbent bead crafted by integrating chitosan (CS) biopolymers, Fe(NO3)3 and polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA NPs) via glutaraldehyde crosslinking. The primary focus of this study was the concurrent separation of diverse tetracycline antibiotics (TCs), followed by rigorous reversed-phase liquid chromatography analysis. The fabricated CS/Fe@PDA sorbent beads were comprehensively characterized using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, revealing a surface rich in active carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and oxygen (O) moieties. The proposed method demonstrated substantial analytical robustness, enabling the sorbent bead to detect low concentrations of TCs, with limit of detection values ranging from 142 to 303 μg L-1. Notably, the established linear range of 450-2000 μg L-1 extended the applicability of this approach to food and pharmaceutical product analysis. This study anticipated a paradigm shift in sample pre-treatment methodologies for TC analysis and envisions CS/Fe@PDA beads as a valuable tool for further advancements in separation science. The proposed bio-sorbent introduced a promising avenue for optimizing TC analysis, contributing to broader goals of food safety and pharmaceutical quality assurance. The results and insights from this study are expected to provide valuable inputs for ongoing efforts of the Food and Drug Administration to enhance analytical methodologies for food and drug safety.