Applied Food Biotechnology
Volume:11 Issue: 2, Spring 2024

Food biotechnologysignificantly impactsthe food industry and human health. Many advanced investigations are involved in the ongoing development of food quality and safety. Introducing the critical cutting-edge features of research in food biotechnology is the main aim of this special issue. Application of nanotechnology as a multidisciplinary field to develop food safety and production, using microbiota as the modulators of body immunity against stresses, introducing bioinformatics tools to evaluate food microbial contamination, using systems biology assessment to explore the efficient and safe food preservative agents, evaluating food bioprocess protocols such as fermentation,presentation of advanced bioremediation techniques for detoxification of environmental toxins heavy metals, and highlighting significant progress in engineered edible probiotic vaccines are presented and discussed to provide new perspective of food biotechnology. Understanding and using the close relationship between technology development and food quality and safety improvement is accentuated as a continuous effort in food biotechnology research.

The specialissue illustratesthe impact of multi-disciplinary research and highlightsthe need to develop new technologies in the food industry, especially multi-omics systems biology technologies and synthetic biotechnology. The major three topics presented basedon systems biology include role of biopreservative agents in food safety. Collaboration between traditional knowledge and newly introduced approaches will accelerate future food biotechnology achievements.

Yoghurt is a fermented milk product by bacteria; a process including transformation of lactose and galactose to lactic acid. In other words, milk acidification is a critical step in the industrial process to produce various dairy foods and components such as yogurt and caseinates. This study aimed to assess yoghurt effects on gene expression of human whole blood against acidified milk.

Whole blood gene expression changes of yoghurt consumers against individuals that received acidified milks were retrieved from gene expression omnibus (GEO) database and pre-assessed via GEO2R program to find significant differentially expressed genes (DEG). Significant DEGs were assessed via director protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis and gene ontology enrichment to investigate critical genes and targeted biological processes.

Pre-assessment analysis showed that whole blood gene expression profiles of the yoghurt group changed (characterized by 37 significant DEGs) while samples of acidified milk consumers included no significant alterations. Moreover, PPI network analyses showed that RPSA, RPS5, RPS14, PABPC1, DDX60L, FEN1, MRPL12 and KAT6A were the highlighted significant DEGs. Based on the gene ontology, enrichment biosynthesis of ceruloplasmin was addressed as the targeted biological process. It was concluded that yoghurt included significant effects on gene expression profiles of whole blood while acidified milk did not. Downregulation of genes that were involved in ceruloplasmin production and function was highlighted as the major event in blood of yoghurt consumers.

Sodium benzoate is known as a preservative compound with a high safety profile in the food industrial and pharmaceutical field due to its antibacterial and antifungal properties. In the other hand, nisin is a bio-preservative agent. Determining the effect of sodium benzoate on human HepG2 cell gene expression in comparison with nisin is the aim of this study.

The effect of sodium benzoate on gene expression of human HepG2 cells was extracted from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Pre-evaluation analysis via GEO2R confirmed valid analysis. The significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were investigated via protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis and the hubs were screened via a directed regulatory network. The critical hub genes were identified and discussed. The apoptosis-related dysregulated genes of human HepG2 from the literature were assessed among the significant DEGs of sodium benzoate analysis.

A total number of 11521 significant DEGs were identified. The PPI network including 4095 recognized DEGs with 208 hub nodes was created. The hubs were assessed via a directed protein network and MAPK1, CCND1, MAPK14, RAF1, KRAS, MAPK3, PIK3CA, SIRT1, EGF, RBX1, FYN, and NIP7 were pointed out as the critical hub genes in response to presence of sodium benzoate. A total of 78 dysregulated genes of nisin analysis (except TNRSF25) had no common genes with significant DEGs of sodium benzoate evaluation. It can be concluded that sodium benzoate and nisin affect essential cellular functions such as cell cycle progression, cell motility and metabolism, cell proliferation, and survival in various manners. It seems wide usage of food preservative agents requires more investigation to guarantee human health maintenance

Aflatoxin includes four toxin types of B1, B2, G1 and G2. Due to the widespread contamination of food and agricultural products and the harmful effects of aflatoxin on the human body, investigating biological effects of aflatoxin and preventing its harmful effects on human health are important for the experts. The present study aimed to find a complementary method to modify standard detection methods of harmful levels of aflatoxin based on biomarker discovery.

Data regarding changes in the gene expression profile of human intestinal Caco-2 cells were retrieved from the gene expression omnibus database, specifically concerning effects of aflatoxin B1 (AB1) on treated cells. Data were assessed via directed protein-protein interaction network analysis and gene ontology enrichment to identify the critical differentially expressed genes and the associated biochemical pathways.

From the 934 differentially expressed genes, 623 were investigated through protein-protein interaction network analysis. Two directed protein-protein interaction networks were constructed from the significantly upregulated and downregulated differen- tially expressed genes. The COL4A6, IRF1, SLC2A2, CITED2, SULT2A1, RRAS and PCYT1B emerged as critical target genes affected by AB1. Various cellular functions, including cell proliferation, migration, apoptosis and metabolism, were identified as the key biochemical pathways that were affected. It was concluded that the levels of these critical target genes could be addressed as appropriate criteria for modifying standard methods of aflatoxin contamination detection

Associations between probiotics as dietary supplements for health enhancement and illness management and human health include a long history. Currently, probiotics represent a potential category of microorganisms used in the development of oral vaccines for the treatment of allergies, infectious diseases, and cancers. The vaccine promises as safe therapeutic options, their capacity to elicit mucosal and systemic immune responses, and their cost-effectiveness resulting from the absence of complex purification processes have been addressed.

Despite the advantages of probiotics as oral vaccines, their uses still include problems such as inadequate targeted colonization, diminished immune response in populations with low hygiene standards, reliance on individual microbiota, poor stability, limited efficacy, and absence of targeted immunogenicity. To address these problems, probiotics can be engineered using gene editing technologies, particularly CRISPR/Cas system. Concerns are reported regarding the safety of genetic alterations and deficiencies in efficient delivery mechanisms linked to the use of modified probiotics as oral vaccines. Further studies are needed to assess problems associated with accurate genetic alteration and efficient delivery methods to achieve the ultimate goal of further effective and safer vaccinations.

Cancer treatments, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, can cause diarrhea, which negatively affects the quality of life and willingness of patients to continue their treatment plans. In recent years, evidence have shown that the gut microbiome contributes to the development of these adverse effects as well as decreasing their severity. Probiotics have been shown to decrease treatment-related gastrointestinal symptoms. Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that provide health benefits to the host.

This report assessed the effectiveness of various probiotic strains, including Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, in decreasing diarrhea associated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Clinical trials have shown that certain probiotic formulations can decrease diarrhea occurrence and severity, decrease antidiarrheal medication needs and improve overall treatment tolerance. Despite these promising findings, further research is needed to optimize probiotic use in cancer therapy and fully understand how probiotics modulate gut health during chemotherapy. Therefore, probiotics can be used as an adjunctive treatment strategy in chemoradiotherapy cases to improve patient quality of life and clinical outcomes.

Due to the growth of the global population, food demands are increasing. Hence, the need to develop more efficient methods for producing better quality, safer, and more sustainable food seems essential. In the past decades, the use of nanoscale materials has increased greatly due to the unique chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of nanomaterials compared to bulk materials. This research presents nanotechnology role in improving sensorial properties (taste, appearance, and texture) and safety aspects as well as processing and packaging of foods. The use of nano-omics-based technologies and artificial intelligence-nanotechnology-based technologies in the food industry is also discussed.

Linking food science and nanotechnology as a multidisciplinary scientific field can help safeguard food security, production, processing, storage, and quality control. Although nanotechnology has addressed the challenges in different sectors of food biotechnology, there are still various problems and opportunities to improve the current conditions as well as the complications and health risks caused by nanotechnology

Heavy metals such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) pose serious risks to ecosystems and human health, particularly affecting vulnerable groups such as children. These toxic heavy metals can accumulate in food matrices, leading to long-term health effects. People can be exposed to these pollutants through contaminated food, polluted water, inhalation, and direct skin contact. This review focused on the environmental pollution caused by industrialization, specifically heavy metal contamination. Moreover, it assessed bioremediation as a potential solution, which involved using microorganisms and plants to break down and detoxify these hazardous pollutants.

This study investigated various bioremediation techniques, including the use of probiotics for decontamination. These methods aimed to restore contaminated sites and develop sustainable approaches to remove heavy metals from food products. The study highlighted the effectiveness of microbial interventions in addressing the harmful effects of heavy metals and toxins in the environment and food systems. These bioremediation strategies could lessen the risks associated with heavy metal contamination.