Molecular assessment of oat head blight fungus, including a new genus and species in a family of Nectriaceae.

Head blight (HB) of oat (Avena sativa) has caused significant production losses in oats growing areas of western China. A total of 314 isolates, associated with HB were collected from the major oat cultivating areas of Gansu, Qinghai, and Yunnan Provinces in western China. Based on morphological characters, the isolates were initially classified into three genera, as differentiation to species was a bit difficult. Taxonomic analysis of these isolates based on muti-gene phylogenetic analyses (ITS, TEF1, TUB2, and RPB2) revealed four known Fusarium species, F. proliferatum, F. avenaceum, F. poae, and F. sibiricum, and one Acremonium specie (A. sclerotigenum). In addition, a new genus Neonalanthamala gen. nov., similar to genus Nalanthamala was introduced herein with a new combination, Neonalanthamala graminearum sp. nov., to accommodate the HB fungus. The molecular clock analyses estimated the divergence time of the Neonalanthamala and Nalanthamala based on a dataset (ITS, TUB2, RPB2), and we recognized the mean stem ages of the two genera are 98.95 Mya, which showed that they evolved from the same ancestor. N. graminearum was the most prevalent throughout the surveyed provinces. Pathogenicity test was carried out by using two different methods: seed inoculation and head inoculation. Results showed that F. sibiricum isolates were the most aggressive on the seed and head. A. sclerotigenum isolates were not pathogenic to seeds, and were developed less symptoms to the head compared to other species. Data analyses showed that the correlation of the germination potential, germination index, and dry weight of seed inoculation and disease index of plant inoculation had a highly significant negative correlation (P < 0.001). These results showed that the development of HB might be predicted by seed tests for this species. A. sclerotigenum and N. graminearum causing HB are being firstly reported on oat in the world. Similarly, F. proliferatum, F. avenaceum, F. poae and F. sibiricum causing oat HB are firstly reported in China.

Integrated predictive QSAR, Read Across, and q-RASAR analysis for diverse agrochemical phytotoxicity in oat and corn: A consensus-based approach for risk assessment and prioritization.

In the modern fast-paced lifestyle, time-efficient and nutritionally rich foods like corn and oat have gained popularity for their amino acids and antioxidant contents. The increasing demand for these cereals necessitates higher production which leads to dependency on agrochemicals, which can pose health risks through residual present in the plant products. To first report the phytotoxicity for corn and oat, our study employs QSAR, quantitative Read-Across and quantitative RASAR (q-RASAR). All developed QSAR and q-RASAR models were equally robust (R2 = 0.680-0.762, Q2Loo = 0.593-0.693, Q2F1 = 0.680-0.860) and find their superiority in either oat or corn model, respectively, based on MAE criteria. AD and PRI had been performed which confirm the reliability and predictability of the models. The mechanistic interpretation reveals that the symmetrical arrangement of electronegative atoms and polar groups directly influences the toxicity of compounds. The final phytotoxicity and prioritization are performed by the consensus approach which results into selection of 15 most toxic compounds for both species.

Evaluation and Assessment of Trivalent and Hexavalent Chromium on Avena sativa and Soil Enzymes.

Chromium (Cr) can exist in several oxidation states, but the two most stable forms-Cr(III) and Cr(VI)-have completely different biochemical characteristics. The aim of the present study was to evaluate how soil contamination with Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in the presence of Na2EDTA affects Avena sativa L. biomass; assess the remediation capacity of Avena sativa L. based on its tolerance index, translocation factor, and chromium accumulation; and investigate how these chromium species affect the soil enzyme activity and physicochemical properties of soil. This study consisted of a pot experiment divided into two groups: non-amended and amended with Na2EDTA. The Cr(III)- and Cr(VI)-contaminated soil samples were prepared in doses of 0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg Cr kg-1 d.m. soil. The negative effect of chromium manifested as a decreased biomass of Avena sativa L. (aboveground parts and roots). Cr(VI) proved to be more toxic than Cr(III). The tolerance indices (TI) showed that Avena sativa L. tolerates Cr(III) contamination better than Cr(VI) contamination. The translocation values for Cr(III) were much lower than for Cr(VI). Avena sativa L. proved to be of little use for the phytoextraction of chromium from soil. Dehydrogenases were the enzymes which were the most sensitive to soil contamination with Cr(III) and Cr(VI). Conversely, the catalase level was observed to be the least sensitive. Na2EDTA exacerbated the negative effects of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) on the growth and development of Avena sativa L. and soil enzyme activity.

Assessment of ACC and P450 Genes Expression in Wild Oat (Avena ludoviciana) in Different Tissues Under Herbicide Application.

Target-site resistance (TSR) and non-target-site resistance (NTSR) to herbicides in arable weeds are increasing rapidly all over the world and threatening universal food safety. Resistance to herbicides that inhibit ACCase activity has been identified in wild oat. In this study, expression of ACC1, ACC2, CYP71R4 and CYP81B1 genes under herbicide stress conditions were studied in two TSR (resistant in the residue Ile1781-Leu and Ile2041-Asn of ACCase) biotypes, two NTSR biotypes and one susceptible biotype of A. ludoviciana for the first time. Treated and untreated biotypes with ACCase-inhibitor clodinafop propargyl herbicide were sampled from the stem and leaf tissues at 24 h after treatment. Our results showed an increase in gene expression levels in different tissues of both types of resistance biotypes that occurred under herbicide treatment compared with non-herbicide treatment. In all samples, the expression levels of leaf tissue in all studied genes were higher than in stem tissue. The results of ACC gene expression showed that the expression level of ACC1 was significantly higher than that of ACC2. Also, expression levels of TSR biotypes were higher than NTSR biotypes for the ACC1 gene. For both CYP71R4 and CYP81B1 genes, the expression ratio increased significantly in TSR and NTSR biotypes in different tissues after herbicide treatment. In contrast, the expression levels of CYP genes in NTSR biotypes were higher than in TSR biotypes. Our results support the hypothesis that the reaction of plants to herbicide is carried out through a different regulation of genes, which can be the result of the interaction of resistance type in the target or non-target-site.

Assessment of Protein Nutritional Quality of Novel Hairless Canary Seed in Comparison to Wheat and Oat Using In Vitro Static Digestion Models.

Hairless canary seed (Phalaris canariensis L.) is a novel true cereal that is now approved for human consumption in Canada and the United States. This true cereal grain has higher protein content (22%) than oat (13%) and wheat (16%) and represents a valuable source of plant proteins. Assessment of canary seed protein quality is therefore essential to evaluate its digestibility and ability to provide sufficient amounts of essential amino acids for human requirements. In this study, the protein nutritional quality of four hairless canary seed varieties (two brown and two yellow) were evaluated in comparison to oat and wheat. The assessment of anti-nutrients contents (phytate, trypsin inhibitor activity, and polyphenols) showed that brown canary seed varieties had the highest content in phytate and oat the highest in polyphenols. Trypsin inhibitor level was comparable among studied cereals, but slightly higher in the brown canary seed Calvi variety. In regard to protein quality, canary seed had a well-balanced amino acid profile and was particularly high in tryptophan, an essential amino acid normally lacking in cereals. The in vitro protein digestibility of canary seeds as determined by both the pH-drop and INFOGEST (international network of excellence on the fate of food in the gastrointestinal tract) protocols appears slightly lower than wheat and higher than oat. The yellow canary seed varieties showed better overall digestibility than the brown ones. For all studied cereal flours, the limiting amino acid was lysine. The calculated in vitro PDCAAS (protein digestibility corrected amino acid score) and DIAAS (digestible indispensable amino acid score) were higher for the yellow C05041 cultivar than the brown Bastia, similar to those of wheat, but lower than those of oat proteins. This study demonstrates the feasibility and utility of in vitro human digestion models for the assessment of protein quality for comparison purpose.

Study protocol for development of an options assessment toolkit (OAT) for national malaria programs in Asia Pacific to determine best combinations of vivax radical cure for their given contexts.

INTRODUCTION: Recent advances in G6PD deficiency screening and treatment are rapidly changing the landscape of radical cure of vivax malaria available for National Malaria Programs (NMPs). While NMPs await the WHO's global policy guidance on these advances, they will also need to consider different contextual factors related to the vivax burden, health system capacity, and resources available to support changes to their policies and practices. Therefore, we aim to develop an Options Assessment Toolkit (OAT) that enables NMPs to systematically determine optimal radical cure options for their given environments and potentially reduce decision-making delays. This protocol outlines the OAT development process. METHODS: Utilizing participatory research methods, the OAT will be developed in four phases where the NMPs and experts will have active roles in designing the research process and the toolkit. In the first phase, an essential list of epidemiological, health system, and political & economic factors will be identified. In the second phase, 2-3 NMPs will be consulted to determine the relative priority and measurability of these factors. These factors and their threshold criteria will be validated with experts using a modified e-Delphi approach. In addition, 4-5 scenarios representing country contexts in the Asia Pacific region will be developed to obtain the expert-recommended radical cure options for each scenario. In the third phase, additional components of OAT, such as policy evaluation criteria, latest information on new radical cure options, and others, will be finalized. The OAT will be pilot-tested with other Asia Pacific NMPs in the final phase. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Human Research Ethics Committee approval has been received from the Northern Territory, Department of Health, and Menzies School of Health Research (HREC Reference Number: 2022-4245). The OAT will be made available for the NMPs, introduced at the APMEN Vivax Working Group annual meeting, and reported in international journals.

Life-cycle assessment of yeast-based single-cell protein production with oat processing side-stream.

Production of fish meal and plant-based feed proteins continues to increase to meet the growing demand for seafood, leading to impacts on marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Microbial proteins such as single-cell proteins (SCPs) have been introduced as feed alternatives since they can replace current fish feed ingredients, e.g., soybean, which are associated with negative environmental impacts. Microbial protein production also enables utilization of grain processing side-streams as feedstock sources. This study assesses the environmental impacts of yeast-based SCP using oat side-stream as feedstock (OS-SCP). Life-cycle assessment with a cradle-to-gate approach was used to quantify global warming, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, land use, and water consumption of OS-SCP production in Finland. Dried and wet side-streams of oat were compared with each other to identify differences in energy consumption and transportation effects. Sensitivity analysis was performed to examine the difference in impacts at various locations and fermentation times. Benchmarking was used to evaluate the environmental impacts of OS-SCP and other feed products, including both conventional and novel protein products. Results highlight the importance of energy sources in quantifying the environmental performance of OS-SCP production. OS-SCP produced with dried side-streams resulted in higher global warming (16.3 %) and water consumption (7.5 %) than OS-SCP produced from wet side-streams, reflecting the energy and water requirements for the drying process. Compared with conventional products, such as soy protein concentrates, OS-SCP resulted in 61 % less land use, while exacerbating the environmental impacts in all the other categories. OS-SCP had more impact on global warming (205-754 %), water consumption (166-1401 %), freshwater eutrophication (118-333 %), and terrestrial acidification (85-340 %) than other novel products, including yeast protein concentrate, methanotrophic bacterial SCP, and insect meal, while lowering global warming (11 %) and freshwater eutrophication (20 %) compared with dry microalgae biomass.

Biochemical assessment of oat genotypes revealed variability in grain quality with nutrition and crop improvement implications.

Oat is a potent source of nutrients and bioactive compounds offering potential health benefits and role in combating micronutrient malnutrition problems. To exploit nutritional and quality traits of oats, a biochemical assessment of 112 oat genotypes was conducted. The high range of variability for total phenol (1.7-31.3 mg/g), ß-glucan (1.0-8.0 mg/g), calcium (1.91-4.34 mg/g), zinc (3.80-6.50 mg/100 g), iron (0.66-4.89 mg/100 g) and manganese (2.88-8.0 mg/100 g) was revealed among genotypes. A higher amount of iron and zinc was found in genotypes OS-6, HFO-638, HFO-915 & HFO-918, whereas, elevated levels of manganese and zinc were recorded in genotypes OS-403 & OL-1804. The results revealed groups of low phytic acid oat genotypes containing high crude protein (HFO-52, HFO-270, HFO-330), ß-glucan (HFO-62, HFO-588, HFO-926). A significant positive correlation was obtained between copper with iron, manganese, and calcium content. These findings could be useful for developing value-added oat food products and novel oat varieties.

Agronomic and economical characterizations of a two-harvest regime for oat forage in cold regions of Northern China.

The natural grasslands in northern China have been seriously degraded due mainly to overgrazing and climate change in recent decades, leading to shortage of forage supply to animal husbandry. To maximize forage production, we developed a two-harvest regime of oat forage by sowing in spring in an alpine region of Hulun Buir, northern China, using two oat early maturation species. The agronomic characteristics and forage quality of the two-harvest regime were evaluated across three constructive years from 2017 to 2019. Compared to the traditional one-harvest regime, the production, resource use efficiency, and economic benefits were compared and quantified for both oat species across the 3 years. Dry weight forage by the two-harvest regime was increased by 17.5-18.5%, while crude protein was increased by 25.1-30.0%. Growing days by the two-harvest regime was increased by 36.7% on average, nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency was enhanced by 25.1-30.0%, while water use efficiency was not significantly changed. The two-harvest regime also increased the net profit by 28.0%. Taken together, our results reveal that the two-harvest regime of forage production in the cold region of northern China is a promising practice with high forage yield, nutritional value, and nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency as well as economic profit.

Systematic assessment of oat ß-glucan catabolism during in vitro digestion and fermentation.

ß-Glucan as a component of grain cell walls is consumed daily. However, little is known about whether ß-glucan is influenced by the gastrointestinal environment. In this study, we aim to investigate the integrated metabolic process of cereal ß-glucan. In vitro simulated digestion and fermentation combined with microbiome and metabolome analysis were used to profile the metabolism of ß-glucan. Intriguingly, we found that ß-glucan was not hydrolyzed by digestive enzymes but partially degraded by gastric acid environment during in vitro digestion. Moreover, ß-glucan was utilized by gut microbiota to produce acetate, propionate and butyrate, concurrently, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus significantly increased and Escherichia-Shigella significantly decreased. The correlation analysis between metabolomics datasets and microorganisms revealed that ß-glucan catabolism was also accompanied by amino acid catabolism and linoleic acid biosynthesis. Our study offered a forceful basis for the further exploration of the role of ß-glucan and gut microbiota in host health.

No fitness cost associated with Asn-2041-Ile mutation in winter wild oat (Avena ludoviciana) seed germination under various environmental conditions.

Knowledge about the fitness cost imposed by herbicide resistance in weeds is instrumental in devising integrated management methods. The present study investigated the germination response of ACCase-resistant (R) and susceptible (S) winter wild oat under different environmental conditions. The DNA of the plants was sequenced after being extracted and purified. The segregated F2 seeds were subjected to various temperatures, water potentials, NaCl concentrations, different pHs, darkness conditions, and burial depths. The results of the sequencing indicated that Ile-2041-Asn mutation is responsible for the evolution of resistance in the studied winter wild oat plants. The seeds were able to germinate over a wide range of temperatures, osmotic potentials, NaCl concentrations, and pHs. Germination percentage of R and S seeds under dark and light conditions was similar and ranged from 86.3 to 88.3%. The highest emergence percentage for both R and S plants was obtained in 0, 1, and 2 cm depths and ranged from 66.6 to 70.3%. In overall, no differences were observed in the germination response between the R and S winter wild oat plants under all studied conditions. No fitness cost at seed level indicates that control of R winter wild oats is more difficult, and it is essential to adopt crop and herbicide rotation to delay the further evolution of resistance.

Health risk assessment of heavy metals exposure via consumption of crops grown in phosphogypsum-contaminated soils.

The management of phosphogypsum (PG) heap, located south of the Sfax city in Tunisia, has been going on for decades. But dumping this solid waste still poses environmental problems. Even though valorized as amendment to agriculture soils, the sanitary impact of this practice is not seriously considered. To assess the risk of the transference of contaminants from PG to agricultural soil-plants food chain, a wild plant species Salicornia arabica grown in PG-contaminated field and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and oat (Avena sativa) grown in laboratory using different rates (10, 20 and 30%) of PG amendment, were tested. The cadmium, lead, chromium, nickel, copper and zinc concentrations in soils and plants were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry and by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, respectively. Measurements showed that Ni, Cu and Pb levels in the amended soils were below international standards except for Cd and Cr which exceeded Chinese, FAO/WHO and European allowable standard limits. Gathered results showed that the more the PG rate increases, the more the bioconcentration factors of heavy metals increased in plants, particularly in the roots. This is a prospective study assuming direct or indirect exposure scenario of different human cohorts by consuming varied common food stuffs. The Human Exposure to Soil Pollutants evaluation and United State Environment Protection Agency models were adopted for the hazard quotient calculation to assess the acceptability of sanitary risk related to each metal. The direct and indirect health risk assessments varied in the decreasing order: children, adolescents and then adults. Therefore, the PG amendment must not exceed the rate of 10%.

Implementing within-cross genomic prediction to reduce oat breeding costs.

A barrier to the adoption of genomic prediction in small breeding programs is the initial cost of genotyping material. Although decreasing, marker costs are usually higher than field trial costs. In this study we demonstrate the utility of stratifying a narrow-base biparental oat population genotyped with a modest number of markers to employ genomic prediction at early and later generations. We also show that early generation genotyping data can reduce the number of lines for later phenotyping based on selections of siblings to progress. Using sets of small families selected at an early generation could enable the use of genomic prediction for adaptation to multiple target environments at an early stage in the breeding program. In addition, we demonstrate that mixed marker data can be effectively integrated to combine cheap dominant marker data (including legacy data) with more expensive but higher density codominant marker data in order to make within generation and between lineage predictions based on genotypic information. Taken together, our results indicate that small programs can test and initiate genomic predictions using sets of stratified, narrow-base populations and incorporating low density legacy genotyping data. This can then be scaled to include higher density markers and a broadened population base.

Assessment of the glycaemic index, content of bioactive compounds, and their in vitro bioaccessibility in oat-buckwheat breads.

This study addressed determinations of the glycaemic index (GI), antioxidant capacity (AC), and phenolics content (TPC) of oat, buckwheat, and mixed oat/buckwheat breads. The bioaccessibility of TPC and the AC of breads were studied after in vitro digestion. The lowest values of the GI were determined for oat bread, whereas breads with the highest content of buckwheat flour had the highest AC. The digestion of breads showed that most of the TPC were found in the soluble fraction, but the phenolic compounds were still present also in the insoluble fraction after digestion. It was concluded that the mixed oat-buckwheat breads may serve as products with a medium GI, as a source of TPC, and as products with a high AC. It should be noted that enzymatic digestion or fermentation by microbiota could potentially enhanced breads antioxidant activity during digestion in the gastrointestinal tract.

Determination of 42 mycotoxins in oats using a mechanically assisted QuEChERS sample preparation and UHPLC-MS/MS detection.

A method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 42 mycotoxins in oats. The method includes all the mycotoxins listed under Commission Regulation 1881/2006 and Commission Recommendation 165/2013, the emerging mycotoxins (beauvericin, alternariol, alternariol-methyl-ether and enniatins), and two masked metabolites, namely deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside and T-2-glucoside. The method also focuses on a wide range of analytes of toxicological interest. The sample preparation involved extraction with an aqueous acetic acid solution and acetonitrile, followed by QuEChERS with mechanically assisted vibrational shaking. No further clean-up steps were employed, and analysis was performed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Trueness ranged between 78% and 158%, while precision ranged from 1.7% to 49.9% under within-laboratory reproducibility conditions. Beside the high degree of accuracy and sample throughput provided, the method can be applied to a large number of compounds currently not regulated, thus generating knowledge and for risk assessment purposes.

Evaluation of oats with varying hull inclusion in broiler diets up to 35 days.

Use of local feed ingredients in poultry feed, such as oats, can be limited by their perceived less than ideal nutritional content. Dehulling oats is expensive, and it may be that removing hull is detrimental to the bird in terms of gastrointestinal (GI) development, therefore maintaining some of the high-fiber oat hull (OH) might reduce costs and improve potential for inclusion in poultry diets. Male broilers were fed diets with oats replacing 30% of wheat in diets, either dehulled or with graded inclusions of OH from day of hatch until day 35. Each diet was fed to 8 pens of 8 birds and performance recorded weekly. Samples were collected at day 21 and 35 for analysis of ileal amino acid digestibility, apparent metabolizable energy (AME), and gross gut development measures. No detrimental effect was seen on bird weight with hull inclusion, though higher inclusion levels did deleteriously effect feed intake because of increased gut fill from the fiber. Nitrogen corrected AME was also adversely effected in the highest hull inclusion diets. However, amino acid digestibility was improved with hull addition, which may be because of an increase in GI tract length, improving nutrient absorption. Gizzard development was also significantly improved, and thereby, more efficient grinding of diet may also have improved digestibility. At a lower level of hull inclusion (3% total diet) where digestibility is improved without any detrimental effects on gut fill and intake. Oat hull is well known to improve gut development, especially of the gizzard, with resultant increases in digestibility. This is usually attributed to the mechanical effect of fiber in the gizzard having a grinding effect. However in this study, all fiber was finely ground, so the improvements seen cannot be attributed to a physical cause. Oat including diets with some hull remaining are a cost effective way of using oats as a raw material while maximizing bird performance.

Nutrition Assessment, Interventions, and Monitoring for Patients with Celiac Disease: An Evidence Analysis Center Scoping Review.

The objectives of this scoping review were to identify and characterize studies examining nutrition assessment, interventions, and measures to monitor gluten-free diet (GFD) adherence/compliance in patients with celiac disease (CD). An electronic literature search of four databases (Cochrane Database for systematic reviews, CINAHL, Embase, and Ovid MEDLINE) was conducted to identify articles examining nutrition care in CD individuals. Except for narrative review, grey literature, and case study/report, all types of peer-reviewed articles published between January 2007 and August 2018 were eligible. There were a total of 10,823 records; 10,368 were excluded during the first round of screening due to irrelevancy and/or duplication. Of the 455 full-text articles that were assessed, 292 met the criteria and were included. Most of the studies were observational studies (n=212), followed by experimental trials (n=50), evidence-based practice guideline (EBPG)/report/statement (n=16), and systematic review (SR) (n=14). Nine original studies examined assessment, focusing mainly on different tools/ways to assess GFD adherence. The majority of the included original articles (n=235) were in the nutrition intervention category with GFD, oats, and prebiotics/probiotics as the top-three most studied interventions. There were eight SRs on GFD and five on oats. One SR and 21 original studies investigated the effectiveness of different measures to monitor GFD adherence/compliance. Although recent CD EBPGs were identified, different methods with varying levels of rigor, in terms of literature search and assessment of evidence strength, were used. Based on this scoping review, interventions focused on gluten-free diet and oats have been significantly covered by either SRs or EBPGs. Studies related to prebiotics/probiotics and education program/counseling focused interventions, as well as assessment, in CD patients have increased in recent years. Thus, it might be beneficial to conduct SRs/EBPGs focused on these topics to guide practitioners.

Safety Assessment of Avena sativa (Oat)-Derived Ingredients As Used in Cosmetics.

This is a safety assessment of Avena sativa (oat)-derived ingredients. The reported functions of these ingredients in cosmetics include abrasives, antioxidant, skin conditioning agents, absorbents, and bulking agents. The Panel reviewed relevant animal and human data related to these ingredients. Because final product formulations may contain multiple botanicals, each containing the same constituents of concern, formulators are advised to be aware of these constituents and to avoid reaching levels that may lead to sensitization or other toxic effects. The Panel stated that industry should continue to use good manufacturing practices to limit impurities and concluded that all but one of the Avena sativa (oat)-derived ingredients are safe as cosmetic ingredients in the practices of use and concentration described in this safety assessment when formulated to be nonsensitizing; data are insufficient to come to a conclusion of safety for Avena Sativa (Oat) Meristem Cell Extract.

Assessment of Pediococcus acidilactici ATCC 8042 as potential Salmonella surrogate for thermal treatments of toasted oats cereal and peanut butter.

The control of Salmonella in low water activity foods poses a challenge for the food industry because of its thermal resistance. The use of surrogate bacteria in a food plant is considered a critical component to validate processing steps. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of Pediococcus acidilactici ATCC 8042, a generally recognized as safe bacterium (GRAS), as potential surrogate for Salmonella in commercial toasted oats cereal (TOC) and peanut butter. P. acidilactici was compared to a five-serovar cocktail of Salmonella and Enterococcus faecium NRRL-B2354, separately. Cultures were inoculated into TOC and thermal kinetic parameters (δ, ß) were determined at 80, 85, 90, and 95 °C using the Weibull model. In peanut butter, δ and ß parameters were obtained at 63, 68, 73, and 77 °C. In TOC, the δ values (initial decimal reduction time) of P. acidilactici were 63 and 7 min at 80 and 95 °C, respectively, and at all four temperatures they were not significantly different from δ values of E. faecium. The δ value of Salmonella at 80 °C (139 min) was two-fold greater than the other two bacteria's values (p < 0.05). In peanut butter, δ values of P. acidilactici ranged from 31 min at 63 °C to 2.6 min at 77 °C, and at all temperatures they were not significantly different from E. faecium's δ values. In peanut butter, all Salmonella cocktail's δ values were significantly smaller than P. acidilactici's with values of 2 min at 63 °C and 0.4 min at 77 °C. These results indicated that P. acidilactici was as heat tolerant as E. faecium in these food matrices. However, the thermal inactivation kinetic parameters suggested that P. acidilactici can only be considered a Salmonella surrogate in TOC at temperatures above 85 °C. Because of its greater thermal tolerance in peanut butter, P. acidilactici may be used as Salmonella surrogate if an additional safety factor is recommended.

Presence of Zearalenone in Cereal Grains and Its Exposure Risk Assessment in Indian Population.

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a toxic metabolite of Fusarium genera that frequently contaminates cereal grains. India being a tropical country provides suitable conditions for fungal invasion to the cereals. In the absence of any regulatory limits for ZEA in India, the present study was carried out to analyze the contamination levels of ZEA in different cereal samples consumed by Indian population and its exposure assessment through intake. Out of 117 cereal samples comprising of wheat, rice, corn, and oats, 70 (84%) were found to be positive for ZEA contamination, among which 24 (33%) samples exceeded the permissible limits proposed by European Union when analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The positive samples were further validated by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (LC-MS) analysis. Based on the quantitative estimation of ZEA contamination in cereals and their daily consumption values, the probable daily intake of ZEA was found to be 16.9- and 7.9-fold higher in rice and wheat samples, respectively, than the tolerable daily intake prescribed by European Food Safety Authority. The presence of ZEA at high levels indicates a higher exposure risk for Indian population as wheat and rice are staple foods in India. Thus, there is an immediate need to set the permissible levels of ZEA in India to safeguard the health of 1.34 billion people. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: High levels of ZEA contaminated wheat and rice samples suggest that the consumers are at a greater exposure risk. The study will help the Indian regulatory bodies to set the permissible level of ZEA in different cereal grains so as to safeguard the health of common masses. This can happen by simply adopting to European Food Safety Authority standards or depending on the consumption pattern of food and its occurrence, the new safe limit can be prescribed in India like in other Asian countries.