Tree gum-based renewable materials: Sustainable applications in nanotechnology,biomedical and environmental fields

The prospective uses of tree gum polysaccharides and their nanostructures in various aspects of food, water, energy, biotechnology, environment and medicine industries, have garnered a great deal of attention recently. In addition to extensive applications of tree gums in food, there are substantial non-food applications of these commercial gums, which have gained widespread attention due to their availability, structural diversity and remarkable properties as ‘green’ bio-based renewable materials. Tree gums are obtainable as natural polysaccharides from various tree genera possessing exceptional properties, including their renewable, biocompatible, biodegradable, and non-toxic nature and their ability to undergo easy chemical modifications. This review focuses on non-food applications of several important commercially available gums (arabic, karaya, tragacanth, ghatti and kondagogu) for the greener synthesis and stabilization of metal/metal oxide NPs, production of electrospun fibers, environmental bioremediation, bio-catalysis, biosensors, coordination complexes of metal–hydrogels, and for antimicrobial and biomedical applications. Furthermore, polysaccharides acquired from botanical, seaweed, animal, and microbial origins are briefly compared with the characteristics of tree gum exudates.     

Natural gum-assisted phthalocyanine immobilization in electroactive nanocomposites: physicochemical characterization and sensing applications

Natural gums have been traditionally applied in cosmetics and the food industry, mainly as emulsification agents. Due to their biodegradability and excellent mechanical properties, new technological applications have been proposed involving their use with conventional polymers forming blends and composites. In this study, we take advantage of the polyelectrolyte character exhibited by the natural gum ChichA (Sterculia striata), extracted in the Northeastern region of Brazil, to produce electroactive nanocomposites. The nanocomposites were fabricated in the form of ultrathin films by combining a metallic phthalocyanine (nickel tetrasulfonated phthalocyanine, NiTsPc) and the ChichA gum in a tetralayer architecture, in conjunction with conventional polyelectrolytes. The presence of the gum led to an efficient adsorption of the phthalocyanine and enhanced the electrochemical response of the films. Upon combining the electrochemical and UV-vis absorption data, energy diagrams of the ChichA/NiTsPc-based system were obtained. Furthermore, modified electrodes based on gum/phthalocyanine films were able to detect dopamine at concentrations as low as 10-5 M.     

Prospects and application of nanobiotechnology in food preservation: molecular perspectives

Applications of biotechnological tools in food preservation have shown promising results in minimizing food spoilage. Design and development of highly efficient food preservatives are one of the key success factors in this application field. However, due to the inherent shortcomings of the bulk forms of such preservatives, research was in progress to find suitable alternatives to replace conventional modalities. The intervention of nanotechnology has made this approach feasible in almost every aspect of food preservation. This interface domain of nanobiotechnology has been very well explored in the last few decades and vast literature has been reported. Researchers have developed efficient nanopreservatives (NPRs) for diverse applications. However, the literature available on nano-based food preservation is not inclusive of molecular perspectives involved in food preservation. There is a large knowledge gap in the interface domain concerning the physics of intermolecular and interfacial forces and nanotechnology which play decisive roles in designing edible coatings (ECs). There is an urgent need for identifying the nano and molecular level contributing factors for developing efficient NPRs. Moreover, it is imperative to understand the possible health impact of NPRs in public interest and concern. This review revisits the fundamental aspects of food preservation and navigates through the applicability, safety, molecular aspects and future direction of NPRs.     

Feasting on insects

Insects are an important natural resource, both for self-sufficiency and as commercial food products in many parts of the world. The use of edible insects reflects regional preferences and socio-cultural significance, which can be described in terms of regional differences. This study describes some edible insects in three regions: Japan, Southeast Asia and Southern Africa, and focuses on systems of traditional practices as the socio-cultural implications of people's preferences regarding edible insects. The case studies presented here describe such insect-related customs as the continuation of the traditional practice of insect eating in Japan, Southeast Asia and Southern Africa. These case studies describe the uniqueness or special characteristics of the custom, and the significance of its existence in the social sphere. Edible insects are regarded as cultural resources reflecting a rich biodiversity. They represent an alternative source of natural food resources in remote or mountainous areas. People who eat insects have established a broad variety of methods for collecting and cooking the rich diversity of edible insect species that are available. However, increases in demand could lead to competition and overexploitation, resulting in the future decline of these resources. In areas affected by overdevelopment, insect habitats are also likely to decline. It is necessary to raise people's awareness of the importance of the use of insects for food in order to ensure that insects are used in a sustainable manner, and to promote their proper use and conservation.     

The quest for natural antimicrobials as novel means of food preservation: Status report on a European research project

At a time when consumers are demanding the partial or complete removal of chemically synthesized preservatives from foods, there is also an increased demand for convenience foods with long shelf-lives. These consumer-led trends have fuelled a renewed interest in the development of ‘more natural’ preservatives for extending the shelf-life and maintaining the safety of foods. Although the antimicrobial properties of many compounds from plant, animal and microbial sources have been reported, their potential for use as natural food preservatives has not been fully exploited. In this paper, the possible uses of natural antimicrobial compounds as food preservatives, used either singly or in combination, are explored. Specific examples are given from a current transnational research project on Natural Antimicrobial Systems sponsored jointly by the European Commission and a consortium of eight food companies. The results of trials with a range of potential natural preservatives including lytic enzymes, bacteriocins from lactic acid bacteria and plant antimicrobials in laboratory media and in a variety of foods and beverages including apple juice, milk, hard-cooked cheese (Emmental) and fresh fruit slices are discussed.     

Food plants and masticants of the batemi of Ngorongoro District,Tanzania1

Based on independent interviews with 25 persons we report 44 edible species of plants used by the Batemi of Sale Division, Ngorongoro District, Tanzania. Thirty-one of these are specifically consumed as food; six species are chewed as thirst quenchers; seven species of gums and resins are chewed; two species are added to food as flavorants; and one species is used in the preparation of honey beer. We report 8 species used as tooth brushes by the Batemi. An additional 35 species of food and beverage plants were observed under cultivation by the Batemi. With these plants the Batemi ingest phytochemicals in a manner that could have positive health effects.     

Hydrocolloid coating of Xenopus laevis embryos

A novel technology for coating single cells and embryos with thin hydrocolloid (water-soluble polymer) films has been invented and patented. Coating is different from entrapment and immobilization in that the coating around the cell is thinner, comprising only a small fraction of the cell or embryo's diameter. Xenopus laevis embryos were coated with thin films of low-methoxy pectin (LMP), alginate, and iota- and kappa-carrageenans. These gums have different compositions and structures and as such created different coatings around the fertilized cells. All coated embryos appeared to develop normally, similar to noncoated embryos. Elemental detection by ICP-AES spectroscopy revealed that the embryo can control the diffusion of excess ions to which it is exposed during the coating process. The coatings delayed hatching by 18-24 h. Consequently, at hatch the embryos were at a more developed stage than their noncoated counterparts. The hydrocolloid coating reduced the thickness of the natural jelly coating (JC). With the iota-carrageenan coating, percent hatch was maximal, while with LMP it was minimal, as a result of the films' mechanical properties and thicknesses. LMP and alginate created smoother coatings than the carrageenans. Potential interactions between the coating and the natural JC are hypothesized. Overall, coatings appear to be a suitable tool for laboratories interested in performing longer-term experiments with embryos.     

Chemistry and pharmacology of oxyprenylated secondary plant metabolites

Oxyprenylated natural products (isopentenyloxy-, geranyloxy- and the less spread farnesyloxy- compounds and their biosynthetic derivatives) represent a family of secondary metabolites that have been considered for years just as biosynthetic intermediates of C-prenylated derivatives. Only in the last decade these natural products have been recognized as interesting and valuable biologically active phytochemicals. Up to now about 300 molecules have been isolated from plants mainly belonging to the families of Rutaceae and Compositae, comprising common edible vegetables and fruits. A wide variety of compounds containing a prenyloxy side chain have been isolated and these comprise alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, cinnamic acids, benzoic acids, phenols, alcohols, aldehydes, anthraquinones, chalcones, lignans, xanthones, aceto- and benzophenones and other more uncommon skeletons. Many of the isolated oxyprenylated natural products and their semisynthetic derivatives were shown to exert in vitro and in vivo remarkable anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-fungal effects. The aim of this review is to examine in detail the different types of oxyprenylated natural compounds from a phytochemical and pharmacological point of view.     

Natural product antifoulants: One perspective on the challenges related to coatings development

Fouling of surfaces by abiotic and biotic substances has molecular, microbial, and macro-organismal levels of organization. Fouling involves molecular bonding and biological adhesives. Existing commercial solutions to fouling are antifouling or foul-release. Antifouling uses broad-spectrum biocides which kill foulers by virtue of oxidation or toxic metal ions. Foul-release coatings are dimethyl silicone polymers that foul, but clean easily. The best foul-release coatings also contain additives that kill organisms. Environmentally unacceptable consequences of toxic antifouling coatings, especially those based on organotins, have prompted interest in antifoulants found in living organisms. Laboratories worldwide now use bioassays with target fouling organisms to direct purification and identification of antifoulant compounds. Natural antifoulants are common and include toxins, anesthetics, surface-active agents, attachment and/or metamorphosis inhibitors and repellents. Development of commercial coatings using natural products is blocked by cost, the time horizon to meet government regulations and performance standards based upon coatings with unacceptable environmental impacts. If blocks are removed, the potential for environmentally acceptable solutions that combine natural products with organic biocides is high.     

多组分反应在吡咯衍生物合成中的应用进展

多组分反应(Multicomponent Coupling Reactions,MCRs)是将三种或三种以上的相对简单的原料加入"一锅煮"反应中,不经过中间体分离而直接得到结构复杂的分子的方法。具有操作简单、原料易得、环境友好等优点。多组分反应发展至今,已经在包括药物合成的多个领域中起到了重要作用。吡咯衍生物作为一类在自然界中广泛分布、有着重要生物医药价值和材料科学价值的重要化合物,其合成方法一直是有机合成研究中的热点之一。近年来用于合成吡咯衍生物的多组分反应也不断地被报道。多组分反应能够很好地解决传统吡咯合成路线中取代基引入的问题并能提高反应收率,为吡咯衍生物的合成与研究带来便利。本文从合成方法上概述了近年来多组分反应在吡咯合成中的应用,为合成已有吡咯衍生物和探寻全新结构的吡咯衍生物提供合成方法上的新思路。     

Novel biologically active natural and unnatural products

Natural products have been used as medicinal agents for many years. In addition, these compounds have served as the starting points for semisynthetic analogs with improved properties. This review highlights work on several classes of natural products and their derivatives, including both well established and emerging structural classes that are in, or nearing, clinical use for a variety of important indications.     

Bacteriophages and their application in food safety

In recent years it has become widely recognized that bacteriophages have several potential applications in the food industry. They have been proposed as alternatives to antibiotics in animal health, as biopreservatives in food and as tools for detecting pathogenic bacteria throughout the food chain. Bacteriophages are viruses that only infect and lyse bacterial cells. Consequently, they display two unique features relevant in and suitable for food safety. Namely, their safe use as they are harmless to mammalian cells and their high host specificity that allows proper starter performance in fermented products and keeps the natural microbiota undisturbed. However, the recent approval of bacteriophages as food additives has opened the discussion about ‘edible viruses’. In this review, we examine the promising uses of phages for the control of foodborne pathogens and the drawbacks on which more research is needed to further exploit these biological entities.     

In vitro prebiotic effects of Acacia gums onto the human intestinal microbiota depends on both botanical origin and environmental pH

Acacia gums are commonly used food additives. It is currently unclear how extensively these non-digestible polysaccharides are fermented in the human large intestine. However, they have been shown to support bifidobacterial growth in vitro and may represent useful candidate prebiotics. In these investigations, in vitro 24-h batch incubations and chemostat continuous-cultures of human faecal bacteria were conducted using two acacia gums (Fibregum standard and Fibregum AS). Our aim was to study the effects of these gums on bacterial ecology and fermentation in the large bowel. Fructooligosaccharides (Actilight-950P) were also investigated as a reference. Both Acacia gums were extensively fermented by intestinal flora although there were marked differences in fermentation product formation and ecological effects, probably due to their differing botanical origins and/or biochemical characteristics. In particular, fermentation of Fibregum AS led to significantly higher proportions of propionate both in batch and chemostat experiments. Both gums decreased Clostridium sp. levels but only Fibregum-standard induced higher Lactobacillus sp. counts compared to control. These bacterial modifications were highly dependent of the operating pH of the fermentation system with acidic conditions promoting both the prebiotic and the butyrogenic effects of fructooligosaccharides. In these studies, we have demonstrated that, similarly to fructooligosaccharides, Acacia gums can exert putatively beneficial effects on host health through both the improvement of the composition of the large intestine microflora and SCFA formation.     

Biofortifying crops with essential mineral elements

Humans require more than 22 mineral elements, which can all be supplied by an appropriate diet. However, the diets of populations subsisting on cereals, or inhabiting regions where soil mineral imbalances occur, often lack Fe, Zn, Ca, Mg, Cu, I or Se. Traditional strategies to deliver these minerals to susceptible populations have relied on supplementation or food fortification programs. Unfortunately, these interventions have not always been successful. An alternative solution is to increase mineral concentrations in edible crops. This is termed 'biofortification'. It can be achieved by mineral fertilization or plant breeding. There is considerable genetic variation in crop species that can be harnessed for sustainable biofortification strategies. Varieties with increased mineral concentrations in their edible portions are already available, and new genotypes with higher mineral densities are being developed.     

Mechanical properties and water vapor transmission in some blends of cassava starch edible films

The continuous increase of consumer interest in quality, convenience and food quality has encouraged further research into edible films and coatings from natural polymers, such as polysaccharides. Ecoefficient products are the new generation of biobased products prepared with sustainable materials, that agree with ecological and economic requirements including environmentally acceptable disposal of post-user waste. The numerous potential applications of natural polymers such as polysaccharides stimulated the study with edible films based on cassava starch. Blends of glycerol (GLY) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as plasticizers, and glutaraldehyde (GLU) as crosslinking agent were prepared in order to determine the mechanical properties and water vapor transmission of those films. A response surface methodology was applied on the results to identify the blend with the best mechanical properties and lowest water vapor transmission. The crosslinking effect of glutaraldehyde in the films can be observed. The plasticizing action of polyethylene glycol was restrained by more than 0.5 g of glutataraldehyde. The use of glycerol was less evident for this property even after 284 h of contact time with water vapor.     

Exudate gums: occurrence,production, and applications

This paper presents a review of the industrially most relevant exudate gums: gum arabic, gum karya, and gum tragacanth. Exudate gums are obtained as the natural exudates of different tree species and exhibit unique properties in a wide variety of applications. This review covers the chemical structure, occurrence and production of the different gums. It also deals with the size and relative importance of the various players on the world market. Furthermore, it gives an overview of the main application fields of the different gums, both food and non-food.     

真菌来源的药用天然产物

天然产物及其衍生物,包括基于天然产物药效基团结构设计的化合物,约占临床药物的50%以上。几个世纪以来,真菌天然产物的药用价值闻名于世。无论从市场前景还是人道主义角度,真菌来源的小分子药物都具有极高的应用价值。本篇综述总结了真菌天然产物在临床上的应用,并以他汀类药物的研发历程揭示了真菌来源小分子是化学合成药物研发的重要灵感源泉。本篇综述涵盖了真菌来源的药物小分子,包括天然药物、相关衍生物以及结构修饰药物。     

Simple rules describe bottom-up and top-down control in food webs with alternative energy pathways

Many human influences on the world's ecosystems have their largest direct impacts at either the top or the bottom of the food web. To predict their ecosystem-wide consequences we must understand how these impacts propagate. A long-standing, but so far elusive, problem in this endeavour is how to reduce food web complexity to a mathematically tractable, but empirically relevant system. Simplification to main energy channels linking primary producers to top consumers has been recently advocated. Following this approach, we propose a general framework for the analysis of bottom-up and top-down forcing of ecosystems by reducing food webs to two energy pathways originating from a limiting resource shared by competing guilds of primary producers (e.g. edible vs. defended plants). Exploring dynamical models of such webs we find that their equilibrium responses to nutrient enrichment and top consumer harvesting are determined by only two easily measurable topological properties: the lengths of the component food chains (odd-odd, odd-even, or even-even) and presence vs. absence of a generalist top consumer reconnecting the two pathways (yielding looped vs. branched webs). Many results generalise to other looped or branched web structures and the model can be easily adapted to include a detrital pathway.     

Recombinant food allergens

Allergenic (glyco)proteins are the elicitors of food allergies and can cause acute severe hypersensitivity reactions. Recombinant food allergens are available in standardised quantity and constant quality. Therefore, they offer new perspectives to overcome current difficulties in the diagnosis, treatment and investigation of food allergies. This review summarises the expression strategies and characteristics of more than 40 recombinant food allergens that have been produced until today. Their IgE-binding properties are compared to those of their natural counterparts, in addition their application as diagnostic tools, the generation of hypoallergenic recombinant isoforms and mutants for therapeutic purposes, the determination of epitopes and cross-reactive structures are described.     

Polymers derived from hemicellulosic parts of lignocellulosic biomass

Furfural, which is directly derived from the hemicellulosic parts of lignocellulosic biomass, is considered as one of the most promising platform chemicals to manufacture commodity chemical products such as polymers and their monomers. Its production has already been commercialized. In this review, potentially relevant methods for producing important chemicals from furfural, which are used as monomers for different polymers, and for the polymerization of furfural and its derivatives (e.g., furfuryl alcohol), have been discussed. First, the production of furfural from different lignocellulosic biomasses is presented. Next, the synthesis of various monomers and their highest available yields from furfural are discussed. The polymers that can be directly produced from furfural and its derivatives are explored. Finally, the challenges of producing furfural-based products have been highlighted.