Non-antibiotic Approaches to Control Food-Borne Pathogens

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 May 2023) | Viewed by 30145

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40504, USA
Interests: zoonotic pathogens; drug discovery; antimicrobial resistance; gene expression during infection; control of foodborne bacterial pathogens; host responses (immunity) to infectious diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
1. Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
2. Institute for Chemistry, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Brook-Taylor-Str. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Interests: synthetic organic chemistry; synthetic medicinal chemistry; stereochemistry; Heterocyclic Chemistry; drug synthesis and development; small molecule drug discovery by high-throughput library screening; computer aided drug design (modelling, virtual screening); chemistry of lipids; role of lipids in human diseases; development of biochemical tools to study structure and function of lipids; development of enzymatic assays
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Foodborne illnesses have a major public health impact in the US and worldwide. They affect approximately one in six Americans annually, leading to approximately 128,000 hospitalizations and 3000 deaths. The estimated annual costs of foodborne illness alone are about USD 77.7 billion per year. Currently, treatment and control of these pathogens rely mainly on the use of antibiotics. Consequently, this has resulted in an increase in the development of antimicrobial-resistant zoonotic foodborne bacterial pathogens, which can be transmitted to humans through the food chain. However, infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria negatively impacts public health due to an increased incidence of treatment failure and severity of infection. The number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria isolated from humans and animals has increased over the last two decades due to the misuse of antibiotics in both human and food-producing animals, leading to the global emergency of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. There is an urgent need to identify and develop novel strategies that can reduce the foodborne pathogens and antibiotic resistance. These approaches include but are not limited to probiotics, antivirulence and quorum sensing inhibitors, small molecules, peptides, essential oils, nanoparticles, and vaccines.

Dr. Yosra A. Helmy
Dr. Essa Saied
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Foodborne pathogens
  • Antibiotic alternatives
  • Antimicrobial resistance
  • Gut microbiota
  • Novel approaches
  • Control of foodborne pathogens

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 1463 KiB  
Article
Assessment of the Microbiological Acceptability of White Cheese (Akkawi) in Lebanon and the Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Associated Escherichia coli
by Nasri Daher Hussein, Jouman W. Hassan, Marwan Osman, Khaled El-Omari, Samer A. Kharroubi, Imad Toufeili and Issmat I. Kassem
Antibiotics 2023, 12(3), 610; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12030610 - 19 Mar 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3342
Abstract
Dairy foods are a staple in Lebanon, a low- and middle-income country that has been experiencing serious challenges to food safety and antimicrobial stewardship among other issues. The microbiological acceptability of dairy products has been of increasing concern. This is partially due to [...] Read more.
Dairy foods are a staple in Lebanon, a low- and middle-income country that has been experiencing serious challenges to food safety and antimicrobial stewardship among other issues. The microbiological acceptability of dairy products has been of increasing concern. This is partially due to the failing economy and prolonged power outages that affect the quality of raw material and disrupt the dairy cold chain, respectively. Therefore, we assessed the microbiological acceptability of Akkawi, a popular white-brined cheese in Lebanon. For this purpose, we quantified the densities of Escherichia coli (a fecal indicator) and Staphylococcus aureus in cheeses collected from Lebanese retail stores. Additionally, we evaluated the antibiotic resistance profiles of the E. coli isolated from the cheese. E. coli and S. aureus were detected in 40 (80%) and 16 (32%) of the 50 cheese samples, respectively. Notably, 40 (80%) and 16 (32%) of the samples exceeded the maximum permissible limit of E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. A high percentage of the 118 E. coli isolated from the cheeses showed resistance to clinically and agriculturally important antibiotics, while 89 (75%) isolates were classified as multidrug-resistant (MDR). Given that Akkawi can be consumed without cooking, our findings highlight serious food safety and antimicrobial resistance problems that require immediate interventions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-antibiotic Approaches to Control Food-Borne Pathogens)
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18 pages, 3188 KiB  
Article
A Comparison of the Immunometabolic Effect of Antibiotics and Plant Extracts in a Chicken Macrophage-like Cell Line during a Salmonella Enteritidis Challenge
by Giulia Giovagnoni, Famatta Perry, Benedetta Tugnoli, Andrea Piva, Ester Grilli and Ryan J. Arsenault
Antibiotics 2023, 12(2), 357; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12020357 - 8 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1813
Abstract
Immunometabolic modulation of macrophages can play an important role in the innate immune response of chickens triggered with a multiplicity of insults. In this study, the immunometabolic role of two antibiotics (oxytetracycline and gentamicin) and four plant extracts (thyme essential oil, grape seed [...] Read more.
Immunometabolic modulation of macrophages can play an important role in the innate immune response of chickens triggered with a multiplicity of insults. In this study, the immunometabolic role of two antibiotics (oxytetracycline and gentamicin) and four plant extracts (thyme essential oil, grape seed extract, garlic oil, and capsicum oleoresin) were investigated on a chicken macrophage-like cell line (HD11) during a Salmonella Enteritidis infection. To study the effect of these substances, kinome peptide array analysis, Seahorse metabolic assay, and gene expression techniques were employed. Oxytetracycline, to which the bacterial strain was resistant, thyme essential oil, and capsicum oleoresin did not show any noteworthy immunometabolic effect. Garlic oil affected glycolysis, but this change was not detected by the kinome analysis. Gentamicin and grape seed extract showed the best immunometabolic profile among treatments, being able to both help the host with the activation of immune response pathways and with maintaining a less inflammatory status from a metabolic point of view. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-antibiotic Approaches to Control Food-Borne Pathogens)
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16 pages, 4224 KiB  
Article
Antimicrobial Functionalization of Prolamine–Silica Hybrid Coatings with Fumaric Acid for Food Packaging Materials and Their Biocompatibility
by Franziska Trodtfeld, Tina Tölke and Cornelia Wiegand
Antibiotics 2022, 11(9), 1259; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11091259 - 16 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2426
Abstract
The interest of the food packaging industry in biodegradable, recyclable, and functional materials has steadily increased in recent years. The use of hydrogels in the food sector holds great potential for use in packaging systems or as carriers for bioactive substances. The synthesis [...] Read more.
The interest of the food packaging industry in biodegradable, recyclable, and functional materials has steadily increased in recent years. The use of hydrogels in the food sector holds great potential for use in packaging systems or as carriers for bioactive substances. The synthesis of an oxygen barrier coating of prolaminic silica material and antimicrobial functionalization with fumaric acid for packaging materials described here is an elegant way to meet these requirements. The developed material achieved a significant antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, two common clinical pathogens. Another pre-requisite of such materials is a high biocompatibility, which can be assessed using human cell models, to help ensure consumer safety. The biocompatibility was determined by luminescence adenosine triphosphate and photometric lactate dehydrogenase assays. No cytotoxic effects on human keratinocytes in vitro were found for the test materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-antibiotic Approaches to Control Food-Borne Pathogens)
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19 pages, 7737 KiB  
Article
In Situ Biosynthesis of Reduced Alpha Hematite (α-Fe2O3) Nanoparticles by Stevia Rebaudiana L. Leaf Extract: Insights into Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, and Anticancer Properties
by Samar Zuhair Alshawwa, Eman J. Mohammed, Nada Hashim, Mohamed Sharaf, Samy Selim, Hayaa M. Alhuthali, Hind A. Alzahrani, Alsayed E. Mekky and Mohamed G. Elharrif
Antibiotics 2022, 11(9), 1252; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11091252 - 15 Sep 2022
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 2721
Abstract
In the present study, we utilized Stevia rebaudiana L. (SRLe) extract to in situ biosynthesize nanoscale alpha hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles (NPs) with potent antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties. SRLe-α-Fe2O3 was characterized using physiochemical analyses, including UV/Vis, [...] Read more.
In the present study, we utilized Stevia rebaudiana L. (SRLe) extract to in situ biosynthesize nanoscale alpha hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles (NPs) with potent antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties. SRLe-α-Fe2O3 was characterized using physiochemical analyses, including UV/Vis, FTIR, XRD, DLS, EDX, SEM, and TEM studies. Among tested solvents, CHCl3/MeOH (2:1 v/v) SRL extract (least polar solvent) contained the highest EY, TPC, and antioxidant capacity of ~3.5%, ~75 mg GAE/g extract, and IC50 = 9.87 ± 0.7 mg/mL, respectively. FTIR confirmed the engagement of coating operation to the colloidal α-Fe2O3 NPs. TEM, SEM, and DLS revealed that SRLe-α-Fe2O3 has a spherical shape, uniform size distribution with aggregation for an average size of ~18.34 nm, and ζ = −19.4 mV, forming a repulsive barrier that helped to improve stability. The synthesized nanoparticles displayed considerable antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus bacterial growth, and exhibited superior activity against the A549 lung cancer cell lines. These findings indicate that the increased availability of bioactive substances with antioxidant properties of SRLe makes it a potentially interesting material for the preparation of biologically active compounds and green synthesis of nanoparticles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-antibiotic Approaches to Control Food-Borne Pathogens)
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Review

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52 pages, 2746 KiB  
Review
Antimicrobial Resistance and Recent Alternatives to Antibiotics for the Control of Bacterial Pathogens with an Emphasis on Foodborne Pathogens
by Yosra A. Helmy, Khaled Taha-Abdelaziz, Hanan Abd El-Halim Hawwas, Soumya Ghosh, Samar Sami AlKafaas, Mohamed M. M. Moawad, Essa M. Saied, Issmat I. Kassem and Asmaa M. M. Mawad
Antibiotics 2023, 12(2), 274; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12020274 - 30 Jan 2023
Cited by 57 | Viewed by 18529
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most important global public health problems. The imprudent use of antibiotics in humans and animals has resulted in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The dissemination of these strains and their resistant determinants could endanger antibiotic efficacy. [...] Read more.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most important global public health problems. The imprudent use of antibiotics in humans and animals has resulted in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The dissemination of these strains and their resistant determinants could endanger antibiotic efficacy. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify and develop novel strategies to combat antibiotic resistance. This review provides insights into the evolution and the mechanisms of AMR. Additionally, it discusses alternative approaches that might be used to control AMR, including probiotics, prebiotics, antimicrobial peptides, small molecules, organic acids, essential oils, bacteriophage, fecal transplants, and nanoparticles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-antibiotic Approaches to Control Food-Borne Pathogens)
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