Salam A. Ibrahim’s research while affiliated with North Carolina State University and other places

Choline kinase alpha (ChoKα) is a therapeutic target being developed for a variety of diseases, from cancer to rheumatoid arthritis and from parasites to bacterial infections. Nevertheless, the therapeutic potential of this drug target seems not exhausted and may end up as a possible solution for a larger variety of conditions. Here we present our working model for how ChoKα could play a role in obesity and for how drugs being developed as therapeutics for other diseases using ChoKα as a target, could be repurposed as prophylactic treatments for obesity. We also present preliminary observations in support of our model.

The autoxidation of fish oil occurs via free radical mechanisms, producing hydroperoxide intermediates and their decomposition products, which include volatile aldehydes, unsaturated ketones, and furan derivatives. Identifying these compounds can lead to strategies for suppressing fishy off-notes. Therefore, in the search for new compounds, menhaden oil was oxidized under three different conditions: exposure to light for 11 days, exposure to 121°C for 80 minutes, or storage in the dark at 40°C for 48 hours. These conditions resulted in the production of at least three isomers of nonadiene, confirmed by mass spectra and retention indices (RI) using various GC columns. The potent green compound 2,4-nonadiene has an aroma threshold in water of 7.8 ppb. Although 2,4-nonadiene can be derived from omega-3 fatty acids, it appears to be predominantly generated from omega-6 fatty acids. The presence of green compounds between C4 and C5 ethyl esters, was confirmed by olfactory detection of volatiles from oxidized menhaden oil off the gas chromatograph using a packed column. However, mass spectra and RIs did not align with the occurrence of green isomers of nonadiene in oxidized menhaden oil. This discrepancy may be partly due to co-elution with other compounds that obscured their detection by GC-MS.

This study aimed to investigate the physiochemical properties, techno-functional attributes, and proteolytic impacts of incorporating different hydrocolloids as fat substitutes in low-fat cheddar cheese. The effects of hydrocolloids (gums) and dietary fiber, both individually and in combination, were studied for the production of low-fat cheddar cheese with the same textural and functional attributes as full-fat cheese. Physicochemical, techno-functional attributes, organic acid, and proteolysis analyses were performed at 0 and 90-day storage intervals. The results of different combinations were compared with positive (4% fat) and negative (2% fat) controls, and it was observed that using fat replacers improved the textural and functional properties of low-fat cheddar cheese. A significant difference was observed in the meltability and flowability of low-fat cheese samples with different analytes. The proteolysis pattern in low-fat cheese also differed from that of its full-fat counterpart. Three treatments were considered the best: T2 (guar gum at 0.45%), T6 (guar gum, inulin, and resistant starch at 33%), and T7 (all analytes at equal concentrations). The findings revealed that hydrocolloids notably improved the texture, meltability, and sensory characteristics of low-fat cheddar cheese. Additionally, SEM images revealed that the microstructure variations can be attributed to changes in the hydrocolloids water retention and fat content. The Pearson correlation coefficient revealed relationships between different functional properties, contributing to understanding how hydrocolloids as fat replacers impact the overall quality of low-fat cheddar cheese. This study offers useful information for the dairy sector to manufacture low-fat cheeses that have enhanced customer acceptance and provide nutritional advantages.

The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of alternative nitrogen sources in sweet potato-based medium for supporting the growth of Lactobacillus sp. Sweet potato is an intriguing candidate as a component of a growth medium for Lactobacillus sp. The sweet potato medium was supplemented with 2, 8, or 14 g/L of X-Seed Nucleo Max, X-Seed KAT, and NuCel 780 MG as nitrogen sources. Seven Lactobacillus sp strains were used in this study. At least two of the sweet potato medium compositions SPM2 which contain 2 g/L X-Seed Nucleo Max, 3 g/L X-Seed KAT, and 3 g/L NuCel 780 MG and SPM3 which contain 2 g/L X-Seed Nucleo Max, 6 g/L X-Seed KAT, and 6 g/L NuCel 780 MG were sufficient to grow Lactobacillus sp strains in a manner sufficiently similar or superior to that of MRS. At 12 hours of incubation, the population of Lactobacillus sp strains reached an average of 7.94 ± 0.11, 8.38 ± 0.11, and 8.57 ± 0.12 log CFU/mL for MRS, SPM2, and SPM3, respectively. Moreover, the buffering capacity of SPM2 and SPM3 was significantly higher than that in MRS ( p ≤ 0.05). These findings thus demonstrate that the sweet potato based medium, SPM2, is suitable for the growth of Lactobacillus sp strains and can be used as an alternative to the standard media.

Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) are a sustainable and green solution for the recovery of food ingredients such as pigments. In this work, the extraction conditions to obtain the maximum anthocyanins from blackberry fruit were investigated using NADES composed of choline chloride-acetic acid (CHAC) as the green solvent. The central composite design was used conseidering molar ratio, water content, solvent ratio and extraction time as independent variables and total anthocyanin content (TAC), cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-rutinoside, pelargonidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin chloride as responses. The results showed that the independent variables significantly affected the responses. The optimum conditions for CHAC were 1:3.5 M, 40 %, 30 g and 15 min for molar ratio, water content, solvent ratio and extraction time, respectively. Under these conditions, the experimental responses were 131.54 ± 7.89 mg CGE/100 g, 1208.08 ± 13.76 mg/kg, 163.43 ± 1.72 mg/kg, 53.78 ± 1.37 mg/kg and 91.98 ± 0.62 mg/kg for TAC, cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-rutinoside, pelargonidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin chloride, respectively. The pH, viscosity and electric conductivity of CHAC were determined as 1.24 ± 0.03, 1.21 ± 0.17 and 7.50 ± 0.55 mPa and 4675.33 ± 57.74 µS.cm − 1 , respectively. After storing the NADES extract for 28 days in the dark, cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-rutinoside, pelargonidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin chloride remained 71.57 ± 0.64 %, 75.00 ± 0.26 %, 33.42 ± 0.41 % and 71.45 ± 0.21 %, respectively. Over the 28-day exposure of the NADES extract to light, the cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-rutinoside, pelargonidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin chloride remained 19.09 ± 0.10 %, 34.89 ± 2.28, 13.28 ± 0.25 and 30.97 ± 1.10, respectively. The application of the aqueous two-phase system resulted in the preliminary purification of the NADES extract, providing the highest purity in the top phase for cyanidin-3-glucoside (68.85 ± 1.05 %). The findings revealed that CHAC is a promising green medium for the industrial extraction of anthocyanins, and the aqueous two-phase is suitable for the purification of the anthocyanin-rich extract obtained with NADES.

Listeria monocytogenes is a notable food-borne pathogen that has the ability to create biofilms on different food processing surfaces, making it more resilient to disinfectants and posing a greater risk to human health. This study assessed melittin peptide's anti-biofilm and anti-pathogenicity effects on L. monocytogenes ATCC 19115. Melittin showed minimum inhibitory concenteration (MIC) of 100 μg/mL against this strain and scanning electron microscopy images confirmed its antimicrobial efficacy. The OD measurement demonstrated that melittin exhibited a strong proficiency in inhibiting biofilms and disrupting pre-formed biofilms at concentrations ranging from 1/8MIC to 2MIC and this amount was 92.59 ± 1.01% to 7.17 ± 0.31% and 100% to 11.50 ± 0.53%, respectively. Peptide also reduced hydrophobicity and self-aggregation of L. monocytogenes by 35.25% and 14.38% at MIC. Melittin also significantly reduced adhesion to HT-29 and Caco-2 cells by 61.33% and 59%, and inhibited invasion of HT-29 and Caco-2 cells by 49.33% and 40.66% for L. monocytogenes at the MIC value. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) revealed melittin's impact on gene expression, notably decreasing inlB (44%) and agrA (45%) gene expression in L. monocytogenes. flaA and hly genes also exhibited reduced expression. Also, significant changes were observed in sigB and prfA gene expression. These results underscore melittin's potential in combating bacterial infections and biofilm-related challenges in the food industry.

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a widely abundant spice, known for its aroma and pungent flavor. It contains several bioactive compounds and offers a wide range of health benefits to humans, including those pertaining to nutrition, physiology, and medicine. Therefore, garlic is considered as one of the most effective disease-preventive diets. Many in vitro and in vivo studies have reported the sulfur-containing compounds, allicin and ajoene, for their effective anticancer, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, immune-boosting, and cardioprotective properties. As a rich natural source of bioactive compounds, including polysaccharides, saponins, tannins, linalool, geraniol, phellandrene, β-phellandrene, ajoene, alliin, S-allyl-mercapto cysteine, and β-phellandrene, garlic has many therapeutic applications and may play a role in drug development against various human diseases. In the current review, garlic and its major bioactive components along with their biological function and mechanisms of action for their role in disease prevention and therapy are discussed.