"Nanoantibiotics": a new paradigm for treating infectious diseases using nanomaterials in the antibiotics resistant era.

The human gastrointestinal tract is colonised by a complex ecosystem of microorganisms. Intestinal bacteria are not only commensal, but they also undergo a synbiotic co-evolution along with their host. Beneficial intestinal bacteria have numerous and important functions, e.g., they produce various nutrients for their host, prevent infections caused by intestinal pathogens, and modulate a normal immunological response. Therefore, modification of the intestinal microbiota in order to achieve, restore, and maintain favourable balance in the ecosystem, and the activity of microorganisms present in the gastrointestinal tract is necessary for the improved health condition of the host. The introduction of probiotics, prebiotics, or synbiotics into human diet is favourable for the intestinal microbiota. They may be consumed in the form of raw vegetables and fruit, fermented pickles, or dairy products. Another source may be pharmaceutical formulas and functional food. This paper provides a review of available information and summarises the current knowledge on the effects of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics on human health. The mechanism of beneficial action of those substances is discussed, and verified study results proving their efficacy in human nutrition are presented.

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/9/1021/pdf

Effects of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics on Human Health.

Nanoemulsions fabricated from food-grade ingredients are being increasingly utilized in the food industry to encapsulate, protect, and deliver lipophilic functional components, such as biologically-active lipids (e.g., ω-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid) and oil-soluble flavors, vitamins, preservatives, and nutraceuticals. The small size of the particles in nanoemulsions (r<100 nm) means that they have a number of potential advantages over conventional emulsions-higher stability to droplet aggregation and gravitational separation, high optical clarity, ability to modulate product texture, and, increased bioavailability of lipophilic components. On the other hand, there may also be some risks associated with the oral ingestion of nanoemulsions, such as their ability to change the biological fate of bioactive components within the gastrointestinal tract and the potential toxicity of some of the components used in their fabrication. This review article provides an overview of the current status of nanoemulsion formulation, fabrication, properties, applications, biological fate, and potential toxicity with emphasis on systems suitable for utilization within the food and beverage industry.

Food-grade nanoemulsions: formulation, fabrication, properties, performance, biological fate, and potential toxicity.

Nanotechnology monitors a leading agricultural controlling process, especially by its miniature dimension. The application of nanotechnology to agriculture and food industries is resonant increased encumbrance because of the potential benefits ranging from enhanced food quality, safety to reduced agricultural inputs and enriched absorbing nanoscale nutrients from the soil. Agriculture, food and natural resources are a part of those challenges like sustainability, susceptibility, human health and healthy life. The ambition of nanomaterials in agriculture is to reduce the amount of spread chemicals, minimize nutrient losses in fertilization and increased yield through pest and nutrient management. Nanotechnology has the prospective to improve the agriculture and food industry with novel nanotools for the controlling of rapid disease diagnostic, enhancing the capacity of plants to absorb nutrients among others. The significant interest of using nanotechnology in agriculture includes specific applications like nanofertilizers and nanopesticides to trail products and nutrients levels to increase the productivity without decontamination of soils, waters and protection against several insect pest and microbial diseases. Nanotechnology may act as sensors for monitoring soil quality of agricultural field and thus it maintain the health of agricultural plants.This study provides a review of the current challenges of sustainability, food security and climate change that are exploring by the researchers in the area of nanotechnology in the improvement of agriculture.

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Nanotechnology in Sustainable Agriculture: Recent Developments, Challenges, and Perspectives.

Pharmaceutical cocrystals: along the path to improved medicines.

Nanotechnology is one of the most important tools in modern agriculture, and agri-food nanotechnology is anticipated to become a driving economic force in the near future. Agri-food themes focus on sustainability and protection of agriculturally produced foods, including crops for human consumption and animal feeding. Nanotechnology provides new agrochemical agents and new delivery mechanisms to improve crop productivity, and it promises to reduce pesticide use. Nanotechnology can boost agricultural production, and its applications include: 1) nanoformulations of agrochemicals for applying pesticides and fertilizers for crop improvement; 2) the application of nanosensors/nanobiosensors in crop protection for the identification of diseases and residues of agrochemicals; 3) nanodevices for the genetic manipulation of plants; 4) plant disease diagnostics; 5) animal health, animal breeding, poultry production; and 6) postharvest management. Precision farming techniques could be used to further improve crop yields but not damage soil and water, reduce nitrogen loss due to leaching and emissions, as well as enhance nutrients long-term incorporation by soil microorganisms. Nanotechnology uses include nanoparticle-mediated gene or DNA transfer in plants for the development of insect-resistant varieties, food processing and storage, nanofeed additives, and increased product shelf life. Nanotechnology promises to accelerate the development of biomass-to-fuels production technologies. Experts feel that the potential benefits of nanotechnology for agriculture, food, fisheries, and aquaculture need to be balanced against concerns for the soil, water, and environment and the occupational health of workers. Raising awareness of nanotechnology in the agri-food sector, including feed and food ingredients, intelligent packaging and quick-detection systems, is one of the keys to influencing consumer acceptance. On the basis of only a handful of toxicological studies, concerns have arisen regarding the safety of nanomaterials, and researchers and companies will need to prove that these nanotechnologies do not have more of a negative impact on the environment.

https://www.dovepress.com/getfile.php?fileID=20118

Nanotechnology in agri-food production: an overview.

Food nanotechnology is an area of emerging interest and opens up a whole universe of new possibilities for the food industry. The basic categories of nanotechnology applications and functionalities currently in the development of food packaging include: the improvement of plastic materials barriers, the incorporation of active components that can deliver functional attributes beyond those of conventional active packaging, and the sensing and signaling of relevant information. Nano food packaging materials may extend food life, improve food safety, alert consumers that food is contaminated or spoiled, repair tears in packaging, and even release preservatives to extend the life of the food in the package. Nanotechnology applications in the food industry can be utilized to detect bacteria in packaging, or produce stronger flavors and color quality, and safety by increasing the barrier properties. Nanotechnology holds great promise to provide benefits not just within food products but also around food products. In fact, nanotechnology introduces new chances for innovation in the food industry at immense speed, but uncertainty and health concerns are also emerging. EU/WE/global legislation for the regu- lation of nanotechnology in food are meager. Moreover, current legislation appears unsuitable to nanotechnology specificity.

/pdf/food-nanotechnology-an-overview-s1pvp00hon.pdf

Food nanotechnology - an overview.

Diabetes mellitus occurrence has been associated to the modification of the physiologicallevels of glucose and is often accompanied by several long-term complications, namely neuropathy,nephropathy, retinopathy, cataract, and cardiovascular Aldose reductase (AR) is an enzyme of aldoketoreductase super-family that catalyzes the conversion of glucose to sorbitol in the polyol pathwayof glucose metabolism In this context, aldose reductase inhibitors (ARIs) have received much attention worldwideDecreased sorbitol flux through polyol pathway by ARIs could be an emerging target for the management of majorcomplications of diabetes The present review article describes a brief overview of the role of aldose reductase in thediabetic complications, advances achieved on ARIs and their potential use in the treatment and management of the majordiabetic complications such as cataract, retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy and cardiovascular The ARIs developedvary structurally, and representative structural classes of ARIs include i) carboxylic acid derivatives (such as Epalrestat,Alrestatin, Zopalrestat, Zenarestat, Ponalrestat, Lidorestat, and Tolrestat), ii) spirohydantoins and related cyclic amides(such as Sorbinil, Minalrestat, and Fidarestat), and iii) phenolic derivatives (related to Benzopyran-4-one and Chalcone)Among these inhibitors, Epalrestat is the only commercially available inhibitor till date In addition, some other ARIssuch as Sorbinil and Ranirestat had been advanced into late stage of clinical trials and found to be safe for human use Therole of various natural ARIs in management of diabetic complications will be discussed Adapting ARIs could preventsepsis complications, prevent angiogenesis, ameliorate mild or asymptomatic diabetic cardiovascular autonomicneuropathy and appear to be a promising strategy for the treatment of endotoxemia and other ROS-induced inflammatorydiseases The role of ARIs in non-diabetic diseases will also be discussed

Updates on Aldose Reductase Inhibitors for Management of Diabetic Complications and Non-diabetic Diseases.

Herbal formulations have reached extensive acceptability as therapeutic agents for several diseases. The development of authentic analytical methods which can reliably profile the phytochemical composition, including quantitative analyses of marker/bioactive compounds and other major constituents, is a major challenge to scientists. Standardization is an important step for the establishment of a consistent biological activity, a consistent chemical profile, or simply a quality assurance program for production and manufacturing of herbal drugs. WHO specific guidelines for the assessment of the safety, efficacy and quality of herbal medicines as a prerequisite for global harmonization are of utmost importance. An overview covering various techniques employed in extraction and characterization of herbal medicines as well as herbal nanomedicines standardization is reported. In addition, phytosomes increased bioavailability, bhasma as a metal nanocarrier drug delivery system, potential of metabolomics in the development of improved phytotherapeutic agents, DNA based molecular markers in distinguishing adulterants, and SCAR markers for authentication and discrimination of herbs from their adulterants are reported. The extraction of high-valued herbal compounds using microwave‐assisted extraction and supercritical phase extraction technology followed by the standardization utilizing various spectroscopic, chromatographic and thermogravimetric techniques individually and/or in combination has been discussed in relation to herbal drugs. Capillary electrophoresis and polarographic techniques contributions towards standardization of herbal drugs is also reported. Nanotechnology based Chinese herbal drugs possess improved solubility and enhanced bioavailability.

An overview of advances in the standardization of herbal drugs

Plants exposed to biotic and abiotic stresses generate more reactive oxygen species (ROS) than their capacity to scavenge them. Biological molecules are susceptible to attack by ROS, including several proteins, polyunsaturated fatty acids and nucleic acids. The cellular arsenal for scavenging ROS and toxic organic radicals include ascorbate, glutathione, tocopherol, carotenoids, polyphenols, alkaloids and other compounds. Enzymatic antioxidants including superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase and glutathione reductase detoxify either by quenching toxic compounds or regenerating antioxidants involving reducing power. Various aspects relating to sensors for ROS and signaling role of ROS in plants, improvement of antioxidant systems in transgenic plants and functional genomics approaches used to unravel the reactive oxygen gene network has been discussed.

Bhupinder Singh Sekhon

Papers

Nanotechnology in agri-food production: an overview.

Food nanotechnology - an overview.

Updates on Aldose Reductase Inhibitors for Management of Diabetic Complications and Non-diabetic Diseases.

An overview of advances in the standardization of herbal drugs

Reactive Oxygen Species and Antioxidants in Plants: An Overview