Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is accompanied by insulin resistance in liver and peripheral tissue. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens fmb50 produces lipopeptide surfactin, which has a wide range of biological activities. However, the effects of surfactin on insulin resistance in any mouse model have not been reported. Our previous research demonstrated that dietary supplementation with surfactin can alleviate high fat diet (HFD)/ streptozotocin (STZ)-induced T2DM in mice by regulating intestinal microbiota. This study aims to explore the detailed mechanism of the effect of surfactin on liver and peripheral tissue. The results indicated that surfactin inhibited hepatic gluconeogenesis and promoted hepatic glycogen synthesis by activating the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signalling pathways. Similarly, surfactin also significantly increased muscle glycogen synthesis by activating the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway. The glucose transporter 4 levels of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue, which are insulin-mediated vital organs, was noticeably increased after surfactin treatment. In addition, our results indicate that decreased hepatic fat accumulation and suppressed inflammation and oxidative stress in liver, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue also play critical roles in ameliorating insulin resistance. These findings demonstrate that surfactin not only ameliorates liver dysfunction but also enhances insulin sensitivity in HFD/STZ-induced T2DM mice. Finally, using fasting blood glucose, oral glucose tolerance test and insulin tolerance test, we show that early surfactin intervention can mitigate T2DM in mice. The study results warrant future functional food studies which will provide insight into diet-host interactions.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is often accompanied by a glucose metabolism disorder and intestinal microbial dysbiosis. In this study, underlying hypoglycemic mechanisms of surfactin-producing strain Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Fmb50 (Fmb50) and its spores were investigated. Fmb50 and its spore alleviated hyperglycemia in T2DM mice by reducing fasting blood glucose and improving oral glucose tolerance. Fmb50 and its spore decreased serum (glucose, GSP) and liver indicators (TG, TC), inhibited hepatic lipid accumulation, and reversed liver, pancreas, epididymal adipose tissue, and intestinal barrier injuries. According to 16S rRNA analysis and SCFAs detection, Fmb50 and its spore activated the hepatic AMPK pathway and reduced protein levels of G6Pase and PEPCK probably through regulating intestinal microbiota, inhibiting inflammatory response, and repairing the intestinal barrier. Collectively, Fmb50 and its spore migrated insulin resistance via gut-SCFAs-liver axis. All of these results have revealed that Fmb50 and its spore possess the ability to intestinal colonization and further alleviate T2DM in mice. These findings suggest that Fmb50 may be a promising candidate for functional food development in individuals with hyperglycemia and insulin resistance.

Lactic acid bacteria offer significant health benefits but often suffer reduced viability during freeze-drying due to cellular structural damage. Addressing this challenge, our study optimized a composite cryoprotectant for Lactobacillus rhamnosus FMNS18 using response surface methodology and further investigated its protective mechanisms and application in freeze-dried okra. A composite cryoprotectant consisting of 15.4% skim milk, 5.0% sodium L-glutamate, and 7.9% D-trehalose increased the survival rate of freeze-dried L. rhamnosus FMNS18 to 94.97%. The cryoprotectants provided external protection by preserving the integrity of the cell wall and maintaining the integrity and fluidity of the cell membrane. Compared with pre-lyophilization levels, intracellular enzyme activities of β-galactosidase, L-LDH, PK, and Na+/K+-ATPase decreased by only 7.71%, 3.95%, 0.06%, and 1.79%, respectively, while bacterial DNA damage remained minimal. The powder stored at -20°C maintained the highest stability, retaining a survival rate of 70.06% and a viable cell count of 4.90 × 107 CFU/g. After 180 days of storage, the freeze-dried okra supplemented with the bacterial powder remained within the range of 106 - 107 CFU/g, while the quality of freeze-dried okra was also improved.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has emerged as a global health concern. This study aimed to evaluate the ameliorative effects of the combined application of rice bran (RB) and Lactobacillus johnsonii 23, a producer of feruloyl esterase, on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) in mice. High-yielding ferulic acid esterase bacteria (FAEb) were screened and administered to DSS-induced UC mice along with rice bran. Disease symptoms, histopathology, oxidative stress, inflammatory factors, and cecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were assessed to evaluate the alleviating effects on UC mice. The combined intervention effectively improved body weight changes, disease activity index (DAI) scores, and colon length in UC mice, reversing DSS-induced epithelial cell necrosis, crypt structural loss, inflammatory cell infiltration, goblet cell depletion, and mucosal erosion and edema. The combination also reduced colonic MDA levels, enhanced SOD, GSH, and GSH-Px levels, thereby boosting antioxidant capacity. It decreased the expression of proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α while increasing the expression of the anti-inflammatory factor IL-10, promoting anti-inflammatory capacity. Furthermore, the combined application resisted DSS-induced depletion of SCFAs. The combined administration of rice bran and L. johnsonii 23 holds the potential to emerge as a novel dietary supplement for the prevention or treatment of UC.

Fructose dietary intake is one of the most common risk factors for hyperuricemia, which is a critical threat to human health, and the lack of an effective biological intervention method is the main problem in preventing hyperuricemia caused by fructose intake. Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus Fmb14 (L. rhamnosus Fmb14) has a fructose-metabolizing ability to produce extracellular polysaccharides (EPSs), and the yield of EPSs reached 0.50 and 0.42 g/L after 48 h of fermentation in liquid media of glucose-MRS and fructose-MRS. Six pure polysaccharide components were obtained after purification. A hyperuricemic mouse model was subsequently established by feeding a 60% high-fructose diet with potassium oxyazinate for 8 weeks, and the results revealed that L. rhamnosus Fmb14 and fructose-derived EPS (F-EPS) intervention significantly reduced the serum uric acid level of the model mice from 133.6 μmol/L to 106.7 to 111.0 μmol/L. The content of XOD in the liver decreased from 2188.1 ng/L in the model group to 1797.9 ng/L in the H-Fmb14 group and 1906.6 ng/L in the H-F-EPS group, alleviating fatty liver degeneration and improving intestinal barrier (increasing OCLN and ZO1 expression in colon). The abundances of allobaculum, bacteroides, Lactobacilli prevotella, and clostridium, the new potential biomarkers of fructose-induced hyperuricemia, were found to be modulated after Fmb14 and F-EPS intervention. The effects of Fmb14 and F-EPS in reducing uric acid synthesis and protecting the intestinal tract are very promising as food intervention agents in the prevention of hyperuricemia caused by fructose dietary.

Excessive acute alcohol intake can overload hepatic ethanol metabolic pathways, inducing oxidative stress responses, lipid metabolism disorders, and hepatocyte apoptotic cascades. Current clinical interventions are mostly symptomatic supportive care, and there remains a lack of effective strategies to directly convert ethanol into non-toxic metabolites in the digestive tract. In this study, Heyndrickxia (H.) coagulans JF1 was isolated from samples of chicken intestinal contents, and its ethanol-degrading capacity and probiotic functional characteristics were systematically evaluated. Notably, H. coagulans JF1 exhibited excellent ethanol-degrading capacity, ethanol tolerance, and gastrointestinal environment tolerance. This strain showed good adhesion to Caco-2 cells, along with remarkable hydrophobicity, auto-aggregation, and co-aggregation abilities. Antioxidant activity assays demonstrated that JF1 possesses strong scavenging capacity against various free radicals, with cell lysates displaying higher antioxidant levels. Antibacterial activity tests indicated that JF1 can inhibit five species of foodborne pathogens, is susceptible to ten antibiotics, and exhibits no hemolytic activity. In cellular experiments, intervention with JF1 regulated the expression of genes related to oxidative stress, lipid metabolism, immunity, autophagy, and apoptosis in ethanol-induced HepG2 cells. Whole-genome sequencing of JF1 revealed its genetic composition and relevant metabolic pathways, providing a genetic basis for its functional characteristics. Through multi-dimensional phenotypic analysis and genomic characterization, this study offers important theoretical and experimental support for the development of H. coagulans JF1 as a functional probiotic that promotes ethanol metabolism in the body.

Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) represents a growing global public health concern, and there is still a lack of safe, effective clinical intervention approaches to date. This study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of ethanol-tolerant Lactobacillus (L.) rhamnosus L7 on ALD in mice. In this work, L. rhamnosus L7 with high ethanol tolerance was isolated from fermented grains and pit mud. The strain was intragastrically gavaged to mice with alcoholic liver injury established via the Gao-binge model using the Lieber-DeCarli ethanol liquid diet. Physiological symptoms, histopathological changes, oxidative stress indicators, inflammatory cytokines, gut microbiota composition and the expression of liver injury-related proteins were detected to evaluate the alleviative effect and potential mechanism of L. rhamnosus L7 on alcohol-induced liver injury. The results showed that supplementation with L. rhamnosus L7 significantly decreased serum alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels. L. rhamnosus L7 intervention markedly alleviated alcohol-triggered hepatic injury, inhibited hepatic steatosis, and alleviated the degree of hepatocellular swelling. Moreover, L. rhamnosus L7 increased the levels of hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), while suppressing the levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), thereby enhancing antioxidant defense and anti-inflammatory capacity. In addition, L. rhamnosus L7 effectively restored gut microbial homeostasis by regulating the structure of gut microbiota at both phylum and species levels. In conclusion, these findings indicate that L. rhamnosus L7 is expected to be developed as a functional probiotic preparation, providing a novel candidate strain and theoretical basis for the alleviation of ALD.

UC is a globally escalating intestinal disorder with limited safe and effective interventions. This study investigated the synergistic therapeutic effects and mechanisms of Lactobacillus johnsonii 46 (L. johnsonii 46) (a feruloyl esterase-producing strain) and rice bran (LJRB) on DSS-induced UC in C57BL/6J mice. The animal groups were divided into control group (CON), DSS group (MOD), sulfasalazine group (SUL), rice bran group (RBN), L. johnsonii 46 group (LAJ), and LJRB treatment group (RBL). The organ index, disease index, and biochemical indicators of mice were measured, the histopathology of the colon was analyzed. The expression of inflammatory factor, tight junction protein and TLRs/TRAF6/NF-κB signaling pathway genes were detected by Real-Time Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR). LJRB supplementation exerted superior protective effects compared to single rice bran (RBN) or L. johnsonii 46 (LAJ) intervention: it significantly alleviated DSS-induced weight loss (RBL group: 1.46 ± 0.21 g vs. MOD group: ∼3 g, p < 0.05), restored colon length, and reduced the disease activity index (DAI) by ∼50%. Biochemical and molecular analyses showed LJRB remarkably suppressed serum pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6; 40%-60% reduction vs. MOD group) while elevating anti-inflammatory IL-10 (∼35% increase), enhanced colonic antioxidant capacity (reduced MDA by ∼30% and increased SOD, GSH, GSH-Px by 25%-40%), and enriched cecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) with acetic acid (0.99 µmol/g), propionic acid (0.31 µmol/g), and butyric acid (0.21 µmol/g) significantly higher than the MOD group. Mechanistically, LJRB synergistically inhibited the TLRs/TRAF6/NF-κB signaling pathway, as indicated by downregulated mRNA expression of TLR4, MyD88, IKKβ, and NF-κB p65 (30%-50% reduction vs. MOD group) and decreased phosphorylation of IKKβ, IκBα, and NF-κB p65 proteins. Histopathological observations confirmed LJRB preserved colon tissue integrity, reduced goblet cell loss, and alleviated mucosal erosion and edema. Collectively, these findings demonstrate LJRB alleviates UC through multi-targeted mechanisms (anti-inflammation, antioxidation, SCFA production promotion, and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) pathway inhibition), highlighting its potential as a novel natural dietary supplement for UC prevention and management.

Bacillomycin D (BD) is a potent lipopeptide with broad application potential encoded by bmyDABC with amino acids as substrates. To clarify the influence of transcriptional repressor AbrB regulating the synthesis of BD, abrB gene in Bacillus amyloliquefaciens fmbJ was successfully deleted by marker free method. Compared with the wild-type strain, BD production initially increased and then decreased. Expression of BD synthesis genes (bmyA-D) and signaling genes (spo0A, spo0B, and spo0E) all showed a brief rise in the early stage and a collective decline in the later stage, with sustained depletion of precursor amino acids (Tyr, Pro, Glu, Thr) after 36 h. EMSA and DNase I footprinting demonstrated that AbrB does not directly bind BD regulatory regions, while metabolomics revealed the exhaustion of fatty acid and amino acid precursors. These results showed that abrB knockout does not positively affecting BD production, providing guidance for more effective engineering of BD overproducing strains.

Soluble dietary fiber (SDF) is a key functional component in rice bran, but its low natural abundance limits its application potential. In this study, two Lactobacillus johnsonii strains with distinct feruloyl esterase (FAE) activities were selected to investigate their effects on the modification of rice bran SDF through fermentation. The results showed that fermentation with the high-FAE strain L. johnsonii 46 (FSDF-46) increased the SDF yield from 6.39% to 11.45%. Structural characterization indicated that fermentation was associated with the formation of a porous structure, reduced particle size, and decreased crystallinity. Furthermore, FSDF-46 exhibited higher water holding capacity (0.87 g/g) and oil holding capacity (3.789 g/g). The glucose adsorption capacity of FSDF-46 increased by 44.8% and 37.52%. In vitro assays showed that FSDF-46 exhibited enhanced inhibitory effects on α-amylase (52.33%) and α-glucosidase (91.63%). These findings suggest a potential role of FAE-related fermentation in dietary fiber modification and provide a basis for the development of value-added products from rice bran.

Graphical overview of explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) for farm-to-fork postharvest preservation. Postharvest deterioration accumulates across orchard, packhouse, refrigerated transportation, warehouse, and distribution stages under fluctuating temperature, humidity, atmosphere, and mechanical stress. Multimodal data streams, including host omics, microbiome profiles, environmental sensing, RGB/hyperspectral/thermal imaging, spectroscopy, key genes, and logistics records, are integrated through a data lakehouse and analyzed by postharvest XAI models. Explainable modules, including SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP)/local attribution, graph neural network (GNN) explanation, pathway-constrained models, counterfactual reasoning, and stability/faithfulness auditing, convert black-box spoilage-risk prediction into interpretable biological mechanisms. These mechanisms guide actionable interventions such as antioxidant coating, elicitor spray, biocontrol consortia, packaging optimization, and gene-targeted strategies. Validation through storage trials, sensory evaluation, microbial testing, and sequencing closes the loop from prediction to explanation, intervention, and validated decision support.

Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes are common pathogens in dairy and meat products, posing significant risks for foodborne diseases. Timely and accurate detection of these pathogens is critical for implementing effective control measures against infections. The Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) technique has emerged as a promising tool, characterized by its short amplification cycle, operational simplicity, and low equipment requirements. This study presented a convenient and integrated method for the simultaneous detection of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes using lysis buffer-magnetic nanoparticle-based DNA extraction coupled with dual recombinase polymerase amplification-lateral flow assay (RPA-LFA). A lysis buffer comprising guanidine hydrochloride, sodium deoxycholate, and Tris-HCl was optimized to disrupt bacterial cells, and Fe3O4@Al3+ nanoparticles were synthesized for efficient nucleic acid adsorption by magnetic separation. The dual RPA-LFA system enabled specific amplification of target genes (SEEPA511_RS03120 and AX10_RS05385) at 37 degrees C, with visual readout by LFA. This method exhibited a detection limit of 5 x 101 CFU/mL for both pathogens in pure cultures and 5 x 102 CFU/g in artificially contaminated dairy and meat products, with no cross-reactivity to non-target bacteria. The entire procedure, from sample lysis to result visualization, was completed within 1 h, demonstrating its potential for point-of-care testing (POCT) in food safety monitoring. This approach integrates rapid nucleic acid extraction and isothermal amplification, offering a cost-effective and portable method for on-site pathogen detection.

Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus are prevalent foodborne pathogens responsible for poisoning humans with food. The present study was devoted to the establishment of a method based on dual polymerase spiral reaction (dual-PSR) and melting curve analysis for concurrent identification L. monocytogenes and S. aureus. Specifically, the primer pairs were aimed at the conserved hlyA gene of L. monocytogenes and that of S. aureus (nuc). These reactions were carried out isothermally at 65 degrees C for 45 min within the same reaction vessel, and the amplified products were analyzed in a melting curve. Different average temperatures of melting allow the discrimination in the dual-PSR assay between the two target bacteria. The limits of simultaneous determination of L. monocytogenes and S. aureus in artificially contaminated fresh-cut fruit samples were 1 x 10-4 ng of genomic DNA and 1 x 102 CFU/g, respectively. This method is characterized by its expeditious nature and simultaneous detection capability, and it promises to be a valuable technology for the monitoring of pathogenic microorganisms around health and quality control of foodstuffs within that industry.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with liver dysfunction and intestinal dysbiosis. Cinnamaldehyde have been reported to ameliorate T2DM, on the other hand, its mechanism is unclear. In the present study, surfactin-loaded cinnamaldehyde microemulsion (Cin-NEs) supplementation significantly promoted glucose uptake in insulin resistant HepG2 cells. According to further research, Cin-NEs treatment dramatically upregulated phosphorylated-phosphoinositide-3 kinase (p-PI3K) and phosphorylated-protein kinase B (PKB/Akt), downregulated phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6pase), these further enhance hepatic glycogen synthesis and suppress gluconeogenesis to promote glucose uptake. Cin-NEs supplementation lowered fasting blood glucose (FBG) by 34.29-41.43 % and insulin resistance (IR) by 36.0-40.0 %, increased glucose tolerance by 49.33-53.33 % compared with those in the T2DM group, reduced liver's lipid accumulation and inflammation in mice with T2DM induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) and streptozotocin (STZ). A Cin-NEs administration reduced Prevotella and Shigella, while increased Akkermansia genus and colonic tight junction protein Claudin-1, ZO-1 and Occludin. Furthermore, Cin-NEs also improved hepatic glucose metabolism by activating the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, downregulating PEPCK and G6Pase protein, and upregulating GLUT4 and GS protein levels. All of these findings revealed that Cin-NEs not only ameliorated HFD/STZ-induced glucose metabolism disorder but also reversed gut dysbiosis and preserved intestinal barrier integrity in T2DM mice. Cinnamaldehyde exhibits a similar effect to Cin-NEs, and the effect of Cin-NEs with 10 mg/kg center dot BW is equal to that of cinnamaldehyde with 20 mg/kg center dot BW. All data reveals that cinnamaldehyde-surfactin nano-capsulation possesses high stability in vivo and bioavailability to mitigates T2DM in mice.

L: johnsonii 4, L. johnsonii 23, and L. johnsonii 46 were utilized to ferment the rice bran respectively and insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) was prepared before and after fermentation, named RBDF-CN, RBDF-04, RBDF-23, and RBDF46. The results indicated that L. johnsonii 46 was more effective in converting rice bran IDF to soluble dietary fiber than L. johnsonii 4 and L. johnsonii 23. SEM and FT-IR analysis showed that fermentation treatment increased the pore structure and binding sites of rice bran IDF. The fermentation process did not modify the crystalline structure of rice bran insoluble dietary fiber. The TGA results showed that the residual mass fraction of RBDF-46 is 25.00 %, higher than that of RBDF-CN (20.11 %), RBDF-04 (21.22 %), and RBDF-23 (23.36 %), indicating superior thermal stability of RBDF-46. In addition, RBDF-46 exhibited elevated OHC, GAC, and SAC levels. RBDF-04 and RBDF-23 exhibited greater SAC and AIC relative to RBDF-CN, The AIC of RBDF-04 (29.99 %) was markedly exceeding that of RBDF-CN (9.97 %) and RBDF-23 (24.12 %), but showing no significant difference compared to RBDF-46 (26.19 %). In summary, the fermentation of L. johnsonii 46 enhanced the physicochemical and functional qualities of rice bran IDF, establishing a scientific basis for its use in health foods.

In this study, we aimed to develop microcapsules using sodium caseinate (NaCas)-oligosaccharides (OS) Maillard reaction conjugates (MRCs) to enhance the stability of Lactobacillus fermentum Q11 (LfQ11) in gastrointestinal fluids and food processing environments. Xylooligosaccharide (XOS), fructooligosaccharide (FOS), and inulin (INU) were conjugated with NaCas via the Maillard reaction to form MRCs for the microencapsulation of LfQ11. The characterization revealed that NaCas-XOS3h exhibited the highest grafting degree (24.97 %) and superior emulsifying activity, while NaCas-INU4h demonstrated enhanced prebiotic activity. Characterization of the microcapsules indicated that LfQ11@NaCas-XOS, LfQ11@NaCas-FOS, and LfQ11@NaCas-INU achieved high encapsulation efficiency (above 90 %) and were stabilized by hydrophobic interactions. Moreover, LfQ11@NaCas-XOS maintained higher viability than free LfQ11 after exposure to gastrointestinal fluids (82.46 %), heat stress at 70 °C (3.95 Log CFU/mL), and storage at 25 °C for 28 days (7.42 Log CFU/mL) than other microcapsules. All three MRCs-based microcapsules provided enhanced protection against ionic stress and acidic stress. Furthermore, all microcapsules exhibited low cytotoxicity and excellent biocompatibility. Notably, LfQ11@NaCas-XOS significantly reduced cholesterol levels in RAW264.7 foam cells more effectively than other treatments. These findings offer valuable insights into the application of different OS-protein conjugates as microencapsulated wall materials and the development of probiotic agents with cholesterol-lowering functions.

Freeze-drying is a common method for preserving bacteria cells, but it can cause cell damage in the process of protection. Therefore, it is necessary to explore a cryoprotectant to improve cell survival during the process. This research aimed to explore the optimal cryoprotectant formulation of L. acidophilus FMNS-10 and its protection mechanism. The optimal cryoprotectant consisted of 10.7 % skim milk, 3 % sodium L-glutamate and 10 % D-trehalose, resulting in a survival rate of 91.69 % for L. acidophilus FMNS-10 after freeze-drying (p < 0.05). Under this condition, the integrity of cell wall and membrane of L. acidophilus FMNS-10 was close to that of the fresh strain, which could be attributed to preventing ice crystal formation. Cryoprotectants demonstrated a significant protective effect on enzymatic activities. In the cryoprotectant-free group, the activities of beta-galactosidase, L-LDH, Na+/K+-ATPase and the concentration of Ca2+ decreased by 36.19 %, 51.82 %, 89.40 %, and 41.90 %, respectively. However, the cryoprotectant group were only 7.10 %, 1.66 %, 7.41 %, and 4.10 % reductions compared to the cryoprotectant-free group (p < 0.05). These results indicated that the optimal cryoprotectant improved the survival rate of L. acidophilus FMNS-10 by inhibiting the loss of enzyme activity. In addition, the optimal cryoprotectant significantly mitigated the DNA damage induced by freeze-drying. The reduction in enzyme and DNA damage may be attributed to complex cryoprotectants maintaining the stability of their three-dimensional structures and reducing structural disruption caused by freezing. Further analysis of storage stability revealed that the viable count of L. acidophilus FMNS-10 exceeded 10(7) CFU/mL when stored at -20 degrees C for 180 days. These findings provide a comprehensive theoretical foundation for how to freeze-dry Lactobacillus acidophilus.

Listeria monocytogenes is an important foodborne pathogen that can persist in food-processing environments and threatens public health by causing fatal listeriosis. During transmission from the non-host to the host environment, L. monocytogenes encounters a variety of stresses and regulates gene expression by coordinately relying on quorum sensing (QS). With many recent studies on QS inhibitors (QSIs) targeting L. monocytogenes, an in-depth understanding of the QS regulatory mechanisms and the updated application status of QSIs for combating L. monocytogenes is necessary. This review systematically discusses the accessory gene regulator (Agr) system and LuxS system in L. monocytogenes, with a special focus on their regulatory mechanisms associated with biofilm formation, virulence expression, and antimicrobial resistance. Notably, the regulation of Agr system can be modulated by environmental stresses including temperature, nutrient availability and disinfectant exposure. Furthermore, natural (plant-derived compounds and bacterial metabolites) and synthetic QSIs of L. monocytogenes are summarized, and their potential as alternative biocontrol agents is comprehensively evaluated. Finally, the challenges limiting the application of QSIs in the food industry are discussed, along with the outlines of potential avenues for future aspects such as incorporation or coating nanomaterials with QSIs. This review provides an overview of QS regulatory mechanisms in L. monocytogenes and perspectives on the potential of QSIs as novel antimicrobial agents in the food industry.

Foodborne pathogens pose a significant threat to human health. Salmonella typhimurium, a major serotype causing salmonellosis, requires reliable fast detection method. Culture-based conventional methods for detecting S. typhimurium are time-consuming and costly. To address these problems, a fast and user-friendly CRISPR/ Cas12b-mediated one-tube live cell detection assay called PMA-ERA-Cas12b was established that support both instrumental and naked-eye detection. A one-tube fluorescence method was designed, with Enzymatic Recombinase Amplification (ERA) kit and CRISPR/Cas12b technology integrated. Thermal compartmentalization of components was used to develop the detection workflow, involving incubation at 37 degrees C for 20 min followed by 60 degrees C for 50 min. Propidium Monoazide (PMA) pretreatment was optimized and applied to reduce free nucleic acid from dead cells. With high specificity, PMA-ERA-Cas12b can detect pure S. typhimurium DNA samples at a nucleic acid concentration of 1 pg/mu L. Under non-enrichment conditions, this method detected S. typhimurium at 1.43 x 102 CFU/mL in spiked cooked chicken samples and at 1 x 102 CFU/mL in spiked cooked duck samples. In conclusion, this PMA-ERA-Cas12b method provided a simple, rapid, and effective solution for S. typhimurium detection.

The increased consumption of dietary fats contributes to the development of MAFLD (metabolic fatty liver disease). The ability of broccoli to enhance lipid metabolism has attracted researchers' attention. Researchers fed C57BL/6 mice a 12-week HFD to ensure the induction of MAFLD. The findings indicated that broccoli floret juice could effectively relieve MAFLD. Broccoli is helpful for reducing weight, blood glucose levels, fat accumulation, and insulin resistance associated with MAFLD and reduces the concentrations of TC, TG, LDL-C, GOT, GPT, IL-1β, IL-6, CCL4, and MCP1. Broccoli can increase the concentration of HDL-C, CAT, GSH-Px, SOD, and T-AOC, relieve inflammation and hepatic and ileum damage, and improve the antioxidant capacity of the body. Also, broccoli can optimize the structure of intestinal flora, promote the growth of Allobaculum, Muribaculaceae, Akkermansia, Eubacterium, and Bacteroides, and reduce bile acid deposition. In addition, the FXR/LXRα signaling system is impacted by broccoli, which is capable of raising the average levels of expression of the Fxr, SHP, and Cyp7a1 genes and proteins and reducing those of the genes for Fasn, Lpin 1, Dgat 2, Scd1, LXRα, and SREBP-1c.