In vitro protective effects of marine-derived Aspergillus puulaauensis TM124-S4 extract on H2O2-stressed primary human fibroblasts.

Nowadays, there is a huge interest in natural products obtained from marine organisms that can promote human health.The aim of the present study is to evaluate for the first time, the in vitro effects of marine Aspergillus puulaauensis TM124-S4 extract against oxidative stress in human fibroblasts, and its potential as a cosmetic ingredient. The strain was isolated from the Mediterranean Sea star, Echinaster sepositus, and identified according to ITS molecular sequence homology as a member of Aspergillus section versicolores.To gain insight on the bioactivity underpinning the effects of TM124-S4 extract on oxidative stress, we examined a panel of a hundred genes as well as cell viability. Initially, Aspergillus puulaauensis TM124-S4 promoted cell viability.The change in gene transcripts revealed that Aspergillus puulaauensis TM124-S4 extracts exhibited skin protection properties by mediating cell proliferation (EPS8, GDF15, CASP7, VEGFA), antioxidant response (CAT, SOD1, TXN, GPX1), skin hydration (CD44, CRABP2, SERPINE) and DNA repair (PCNA, P21). The extract also modulated the expression of genes involved in skin pigmentation and aging (TYR, FOXO3).These findings indicate that Aspergillus puulaauensis TM124-S4 extract possesses significant in-vitro skin protection activity against induced oxidative stress.Furthermore, new insights are provided into the beneficial role of fungal bioactive compounds in skin related research.

Diversity and antimicrobial potential in sea anemone and holothurian microbiomes.

Marine invertebrates, as holobionts, contain symbiotic bacteria that coevolve and develop antimicrobial substances. These symbiotic bacteria are an underexplored source of new bioactive molecules to face the emerging antibiotic resistance in pathogens. Here, we explored the antimicrobial activity of bacteria retrieved from the microbiota of two sea anemones (Anemonia sulcata, Actinia equina) and two holothurians (Holothuria tubulosa, Holothuria forskali). We tested the antimicrobial activity of the isolated bacteria against pathogens with interest for human health, agriculture and aquaculture. We isolated 27 strains with antibacterial activity and 12 of these isolates also showed antifungal activity. We taxonomically identified these strains being Bacillus and Vibrio species the most representative producers of antimicrobial substances. Microbiome species composition of the two sea anemones was similar between them but differed substantially of seawater bacteria. In contrast, microbiome species composition of the two holothurian species was different between them and in comparison with the bacteria in holothurian feces and seawater. In all the holobiont microbiomes Bacteroidetes was the predominant phylum. For each microbiome, we determined diversity and the rank-abundance dominance using five fitted models (null, pre-emption, log-Normal, Zipf and Zipf-Mandelbrot). The models with less evenness (i.e. Zipf and Zipf-Mandelblot) showed the best fits in all the microbiomes. Finally, we tracked (using the V4 hypervariable region of 16S rRNA gene) the relative abundance of these 27 isolates with antibacterial activity in the total pool of sequences obtained for the microbiome of each holobiont. Coincidences, although with extremely low frequencies, were detected only in the microbiome of H. forskali. This fact suggests that these isolated bacteria belong to the long tail of rare symbiotic bacteria. Therefore, more and more sophisticated culture techniques are necessary to explore this apparently vast pool of rare symbiontic bacteria and to determine their biotechnological potentiality.

Innovative Approach to Sustainable Marine Invertebrate Chemistry and a Scale-Up Technology for Open Marine Ecosystems.

Isolation of marine compounds from living invertebrates represents a major challenge for sustainable and environmentally friendly exploitation of marine bio-resources. To develop innovative technology to trap invertebrate compounds in the open sea, the proof of concept of a system combining external continuous circulation of water with XAD-amberlite solid-phase extraction was validated in an aquarium. In this work, we reported the elicitation of guanidine alkaloid production of Crambe crambe in the presence of Anemonia sulcata, both collected from the Mediterranean Sea. Besides the previously reported crambescidin 359 (1), and crambescidin acid (2), three new compounds were isolated; one carboxylated analog of 1 named crambescidin 401 (3), and two analogs of crambescin B, crambescin B 281 (4) and crambescin B 253 (5). Based on these results, a technology named Somartex® for “Self Operating MARine Trapping Extractor” was patented and built to transfer the concept from closed aquarium systems to open marine ecosystems.

Sea cucumbers reduce chromophoric dissolved organic matter in aquaculture tanks.

BACKGROUND: Mono-specific aquaculture effluents contain high concentrations of nutrients and organic matter, which affect negatively the water quality of the recipient ecosystems. A fundamental feature of water quality is its transparency. The fraction of dissolved organic matter that absorbs light is named chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM). A sustainable alternative to mono-specific aquaculture is the multitrophic aquaculture that includes species trophically complementary named "extractive" species that uptake the waste byproducts. Sea cucumbers are recognized as efficient extractive species due to the consumption of particulate organic matter (POM). However, the effects of sea cucumbers on CDOM are still unknown. METHODS: During more than one year, we monitored CDOM in two big-volume tanks with different trophic structure. One of the tanks (-holothurian) only contained around 810 individuals of Anemonia sulcata, whereas the other tank (+holothurian) also included 90 individuals of Holothuria tubulosa and Holothuria forskali. We routinely analyzed CDOM absorption spectra and determined quantitative (absorption coefficients at 325 nm) and qualitative (spectral slopes) optical parameters in the inlet waters, within the tanks, and in their corresponding effluents. To confirm the time-series results, we also performed three experiments. Each experiment consisted of two treatments: +holothurians (+H) and -holothurians (-H). We set up three +H tanks with 80 individuals of A. sulcata and 10 individuals of H. tubulosa in each tank and four -H tanks that contained only 80 individuals of A. sulcata. RESULTS: In the time-series, absorption coefficients at 325 nm (a325) and spectral slopes from 275 to 295 nm (S275-295) were significantly lower in the effluent of the +holothurian tank (average: 0.33 m-1 and 16 µm-1, respectively) than in the effluent of the -holothurian tank (average: 0.69 m-1 and 34 µm-1, respectively), the former being similar to those found in the inlet waters (average: 0.32 m-1 and 22 µm-1, respectively). This reduction in the absorption of the dissolved organic matter appears to be mediated by the POM consumption by holothurians. The experiments confirmed the results observed in the time-series. The a325 and S275-295 values were significantly lower in the treatment with holothurians than in the treatment without holothurians indicating a reduction in the concentration of chromophoric organic compounds, particularly of low molecular weight. DISCUSSION: Consequently, sea cucumbers appear to improve water transparency in aquaculture tanks. The underlying mechanism of this improvement might be related to the POM consumption by holothurians, which reduces the concentration of CDOM derived from POM disaggregation or to the direct assimilation of dissolved compounds of low molecular weight as chromophoric amino acids.

Predictive response surface model for heat-induced rheological changes and aggregation of whey protein concentrate.

Whey proteins are now far more than a by-product of cheese processing. In the last 2 decades, food manufacturers have developed them as ingredients, with the dairy industry remaining as a major user. For many applications, whey proteins are modified (denatured) to alter their structure and functional properties. The objective of this research was to study the influence of 85 to 100 °C, with protein concentration of 8% to 12%, and treatment times of 5 to 30 min, while measuring rheological properties (storage modulus, loss modulus, and complex viscosity) and aggregation (intermolecular beta-sheet formation) in dispersions of whey protein concentrate (WPC). A Box-Behnken Response Surface Methodology modeled the heat denaturation of liquid sweet WPC at 3 variables and 3 levels. The model revealed a very significant fit for viscoelastic properties, and a lesser fit for protein aggregation, at temperatures not previously studied. An exponential increase of rheological parameters was governed by protein concentration and temperature, while a modest linear relationship of aggregation was governed by temperature. Models such as these can serve as valuable guides to the ingredient and dairy industries to develop target products, as whey is a major ingredient in many functional foods.

Comparison of gluten recovery in gluten-incurred buckwheat flour using different commercial test kits.

Recovery of gluten in buckwheat flour was evaluated as part of an effort to produce wheat-contaminated buckwheat flours that could be used as reference materials (RMs) for testing the presence of gluten in buckwheat. RMs of buckwheat containing 0, 20, 100 and 1000 ppm gluten were created and tested by ELISA. The Gluten-Check kit detected gluten accurately at all levels; RIDASCREEN and Biokits tests were accurate at 20 and 100 ppm levels, but at 1000 ppm both suffered from extraction saturation effect; Veratox kit read 60% higher for the 20 ppm RM (i.e., 31.9 ppm), but close to the target at 100 ppm RM; Veratox R5 kit showed low accuracy with around 30% recovery at 20 and 100 ppm and some 60% at 1000 ppm level. Overall, the results showed variations in recovery among different test kits which could have important implications in the accurate detection of gluten in buckwheat.

Food production and processing considerations of allergenic food ingredients: a review.

Although most consumers show no adverse symptoms to food allergens, health consequences for sensitized individuals can be very serious. As a result, the Codex General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods has specified a series of allergenic ingredients/substances requiring mandatory declaration when present in processed prepackaged food products. Countries adhering to international standards are required to observe this minimum of eight substances, but additional priority allergens are included in the list in some countries. Enforcement agencies have traditionally focused their effort on surveillance of prepackaged goods, but there is a growing need to apply a bottom-up approach to allergen risk management in food manufacturing starting from primary food processing operations in order to minimize the possibility of allergen contamination in finished products. The present paper aims to review food production considerations that impact allergen risk management, and it is directed mainly to food manufacturers and policy makers. Furthermore, a series of food ingredients and the allergenic fractions identified from them, as well as the current methodology used for detection of these allergenic foods, is provided.

Development of a dipstick dye immunoassay for diagnosing hydatidosis.

We have developed a kit to diagnose hydatidosis, based on the detection of specific antibodies. This disease, caused by larvae of the cestode Echinococcus granulosus, is a zoonosis commonly found throughout the world. The diagnostic kit discriminates between positive and negative cases in a way that is easily interpreted, i.e., positive cases form a colored band on an inert substrate. The results show test sensitivity to be some 94.87% and specificity 85.71%, which is comparable to those of the ELISA technique. The high sensitivity and specificity of this test affords the great advantage of speed in diagnosing this parasitosis. No other equipment or procedure is required.

Enfermedad hipertensiva gravídica: algunas consideraciones sobre su influencia en los indicadores de morbimortalidad perinatal / Some considerations of the impact of hypertension in pregnancy on perinatal mortality and morbidity indicators

Se exponen los resultados del año 1996 en el hospital general de Colón "Mario Muñoz Monroy", de las pacientes ingresadas y clasificadas como hipertensas que alcanzaron un total de 227 pacientes, de un total de 2 457 gestantes no hipertensas y que arrojó una incidencia de 9,2 porciento de hipertensión. Se comparó con un grupo control constituido por un muestreo aleatorio homogeneizado y sin enfermedades asociadas, y se creó una base de datos, que permitió obtener resultados estadísticos al ser procesados en una computadora IBM del Sectorial de Salud de Colón, compatible con el paquete EPINFO-5, que halló el método de porcentajes, medias aritméticas y el método paramétrico del X2 para percentil prefijado donde a £ 0,05. Las variables analizadas permitieron demostrar por su significación estadística la influencia negativa de la hipertensión gravídica en los indicadores de morbimortalidad perinatal(AU) -

Enfermedad hipertensiva gravídica: algunas consideraciones sobre su influencia en los indicadores de morbimortalidad perinatal / Some considerations of the impact of hypertension in pregnancy on perinatal mortality and morbidity indicators

Se exponen los resultados del año 1996 en el hospital general de Colón "Mario Muñoz Monroy", de las pacientes ingresadas y clasificadas como hipertensas que alcanzaron un total de 227 pacientes, de un total de 2 457 gestantes no hipertensas y que arrojó una incidencia de 9,2 porciento de hipertensión. Se comparó con un grupo control constituido por un muestreo aleatorio homogeneizado y sin enfermedades asociadas, y se creó una base de datos, que permitió obtener resultados estadísticos al ser procesados en una computadora IBM del Sectorial de Salud de Colón, compatible con el paquete EPINFO-5, que halló el método de porcentajes, medias aritméticas y el método paramétrico del X2 para percentil prefijado donde a œ 0,05. Las variables analizadas permitieron demostrar por su significación estadística la influencia negativa de la hipertensión gravídica en los indicadores de morbimortalidad perinatal(AU) -