Algae as Food in Europe: An Overview of Species Diversity and Their Application.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Mendes MC
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9265617 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Microalgae are the richest source of natural carotenoids, which are valuable pigments with a high share of benefits. Often, carotenoid-producing algae inhabit specific biotopes with unfavorable or even extremal conditions. Such biotopes, including alpine snow fields and hypersaline ponds, are widely distributed in Europe. They can serve as a source of new strains for biotechnology. The number of algal species used for obtaining these compounds on an industrial scale is limited. The data on them are poor. Moreover, some of them have been reported in non-English local scientific articles and theses. This review aims to summarize existing data on microalgal species, which are known as potential carotenoid producers in biotechnology. These include Haematococcus and Dunaliella, both well-known to the scientific community, as well as less-elucidated representatives. Their distribution will be covered throughout Europe: from the Greek Mediterranean coast in the south to the snow valleys in Norway in the north, and from the ponds in Amieiro (Portugal) in the west to the saline lakes and mountains in Crimea (Ukraine) in the east. A wide spectrum of algal secondary carotenoids is reviewed: β-carotene, astaxanthin, canthaxanthin, echinenone, adonixanthin, and adonirubin. For convenience, the main concepts of biology of carotenoid-producing algae are briefly explained.
| S-EPMC9958874 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Recent innovations in nanotechnology have transformed a number of scientific and industrial areas including the food industry. Applications of nanotechnology have emerged with increasing need of nanoparticle uses in various fields of food science and food microbiology, including food processing, food packaging, functional food development, food safety, detection of foodborne pathogens, and shelf-life extension of food and/or food products. This review summarizes the potential of nanoparticles for their uses in the food industry in order to provide consumers a safe and contamination free food and to ensure the consumer acceptability of the food with enhanced functional properties. Aspects of application of nanotechnology in relation to increasing in food nutrition and organoleptic properties of foods have also been discussed briefly along with a few insights on safety issues and regulatory concerns on nano-processed food products.
| S-EPMC5545585 | biostudies-other
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| S-EPMC9365046 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Species of Colletotrichum are considered important plant pathogens, saprobes, and endophytes on a wide range of plant hosts. Several species are well-known on citrus, either as agents of pre- or post-harvest infections, such as anthracnose, postbloom fruit drop, tear stain and stem-end rot on fruit, or as wither-tip of twigs. In this study we explored the occurrence, diversity and pathogenicity of Colletotrichum spp. associated with Citrus and allied genera in European orchards, nurseries and gardens. Surveys were carried out during 2015 and 2016 in Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain. A total of 174 Colletotrichum strains were isolated from symptomatic leaves, fruits, petals and twigs. A multi-locus phylogeny was established based on seven genomic loci (ITS, GAPDH, ACT, CAL, CHS-1, HIS3 and TUB2), and the morphological characters of the isolates determined. Preliminary pathogenicity tests were performed on orange fruits with representative isolates. Colletotrichum strains were identified as members of three major species complexes. Colletotrichum gloeosporioides s.str. and two novel species (C. helleniense and C. hystricis) were identified in the C. gloeosporioides species complex. Colletotrichum karstii, C. novae-zelandiae and two novel species (C. catinaense and C. limonicola) in the C. boninense species complex, and C. acutatum s.str. was also isolated as member of C. acutatum species complex. Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and C. karstii were the predominant species of Colletotrichum isolated. This study represents the first report of C. acutatum on citrus in Europe, and the first detection of C. novae-zelandiae from outside New Zealand. Pathogenicity tests revealed C. gloeosporioides s.str. to be the most virulent species on fruits. The present study improves our understanding of species associated with several disease symptoms on citrus fruits and plants, and provides useful information for effective disease management.
| S-EPMC5832956 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundHepatozoon spp. are tick-borne parasites causing subclinical to clinical disease in wild and domestic animals. Aim of this study was to determine Hepatozoon prevalence and species distribution among wild mammals and ticks in Europe.MethodsSamples of wild mammals and ticks, originating from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Belgium and the Netherlands, were tested with PCR to amplify a ~ 670-bp fragment of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene.ResultsOf the 2801 mammal samples that were used for this study, 370 (13.2%) tested positive. Hepatozoon canis was detected in samples of 178 animals (3 Artiodactyla, 173 Carnivora, 1 Eulipotyphia, 1 Lagomorpha), H. martis in 125 (3 Artiodactyla, 122 Carnivora), H. sciuri in 13 (all Rodentia), Hepatozoon sp. in 47 (among which Hepatozoon sp. Vole isolate, all Rodentia) and H. ayorgbor in 4 (all Rodentia). Regarding origin, 2.9% (6/208) tested positive from Austria, 2.8% (1/36) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 14.6% (173/1186) from Croatia and 13.9% (190/1371) from Belgium/the Netherlands. Of the 754 ticks collected, 0.0% (0/35) Hyalomma sp., 16.0% (4/25) Dermacentor spp., 0.0% (0/23) Haemaphysalis spp., 5.3% (24/50) Ixodes and 1.4% (3/221) Rhipicephalus spp. tested positive for Hepatozoon (4.2%; 32/754), most often H. canis (n = 22).ConclusionsHepatozoon canis is most present in mammals (especially in Carnivora such as gray wolves and golden jackals) and ticks, followed by H. martis, which was found merely in stone martens and pine martens. None of the rodent-associated Hepatozoon spp. were detected in the ticks, suggesting the possible implication of other arthropod species or non-vectorial routes in the transmission cycle of the hemoprotozoans in rodents. Our findings of H. canis in ticks other than R. sanguineus add to the observation that other ticks are also involved in the life cycle of Hepatozoon. Now that presence of Hepatozoon has been demonstrated in red foxes, gray wolves, mustelids and rodents from the Netherlands and/or Belgium, veterinary clinicians should be aware of the possibility of spill-over to domestic animals, such as dogs.
| S-EPMC9872412 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The increased emergence of cereal stem rust in southern and western Europe, caused by the pathogen Puccinia graminis, and the prevalence of alternate (sexual) host, Berberis species, have regained attention as the sexual host may serve as source of novel pathogen variability that may pose a threat to cereal supply. The main objective of the present study was to investigate the functional role of Berberis species in the current epidemiological situation of cereal stem rust in Europe. Surveys in 11 European countries were carried out from 2018 to 2020, where aecial infections from five barberry species were collected. Phylogenetic analysis of 121 single aecial clusters of diverse origin using the elongation factor 1-α gene indicated the presence of different special forms (aka formae speciales) of P. graminis adapted to different cereal and grass species. Inoculation studies using aecial clusters from Spain, United Kingdom, and Switzerland resulted in 533 stem rust isolates sampled from wheat, barley, rye, and oat, which confirmed the presence of multiple special forms of P. graminis. Microsatellite marker analysis of a subset of 192 sexually-derived isolates recovered on wheat, barley and rye from the three populations confirmed the generation of novel genetic diversity revealed by the detection of 135 multilocus genotypes. Discriminant analysis of principal components resulted in four genetic clusters, which grouped at both local and country level. Here, we demonstrated that a variety of Berberis species may serve as functional alternate hosts for cereal stem rust fungi and highlights the increased risks that the sexual cycle may pose to cereal production in Europe, which calls for new initiatives within rust surveillance, epidemiological research and resistance breeding.
| S-EPMC9554944 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The biggest obstacles in the application of marine peptides are two-fold, as in the case of non-marine plant and animal-derived bioactive peptides: elucidating correlation between the peptide structure and its effect and demonstrating its stability in vivo. The structures of marine bioactive peptides are highly variable and complex and dependent on the sources from which they are isolated. They can be cyclical, in the form of depsipeptides, and often contain secondary structures. Because of steric factors, marine-derived peptides can be resistant to proteolysis by gastrointestinal proteases, which presents an advantage over other peptide sources. Because of heterogeneity, amino acid sequences as well as preferred mechanisms of peptides showing specific bioactivities differ compared to their animal-derived counterparts. This review offers insights on the extreme diversity of bioactivities, effects, and structural features, analyzing 253 peptides, mainly from marine food sources. Similar to peptides in food of non-marine animal origin, a significant percentage (52.7%) of the examined sequences contain one or more proline residues, implying that proline might play a significant role in the stability of bioactive peptides. Additional problems with analyzing marine-derived bioactive peptides include their accessibility, extraction, and purification; this review considers the challenges and proposes possible solutions.
| S-EPMC7460072 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Fusarium species produce important mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV) and T-2/HT-2-toxins in cereals. The highest DON and T-2/HT-2 toxin levels in northern Europe have been found in oats. About 12%-24% of Finnish oat samples in 2012 contained >1.75 mg·kg-1 of DON, which belongs to type B trichothecenes. Fusarium graminearum is the most important DON producer in northern Europe and Asia and it has been displacing the closely related F. culmorum in northern Europe. The 3ADON chemotype of F. graminearum is dominant in most northern areas, while the 15ADON chemotype of F. graminearum is predominating in Central and southern Europe. We suggest that the northern population of F. graminearum may be more specialized to oats than the southern population. Only low levels of F. culmorum DNA were found in a few oat samples and no correlation was found between F. culmorum DNA and DON levels. DNA levels of F. graminearum were in all cases in agreement with DON levels in 2011 and 2012, when DON was measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). When the RIDA®QUICK SCAN kit results (DON) were compared to DNA levels of F. graminearum, the variation was much higher. The homogenization of the oats flour by grinding oats with 1 mm sieve seems to be connected to this variation. There was a significant correlation between the combined T-2 and HT-2 and the combined DNA levels of F. langsethiae and F. sporotrichioides in Finland in 2010-2012.
| S-EPMC5029496 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and objectivesExternal reference pricing (ERP) is a price regulation tool widely used by policy makers in the European Union (EU) Member States (MS) to contain drug cost, although in theory, it may contribute to modulate prices up and down. The objective of this article was to summarise and discuss the main findings of part of a large project conducted for the European Commission ('External reference pricing of medicinal products: simulation-based considerations for cross-country coordination'; see www.ec.europa.eu/health/healthcare/docs/erp_reimbursement_medicinal_products_en.pdf) that aimed to provide an overview of ERP systems, both on processes and potential issues in 31 European countries (28 EU MS, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland).MethodsA systematic structured literature review was conducted to identify and characterise the use of ERP in the selected countries, to describe its impact on the prices of pharmaceuticals, and to discuss the possible cross-country coordination issues in EU MS. This research was complemented with a consultation of competent authorities' and international organisations' representatives to address the main issues or uncertainties identified through the literature review.ResultsAll selected countries applied ERP, except the United Kingdom and Sweden. Twenty-three countries used ERP as the main systematic criterion for pricing. In the majority of European countries, ERP was based on legislated pricing rules with different levels of accuracy. ERP was applied either for all marketed drugs or for specific categories of medicines; it was mainly used for publicly reimbursed medicines. The number of reference countries included in the basket varied from 1 to 31. There was a great variation in the calculation methods used to compute the price; 15 countries used the average price, 7 countries used the lowest price, and 7 countries used other calculation methods. Reported limitations of ERP application included the lack of reliable sources of price information, price heterogeneity, exchange rate volatility, and hidden discounts. Spill-over effect and downward price convergence have often been mentioned as ERP's consequences leading to pricing strategies from pharmaceutical companies.ConclusionWhile ERP is widely used in Europe, processes and availability of price information vary from one country to another, thus limiting ERP implementation. Furthermore, ERP spill-over effect is a major concern of pharmaceutical firms leading to implementation of the so-called 'launch sequence strategies'.
| S-EPMC4802694 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAcross European countries, differences exist in biosimilar policies, leading to variations in uptake of biosimilars and divergences in savings all over Europe.ObjectivesThe aim of this article is to provide an overview of different initiatives and policies that may influence the uptake of biosimilars in different European countries. Recommendations will be formulated on how to create sustainable uptake.MethodsAn overview of policies on biosimilars was obtained via a questionnaire, supplemented with relevant articles. Topics were organized in five themes: availability, pricing, reimbursement, demand-side policies, and recommendations to enhance uptake.ResultsIn all countries studied, biological medicines are available. Restrictions are mainly dependent on local organization of the healthcare system. Countries are willing to include biosimilars for reimbursement, but for commercial reasons they are not always marketed. In two thirds of countries, originator and biosimilar products may be subjected to internal reference pricing systems. Few countries have implemented specific incentives targeting physicians. Several countries are implementing pharmacist substitution; however, the scope and rules governing such substitution tend to vary between these countries. Reported educational policies tend to target primarily physicians, whereas fewer initiatives were reported for patients. Recommendations as proposed by the different country experts ranged from the need for information and communication on biosimilars to competitive pricing, more support for switching and guidance on substitution.ConclusionsMost countries have put in place specific supply-side policies for promoting access to biosimilars. To supplement these measures, we propose that investments should be made to clearly communicate on biosimilars and educate stakeholders. Especially physicians need to be informed on the entry and use of biosimilars in order to create trust. When physicians are well-informed on the treatment options, further incentives should be offered to prescribe biosimilars. Gainsharing can be used as an incentive to prescribe, dispense or use biosimilars. This approach, in combination with binding quota, may support a sustainable biosimilar market.
| S-EPMC5746224 | biostudies-literature