Monascus is capable of producing different secondary metabolites, such as pigments, monacolin K, and a variety of digestive enzymes. These metabolites show antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic and cholesterol-lowering activities; yet, to study such metabolites, it is necessary to evaluate the growth of the fungus as it is a key indicator. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of different sources in quinoa flour-based culture media during the growth of M. purpureus. The diameter was evaluated daily until the tenth day and then the increase in radial growth was determined and used to calculate the growth rate (mm/day) by linear regression. The sources were: glucose, fructose, molasses, fish hydrolysate, fermented fish, monosodium glutamate and sodium chloride; at concentrations of 0.5 and 1% (w/v) with variation of pH 5, 6 and 7. To compare the data, a completely randomized statistical design was used with a 7x2x3 factorial arrangement with three replications. The analysis was done by ANOVA, and to determine significant differences between the means the Tukey test was applied (α = 0.05). At the tenth day, the highest value obtained was 72.59 mm with a radial growth rate of 3.629 mm/day, corresponding to the effect of 0.5% (w/v) sodium chloride at pH 6, and the lowest value was 42.05 mm with a radial growth rate of 2.10 mm/day for the effect of 0.5% (w/v) monosodium glutamate at pH 7. From this research, it is deduced that different sources have effects on the development of M. purpureus, and factors such as pH and concentration can also make changes in the morphology of the colonies affecting their growth rate.

Honey is a natural substance produced by bees of the genus Apis. Depending on the raw material used for its production, honey can be classified into two large groups. Blossom honey, which results from the metabolization of nectar extracted from flowers, and honeydew honey, in which bees use plant or insect secretions for its production. Physicochemical characteristics are different between these two types of honey. For example, honeydew honey is darker and is characterized by high content of phenolic acids. On the contrary, blossom honey stands out for its abundance of flavonoids. Blossom honey can be also classified based on the pollen origin. Thus, honeys with more than 45% of the pollen coming from the same species can be considered monofloral, otherwise, they are considered multifloral.

Honey is one of the food products with the highest fraudulent practices. Most of the adulterations consist of ingredient dilution, adding sweet substances, such as syrups, sugar cane, or corn syrup, among others. In the market, this was reflected in the dubious drop in prices for this product. In the last few years, several honey frauds have come to light.

This work aimed to develop a non-targeted ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography – high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) fingerprinting method to address the characterization, classification, and authentication of Spanish honey samples considering their botanical and geographical origin. A total of 136 honeys from different Spanish production regions belonging to different botanical varieties were analyzed, including: blossom honey (orange blossom, rosemary, thyme, eucalyptus, and heather) and honeydew honey (holm oak, forest, and mountain). A simple sample treatment was carried out, consisting of dissolving 1 g of honey in 10 mL of water, followed by a 1:1 dilution with methanol. The chromatographic separation of the obtained extracts was performed using a Kinetex® C-18 core-shell column (100 x 4.6 mm I.D., 2.6 μm), working under gradient elution, using an aqueous solution of 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile as the mobile phase components. HRMS acquisition was performed using electrospray in negative ionization mode (-2500 V) in an LTQ-Orbitrap working in full scan MS (m/z 100 – 1000) at a resolution of 50,000 full-width at half maximum (FWHM). The obtained non-targeted UHPLC-HRMS fingerprints (peak signals as a function of retention time and m/z) were considered as chemical descriptors of the analyzed honey samples for principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). PLS-DA revealed a good discrimination between blossom and honeydew honeys. Furthermore, the obtained chemometric models allowed to achieve a very good classification among the different botanical varieties under study for both blossom and honeydew honeys. The discrimination of honey regarding the different Spanish climate production regions was more limited, although some trends were observed. Thus, the non-targeted UHPLC-HRMS fingerprinting approach showed to be an appropriate methodology to address honey characterization, classification, and authentication based on their different botanical origin.

Many antibacterial agents have been continuously used by various industries in order to extend the shelf life by controlling spoilage bacteria and reducing the risk from pathogenic bacteria. However, there is a concern for safety and various health-related issues. Sericin in silk cocoon is considered as a waste product in the silk industry, and usually thrown away. Sericin is known to possess a number of important biochemical properties. Considering this, in the present study, sericin protein was extracted from the silk cocoon by degumming process and its antibacterial activity was investigated against a number of foodborne pathogenic bacteria by the standard procedures. Its synergistic antibacterial activity was also investigated using both sericin protein and the standard antibiotics such as ampicillin, azithromycin, cephalexin, erythromycin, gentamycin, kanamycin and streptomycin. The results showed that sericin extract displayed a prominent antibacterial effect against all the tested foodborne pathogenic bacteria with the diameter of inhibition zones ranged from 9.44±0.04 to 12.09±0.58 and the results are comparable with the standard antibiotics. The sericin extract at 500µg/disc displayed highest inhibition zones against both the tested Escherichia coli (12.09±0.58 mm) and the Listeria monocytogenes (11.51±0.35 mm). Further, the sericin along with the standard antibiotics at (25µg+5µg)/disk respectively displayed significant antibacterial potential against all the tested foodborne pathogenic bacteria with the highest inhibition zone against the Salmonella Typhimurium (26.59±0.74 mm). The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values of the sericin extract ranged from 0.0625 – 1.0 mg/mL. This data suggested that the sericin extract has a promising antibacterial potential, which can be utilized in the various industries as an effective antibacterial agent.

Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2020R1G1A1004667), the Republic of Korea.

Banana is one of the fruit crops that is mostly consumed and produced in the Philippines (PSA, 2017). As a result, the banana peels (BPs) are neglected as a waste. Furthermore, numerous studies have investigated and stated that the BP is a good source of dietary fiber (DF). This study aims to develop a breading mix (BM), determine the most acceptable formulation of BM with BP, and evaluate its nutrient and microbial content. One (1) control commercial BM and three (3) BM with different formulations, substitution of all-purpose flour (APF) with partially fine dried banana peel (PFDBP) for 25%, 30%, and 35% in production of BM formulation, were tested in terms of nutrient and microbiological content. For sensory evaluation, Quantitative Descriptive Analysis was conducted by 11 trained panelists and Consumer Acceptability Test was facilitated by 50 untrained panelists using the 9-point hedonic scale, utilizing chicken breast fillet as carrier. The statistical treatments used were weighted mean and one-factor repeated measures analysis of variance. The BM formulations produced were all found to be high in total dietary fiber (TDF) except for the control. Hence, it was proven that BP is a suitable dietary source for the BM formulations. Furthermore, the BM with DF had a lower fat content as compared to control due to its low oil-holding capacity that is beneficial with fried foods. Apart from color, all of the BM samples tested on pan-fried chicken breast fillet were found to be comparable to the sensory characteristics of the control. Therefore, the most favorable sample was BM A, which contains 25% substitution of APF with PFDBP, as it has shown an impressive result regarding TDF, fat analysis, and microbiological analysis, and in evaluation in terms of its sensory attributes.

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) is recognised for its use as a food source, food additive, in nutraceuticals, and in folk medicine. Its berries are highly concentrated in flavonoids, particularly anthocyanins, well-known for their colorant and antioxidant properties. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of an anthocyanin-rich elderberry extract (EE) on mice for 29 days and to assess its safety when used as natural food colorant.

The anthocyanin profile was determined using HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS. The study was approved by the Portuguese Veterinary Authorities. Twenty-four FVB/n female mice (n=6/group) were randomized into four experimental groups: Control, 12 mg/mL EE (EE12), 24 mg/mL (EE24) and 48 mg/mL (EE48). EE was supplemented in drinking water. Animals were humanely sacrificed by intraperitoneal injection of xylazine and ketamine, followed by exsanguination by cardiac puncture. A complete necropsy was performed. For histopathological analysis, liver and kidney samples were collected and fixed in 10% buffered formalin, sectioned, and processed for paraffin embedding. Sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin and observed under light microscope.

The predominant anthocyanins detected were cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside-5-O-glucoside and cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside. Histological analysis of the liver showed a significant difference (p = 0.036) between Control (80.0%) and EE12 (16.7%), with the Control groups' histology exhibiting overall hydropic changes. These changes presented a generalized distribution in Control mice, whereas the other groups exhibited hydropic changes at the centrilobular zone. Inflammation in the liver was also assessed, with at least one animal in each group exhibiting chronic focal hepatitis. Apart from one case of chronic interstitial nephritis in EE24, no histological changes were observed.

The results suggest that elderberry extract supplementation does not appear to cause toxicological effects in kidney or liver structure or function with pathological significance.