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Applied Microbiology
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Biopreservation as an Alternative Strategy for Food Safety, Biofilm Inactivation...
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Biopreservation as an Alternative Strategy for Food Safety, Biofilm Inactivation and Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges and Future Perspectives

A special issue of Applied Microbiology (ISSN 2673-8007).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 13172

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yiannis Kourkoutas

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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Applied Microbiology & Biotechnology, Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Interests: food microbiome; functional foods; nutrition; fermentation; antimicrobials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Eugenia Bezirtzoglou

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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Protection, Department of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Interests: microbiome; antimicrobials; antibiotics; biofilms
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Christina Tsigalou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Interests: immunology; autoimmunity; diet; microbiome; functional foods; antimicrobials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Gregoria Mitropoulou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Interests: biopreservation; antimicrobials; essential oils; plant extracts; functional cultures; food & gut microbiome
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, a strong debate regarding the safety aspects of chemical preservatives and a growing consumer concern associated with a high pressure on food manufacturers to adopt natural alternatives is witnessed. Natural products isolated by plants, along with beneficial microbes and/or their metabolic products, have attracted scientific and industrial interest as promising biopreservatives to control spoilage and ensure microbial safety in food. Additionally, it seems that they have a great potential in rendering microbial biofilms inactive, considering the antimicrobial resistance issues that probably constitute the most serious public health challenge of our time.

In this vein, the Special Issue aims to summarize recent achievements and current inventions in the field and present future perspectives in applications of natural products and functional microorganisms and their metabolites as potent biopreservatives in food preservation, biofim inactivation, and pathogen control.

Topics of interest include but are not restricted to

  • Antimicrobial efficiency of natural products and functional microbial cultures;
  • Food biopreservation;
  • Biopreservatives as a potent solution to antimicrobial resistance;
  • Legal aspects on the use of natural substances in the food industry.

Dr. Yiannis Kourkoutas
Prof. Dr. Eugenia Bezirtzoglou
Dr. Christina K. Tsigalou
Dr. Gregoria Mitropoulou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Microbiology is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • antimicrobials
  • biopreservation
  • microbial biofilms
  • disinfectants
  • antimicrobial resistance
  • natural products
  • essential oils
  • plant extracts
  • functional microorganisms

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 288 KiB  
Article
Antimicrobial Properties against Human Pathogens of Medicinal Plants from New Zealand
by Syahidi Safian, Hafiz Majid, Simon Swift and Filipa V. M. Silva
Appl. Microbiol. 2022, 2(2), 357-366; https://doi.org/10.3390/applmicrobiol2020027 - 31 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2861
Abstract
The emergence of resistant microorganisms towards standard antibiotics has stimulated an on-going exploration for new sources of antimicrobials. The microbial susceptibility of extracts produced from leaf, bark, or rhizome parts of nine different New Zealand bushes was investigated using liquid broth dilution and [...] Read more.
The emergence of resistant microorganisms towards standard antibiotics has stimulated an on-going exploration for new sources of antimicrobials. The microbial susceptibility of extracts produced from leaf, bark, or rhizome parts of nine different New Zealand bushes was investigated using liquid broth dilution and agar plating techniques. Minimum inhibitory (MIC) and lethal concentrations (MLC) were expressed in micrograms of dry extract per milliliters of solution. The lowest MIC of 62.5 μg/mL was determined for methanol extract of Kunzea ericoides against Bacillus cereus and Candida albicans, and ethyl acetate extract of Pseudowintera colorata against Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, K. ericoides also presented the lowest MLC of 250 μg/mL against S. aureus and B. cereus (methanol extract), and against S. aureus (ethyl acetate extract). The methanol extract of Weinmannia racemosa was lethal to B. cereus (MLC = 250 µg/mL). Some of the extracts of Phormium tenax, Schefflera digitata, and Pomaderris kumeraho were antimicrobial against S. aureus and B. cereus (MIC = 500 µg/mL). The extracts of Geniostoma ligustrifolium and Melicytus ramiflorus plants did not exhibit antimicrobial activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biopreservation as an Alternative Strategy for Food Safety, Biofilm Inactivation and Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges and Future Perspectives)
11 pages, 906 KiB  
Article
Effect of Enterocins A and B on the Viability and Virulence Gene Expression of Listeria monocytogenes in Sliced Dry-Cured Ham
by Aida Pérez-Baltar, Margarita Medina and Raquel Montiel
Appl. Microbiol. 2022, 2(1), 1-11; https://doi.org/10.3390/applmicrobiol2010001 - 23 Dec 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2733
Abstract
Dry-cured ham can be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes during its industrial processing. The use of bacteriocins could ensure the safety of such meat products, but their effect on pathogen physiology is unknown. Therefore, the impact of enterocins A and B on the L. [...] Read more.
Dry-cured ham can be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes during its industrial processing. The use of bacteriocins could ensure the safety of such meat products, but their effect on pathogen physiology is unknown. Therefore, the impact of enterocins A and B on the L. monocytogenes population, and the expression patterns of five genes (inlA, inlB, clpC, fbpA and prfA) related to adhesion/invasion and virulence regulation have been monitored in sliced dry-cured ham during 30 d of storage in refrigeration (4 °C) and temperature-abuse conditions (20 °C). L. monocytogenes strains S2 (serotype 1/2a) and S7-2 (serotype 4b) counts were reduced by 0.5 and 0.6 log units immediately after the application of enterocins A and B, a decrease lower than previously reported. Differences in gene expression were found between the two strains. For strain S2, expression tended to increase for almost all genes up to day seven of storage, whereas this increase was observed immediately after application for strain S7-2; however, overall gene expression was repressed from day one onwards, mainly under temperature-abuse conditions. L. monocytogenes strains investigated in the present work exhibited a mild sensitivity to enterocins A and B in sliced dry-cured ham. Bacteriocins caused changes in the expression patterns of virulence genes associated with adhesion and invasion, although the potential virulence of surviving cells was not enhanced. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biopreservation as an Alternative Strategy for Food Safety, Biofilm Inactivation and Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges and Future Perspectives)
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11 pages, 906 KiB  
Article
Encapsulated Plant-Derived Antimicrobial Reduces Enteric Bacterial Pathogens on Melon Surfaces during Differing Contamination and Sanitization Treatment Scenarios
by Keila L. Perez-Lewis, Yagmur Yegin, Jun Kyun Oh, Alejandro Castillo, Luis Cisneros-Zevallos, Chris R. Kerth, Ethan Scholar and Thomas M. Taylor
Appl. Microbiol. 2021, 1(3), 460-470; https://doi.org/10.3390/applmicrobiol1030030 - 12 Oct 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2984
Abstract
This study aimed to quantify survival in Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium isolates on melon rind surface samples achieved by sanitizer treatment under three differing melon contamination and sanitization scenarios. Sanitizing treatments consisted of the plant-derived antimicrobial (PDA) essential oil [...] Read more.
This study aimed to quantify survival in Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium isolates on melon rind surface samples achieved by sanitizer treatment under three differing melon contamination and sanitization scenarios. Sanitizing treatments consisted of the plant-derived antimicrobial (PDA) essential oil component (EOC) geraniol (0.5 wt.%) entrapped in the polymeric surfactant Pluronic F-127 (GNP), 0.5 wt.% unencapsulated geraniol (UG), 200 mg/L hypochlorous acid at pH 7.0 (HOCl), and a sterile distilled water wash (CON). The experimental contamination and sanitization scenarios tested were: (1) pathogen inoculation preceded by treatment; (2) the pathogen was inoculated onto samples twice with sanitizing treatment applied in between inoculation events; or (3) pathogen inoculation followed by sanitizing treatment. Reductions in the numbers of surviving pathogens were dependent on the sanitizing treatment, the storage period, or the interaction of these effects. GNP treatment provided the greatest reductions in surviving pathogen counts on melon rinds, but these did not regularly statistically differ from those achieved by HOCl or UG treatment. GNP treatment provided the best pathogen control under differing conditions of pre- and/or post-harvest cross-contamination and can be applied to reduce the risk of pathogen transmission on melon rinds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biopreservation as an Alternative Strategy for Food Safety, Biofilm Inactivation and Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges and Future Perspectives)
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10 pages, 753 KiB  
Communication
Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum Essential Oil as a Natural Intrinsic Hurdle against Common Spoilage and Pathogenic Microbes of Concern in Tomato Juice
by Gregoria Mitropoulou, Antigoni Oreopoulou, Eleni Papavassilopoulou, Manolis Vamvakias, Panayiotis Panas, Stavros Fragias and Yiannis Kourkoutas
Appl. Microbiol. 2021, 1(1), 1-10; https://doi.org/10.3390/applmicrobiol1010001 - 20 Feb 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3003
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to assess the commercial potential of the Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum essential oil (OEO) as a natural intrinsic hurdle against common spoilage and pathogenic microbes in tomato juice. The main volatile compounds of the OEO identified [...] Read more.
The aim of the present study was to assess the commercial potential of the Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum essential oil (OEO) as a natural intrinsic hurdle against common spoilage and pathogenic microbes in tomato juice. The main volatile compounds of the OEO identified by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis were thymol and carvacrol, accounting for approximately 48% and 27%, respectively. Its activity against common food spoilage and pathogenic microbes was confirmed and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), non-inhibitory concentration (NIC), and minimum lethal concentration (MLC) values were determined. OEO effectiveness was further validated in commercial tomato juice. Supplementation of tomato juice with OEO at concentrations lower than the MIC (350 ppm) resulted in significant delay of food spoilage and extension of the product’s shelf-life, as well as in inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium difficile, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Aspergillus niger growth after deliberate inoculation in both room and refrigerated temperatures. In conclusion, the results suggested that OEO may be used as an efficient intrinsic inhibitor of food spoilage and growth of pathogenic microbes in tomato juice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biopreservation as an Alternative Strategy for Food Safety, Biofilm Inactivation and Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges and Future Perspectives)
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