scholarly journals Multifaceted Applications of Microbial Pigments: Current Knowledge, Challenges and Future Directions for Public Health Implications

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh ◽  
Vinithkumar ◽  
Kirubagaran ◽  
Venil ◽  
Dufossé

Microbial oddities such as versatile pigments are gaining more attention in current research due to their widely perceived applications as natural food colorants, textiles, antimicrobial activities, and cytotoxic activities. This indicates that the future generation will depend on microbial pigments over synthetic colorants for sustainable livelihood. Although several reviews have detailed the comprehensive applications of microbial pigments extensively, knowledge on several aspects of pigmented microbes is apparently missing and not properly reviewed anywhere. Thus, this review has been made to provide overall knowledge on biodiversity, distribution, pathogenicity, and ecological and industrial applications of microbial pigments as well as their challenges and future directions for food, industrial, and biomedical applications. Meticulously, this compendious review treatise on the pigments from bacteria, fungi, yeasts, and microalgae includes reports from the 1970s to 2018. A total of 261 pigment compounds produced by about 500 different microbial species are included, and their bioactive nature is described.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda Cortez Lopes ◽  
Rodrigo Ligabue-Braun

Many commodities are abundantly produced around the world, including soybean, corn, rice sugarcane, cassava, coffee, fruits, and many others. These productions are responsible for the generation of enormous amounts of daily residues, such as cassava and sugarcane bagasses, rice husk, and coffee peel. These residues are rich sources for renewable energy and can be used as substrates for industrial interest products. Microorganisms are useful biofactories, capable of producing important primary and secondary metabolites, including alcohol, enzymes, antibiotics, pigments, and many other molecules. The production of pigments was reported in bacteria, filamentous fungi, yeasts, and algae. These natural microbial pigments are very promising because synthetic colorants present a long history of allergies and toxicity. In addition, many natural pigments present other biological activities, such as antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, that are interesting for industrial applications. The use of inexpensive substrates for the production of these metabolites is very attractive, considering that agro-industrial residues are generated in high amounts and usually are a problem to the industry. Therefore, in this article we review the production of microbial pigments using agro-industrial residues during the current decade (2010–2020), considering both submerged and solid state fermentations, wild-type and genetically modified microorganisms, laboratorial to large-scale bioprocesses, and other possible biological activities related to these pigments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 637
Author(s):  
Ramesh Chatragadda ◽  
Laurent Dufossé

Microbial pigments play multiple roles in the ecosystem construction, survival, and fitness of all kinds of organisms. Considerably, microbial (bacteria, fungi, yeast, and microalgae) pigments offer a wide array of food, drug, colorants, dyes, and imaging applications. In contrast to the natural pigments from microbes, synthetic colorants are widely used due to high production, high intensity, and low cost. Nevertheless, natural pigments are gaining more demand over synthetic pigments as synthetic pigments have demonstrated side effects on human health. Therefore, research on microbial pigments needs to be extended, explored, and exploited to find potential industrial applications. In this review, the evolutionary aspects, the spatial significance of important pigments, biomedical applications, research gaps, and future perspectives are detailed briefly. The pathogenic nature of some pigmented bacteria is also detailed for awareness and safe handling. In addition, pigments from macro-organisms are also discussed in some sections for comparison with microbes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. N. Kalpana ◽  
V. Devi Rajeswari

The advance of reliable and eco-friendly strategies for the development of nanoparticles is a fundamental key to the discipline of nanotechnology. Nanoparticles have been continuously evaluated and have been used in many industrial applications for a decade. In particular, the role of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) has received a great interest because of various properties such as UV filter properties and photochemical, antifungal, high catalyst, and antimicrobial activities. Because of the high rate of poisonous chemicals and the extreme surroundings used within the chemical and physical methods, the green techniques have been adopted using plants, fungi, bacteria, and algae for the synthesis of nanoparticles. Therefore, this paper considers various green synthesis methods to provide the evidence of ZnO NP role to several applications, and in addition, biomedical applications and toxic effect were reviewed. Therefore, the paper used various secondary sources to collect the relevant review articles. From the findings, the green route of synthesis is rather safe and eco-friendly when compared to physical and chemical means of synthesis. On the other hand, its biomedical applications in this sector are increased day by day in various processes including bioimaging, drug delivery, biosensors, and gene delivery. With respect to its toxicity properties, ZnO NPs can act as smart weapons against multiple drug-resistant microorganisms and as a talented substitute for antibiotics.


Toxins ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliana Henao ◽  
Piotr Rzymski ◽  
Matthew Waters

Cyanobacterial metabolites are increasingly studied, in regards to their biosynthesis, ecological role, toxicity, and potential biomedical applications. However, the history of cyanotoxins prior to the last few decades is virtually unknown. Only a few paleolimnological studies have been undertaken to date, and these have focused exclusively on microcystins and cylindrospermopsins, both successfully identified in lake sediments up to 200 and 4700 years old, respectively. In this paper, we review direct extraction, quantification, and application of cyanotoxins in sediment cores, and put forward future research prospects in this field. Cyanobacterial toxin research is also compared to other paleo-cyanobacteria tools, such as sedimentary pigments, akinetes, and ancient DNA isolation, to identify the role of each tool in reproducing the history of cyanobacteria. Such investigations may also be beneficial for further elucidation of the biological role of cyanotoxins, particularly if coupled with analyses of other abiotic and biotic sedimentary features. In addition, we identify current limitations as well as future directions for applications in the field of paleolimnological studies on cyanotoxins.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 1397-1404
Author(s):  
Adrian Bartoszek ◽  
Jakub Fichna ◽  
Aleksandra Tarasiuk ◽  
Agata Binienda ◽  
Adam Fabisiak ◽  
...  

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. In developed countries, its mortality remains high, yet the prevalence has established owing to effective screening programs; however due to the westernization of lifestyle, the incidences in many other countries have increased. Although the treatment of CRC has improved in the last few years, the side effects of these approaches cannot be neglected. Recently, members of the family of free fatty acid receptors (FFARs) have become attractive pharmacological targets in many diseases, including asthma; studies also point to their role in carcinogenesis. Here, we discuss current knowledge and future directions in FFAR research related to CRC. Contradictory results of FFARs modulation may derive from the pleiotropic effects of FFAR ligands, receptor distribution and different signal transduction. Hence, we indicate directions of further studies to fully use the potential of FFARs in CRC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 247-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajra Takala ◽  
Qiwei Yang ◽  
Ahmed M. Abd El Razek ◽  
Mohamed Ali ◽  
Ayman Al-Hendy

Lifestyle factors, such as alcohol intake, have placed a substantial burden on public health. Alcohol consumption is increasing globally due to several factors including easy accessibility of this addictive substance besides its legal status and social acceptability. In the US, alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of death (after tobacco, poor diet and physical inactivity) with an estimated 88,000 people dying from alcohol-related causes annually, representing 1 in 10 deaths among working adults. Furthermore, the economic burden of excess drinking costs the US around $249 billion ($191.1 billion related to binge drinking). Although men likely drink more than women do, women are at much higher risk for alcohol-related problems. Alcohol use is also considered to be one of the most common non-communicable diseases, which affects reproductive health. This review article summarizes the current knowledge about alcohol-related pathogenesis of uterine fibroids (UFs) and highlights the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the development of UFs in response to alcohol consumption. Additionally, the effect of alcohol on the levels of various factors that are involved in UFs pathogenesis, such as steroid hormones, growth factors and cytokines, are summarized in this review. Animal studies of deleterious alcohol effect and future directions are discussed as well.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 575
Author(s):  
Shangyi Lou ◽  
Jin He ◽  
Hongwen Li ◽  
Qingjie Wang ◽  
Caiyun Lu ◽  
...  

Subsoiling has been acknowledged worldwide to break compacted hardpan, improve soil permeability and water storage capacity, and promote topsoil deepening and root growth. However, there exist certain factors which limit the wide in-field application of subsoiling machines. Of these factors, the main two are poor subsoiling quality and high energy consumption, especially the undesired tillage depth obtained in the field with cover crops. Based on the analysis of global adoption and benefits of subsoiling technology, and application status of subsoiling machines, this article reviewed the research methods, technical characteristics, and developing trends in five key aspects, including subsoiling shovel design, anti-drag technologies, technologies of tillage depth detection and control, and research on soil mechanical interaction. Combined with the research progress and application requirements of subsoiling machines across the globe, current problems and technical difficulties were analyzed and summarized. Aiming to solve these problems, improve subsoiling quality, and reduce energy consumption, this article proposed future directions for the development of subsoiling machines, including optimizing the soil model in computer simulation, strengthening research on the subsoiling mechanism and comprehensive effect, developing new tillage depth monitoring and control systems, and improving wear-resisting properties of subsoiling shovels.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (15) ◽  
pp. 8223
Author(s):  
Violetta Krajka-Kuźniak ◽  
Wanda Baer-Dubowska

Nrf2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2) and NF-κB (nuclear factor–kappa B) signaling pathways play a central role in suppressing or inducing inflammation and angiogenesis processes. Therefore, they are involved in many steps of carcinogenesis through cooperation with multiple signaling molecules and pathways. Targeting both transcription factors simultaneously may be considered an equally important strategy for cancer chemoprevention and therapy. Several hundreds of phytochemicals, mainly edible plant and vegetable components, were shown to activate Nrf2 and mediate antioxidant response. A similar number of phytochemicals was revealed to affect NF-κB. While activation of Nrf2 and inhibition of NF-κB may protect normal cells against cancer initiation and promotion, enhanced expression and activation in cancer cells may lead to resistance to conventional chemo- or radiotherapy. Most phytochemicals, through different mechanisms, activate Nrf2, but others, such as luteolin, can act as inhibitors of both Nrf2 and NF-κB. Despite many experimental data confirming the above mechanisms currently, limited evidence exists demonstrating such activity in humans. Combinations of phytochemicals resembling that in a natural food matrix but allowing higher concentrations may improve their modulating effect on Nrf2 and NF-κB and ultimately cancer prevention and therapy. This review presents the current knowledge on the effect of selected phytochemicals and their combinations on Nrf2 and NF-κB activities in the above context.


Author(s):  
Dung Le ◽  
Kris Audenaert ◽  
Geert Haesaert

AbstractFusarium basal rot (FBR) is a soil-borne disease that affects Allium species worldwide. Although FBR has long been recognized as a major constraint to the production of economically important Allium species, information that could support disease management remains scattered. In this review, the current knowledge on the causal agents, symptomology and epidemiology, impact, and management strategies of FBR is synthesized. We highlight that FPR is associated with different complexes of several Fusarium species, of which Fusarium oxysporum and F. proliferatum are the most prevalent. These pathogenic complexes vary in composition and virulence, depending on sites and hosts, which can be challenging for disease management. Research to improve disease management using chemical pesticides, resistance cultivars, biocontrol agents, and cultural practices has achieved both promising results and limitations. Finally, research needs and future directions are proposed for the development of effective FBR management strategies.


CNS Spectrums ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (S4) ◽  
pp. 4-4
Author(s):  
Eric Hollander ◽  
Joseph Zohar ◽  
Donatella Marazziti

The Fourth International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Conference (IOCDC) was held February 10–12, 2000, on the beautiful island of St. Thomas. The IOCDC is an annual meeting which brings together the world's leading experts in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders in a small workshop setting to present recent research advances, discuss gaps in our current knowledge, and plan or international approaches that address these knowledge gaps. The IOCDC meetings have been held on islands on both sides of the Atlantic—Capri, Guadeloupe, Madeira, and now St. Thomas.The International Organizing Committee consists of Eric Hollander, MD (USA), Joseph Zohar, MD (Israel), and Donatella Marazziti, MD (Italy). The proceedings are generously supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Solvay Pharmaceuticals, and we would like to acknowledge the very important contributions of Chantal Vekens and Mary Blangiardo of Solvay. Also, an mportant part of the success of these meetings stems from the very active role of the chairpersons and cochairpersons of the workshops who lead the discussions, who synthesize the future directions and prepare the manuscripts that result from these discussions that appear in this academic supplement.The meeting led off with a state-of-the-art plenary address by Mark George, MD (USA), describing how new methods of brain stimulation are improving research and therapy in OCD and promise to revolutionize neuropsychiatric research and herapy over the next decade. He describes how transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is used to test the circuits in OCD and test electrophysiologic evaluations of cortical inhibition n OCD. Newer techniques that are less invasive than ablative surgery and appear promising in OCD therapy include vagus nerve stimulation and deep brain stimulation.


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