Deepti Singh

Fruit juice fermentation has been used historically as a conservation technique and to improve the preservation of bioactive components essential to human health. This research was investigated the potential fermentation of apple juice concentrate using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces bayanus. The current investigation evaluated the yeast strains capacity to produce ethanol by comparing their ethanol concentrations and assessed the ability of yeast strains by evaluating their tolerance to sugar, ethanol, temperature, dry cell weight analysis. The ethanol tolerance of S. cerevisiae and S. bayanus strains was able to resist 12.5 % and 16.0 %, respectively, and both strains were a temperature of 25 °C. Furthermore, the cell dry weight of S. cerevisiae and S. bayanus describing cell growth increased with increasing fermentation time from 24 h to 96 h subsequently the cell has expressed a reducing growth phase. The highest production of ethanol after fermentation with the strain S. cerevisiae showed 11.01 g/L and S. bayanus produced ethanol 12.94 g/L at 25 °B more than S. cerevisiae. According to the current research, ethanol fermentation using different yeast strains (S. cerevisiae and S. bayanus) with apple juice concentrate lies in the potential to optimized fermentation performance, efficiency, and yield of ethanol. In contrast to S. cerevisiae, the strain S. bayanus was used as a potent starter culture to produce ethanol because it can tolerate high ethanol concentrations.

The draft genome sequence of Acetobacter persici DS1 was isolated for high-acidity vinegar fermentation. The A. persici DS1 draft genome has a length of 8,793,442 bp, with 44.27% GC content, 3,053 proteins, 3,169 genes, and 15 genes that play an important role in acetic acid production.

Background: The use of edible coatings has achieved increasing attention as an eco-friendly and health-conscious method for enhancing the shelf life and quality of food products. Biosurfactants are amphiphilic compounds produced by microorganisms. These compounds possess both hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties, allowing them to interact with both polar and nonpolar substances. Methods: This study investigated the antifungal efficacy of rhamnolipid, sophorolipid and surfactin coatings with synergistic potential Aloe vera gel against Botrydiplodia theobromae. In present study, petri plates were supplemented with different biosurfactants at varying concentrations with Aloe vera gel used to control the B. theobromae. Result: The solutions of rhamnolipid, sophorolipid and surfactin (50 mg/L), Aloe vera gel (25%) and synergistic effect of rhamnolipid, sophorolipid and surfactin (10 mg/L) with aloe vera gel (25%) were evaluated for their biocontrol activity on B. theobromae and found that rhamnolipid alone showed comparatively low antifungal activity while rhamnolipid with aloe vera showed high antifungal activity with lower rhamnolipid concentration. The results indicated that a combination of rhamnolipid and aloe vera gel exhibited the highest antifungal activity against B. theobromae without significant phytotoxicity or cytotoxicity. It was observed that the biosurfactants cause rupture of mycelia as its evident from the microscopy. These findings suggest that rhamnolipid-based edible coatings could serve as a promising alternative to chemical fungicides for the management of post-harvest losses.

The terms discussed in this review—biosurfactants (BSs) and bioemulsifiers (BEs)—describe surface-active molecules of microbial origin which are popular chemical entities for many industries, including food. BSs are generally low-molecular-weight compounds with the ability to reduce surface tension noticeably, whereas BEs are high-molecular-weight molecules with efficient emulsifying abilities. Some other biomolecules, such as lecithin and egg yolk, are useful as natural BEs in food products. The high toxicity and severe ecological impact of many chemical-based surfactants have directed interest towards BSs/BEs. Interest in food surfactant formulations and consumer anticipation of “green label” additives over synthetic or chemical-based surfactants have been steadily increasing. BSs have an undeniable prospective for replacing chemical surfactants with vast significance to food formulations. However, the commercialization of BSs/BEs production has often been limited by several challenges, such as the optimization of fermentation parameters, high downstream costs, and low yields, which had an immense impact on their broader adoptions in different industries, including food. The foremost restriction regarding the access of BSs/BEs is not their lack of cost-effective industrial production methods, but a reluctance regarding their potential safety, as well as the probable microbial hazards that may be associated with them. Most research on BSs/BEs in food production has been restricted to demonstrations and lacks a comprehensive assessment of safety and risk analysis, which has limited their adoption for varied food-related applications. Furthermore, regulatory agencies require extensive exploration and analysis to secure endorsements for the inclusion of BSs/BEs as potential food additives. This review emphasizes the promising properties of BSs/BEs, trailed by an overview of their current use in food formulations, as well as risk and toxicity assessment. Finally, we assess their potential challenges and upcoming future in substituting chemical-based surfactants.

Fusarium graminearum causing head scab (HS) or head blight (HB) disease in wheat is one of the nasty fungi reported to cause significant grain quality and yield loss. Biological control using endophytic bacteria has emerged as a prospective option for containing fungal diseases in an environmentally benevolent, durable, and sustainable manner. In this regard, 112 endophytic bacilli were isolated from the anthesis stage (Zadok’s growth stage 65) from five different wheat genotypes with an aim to identify prospective antagonistic strains against F. graminearum. The molecular identity of the strains was confirmed by matching 16S rRNA sequences of bacterial strains with the gene sequences of type strains available in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database and reported 38 different species of Bacillus in all the five wheat cultivars. Further, it has been observed that only fourteen strains (B. clarus NOK09, B. mojavensis NOK16, B. subtilis NOK33, B. rugosus NOK47, B. mojavensis NOK52, B. clarus NOK59, B. coahuilensis NOK72, B. cabrialesii NOK78, B. cabrialesii NOK82, B. rugosus NOK85, B. amyloliquefaciens NOK89, B. australimaris NOK95, B. pumilus NOK103, and B. amyloliquefaciens NOK109) displayed in-vitro antagonistic effect against Fusarium graminearum fungus. Furthermore, the three endophytic Bacillus strains showing the strongest antagonistic effect (>70% of growth inhibition of fungal mycelium) under in-vitro antagonistic assay were selected for field experiments. In a two-year consecutive field study, a combination of three strains (B. clarus NOK09 + B. subtilis NOK33 + B. amyloliquefaciens NOK109) displayed a remarkable reduction in HS disease index by 81.47% and 77.85%, respectively. Polymerase chain reaction assay detected three genes (ituD, bmyC, and srfA) involved in antibiotic biosynthesis pathways. Additional attributes such as potassium solubilization, siderophore release, and hydrolytic enzyme (protease, lipase, amylase, chitinase, and pectinase) synthesis have been observed in these strains. Overall, the present study was successful in profiling endophytic bacilli and selecting the combination of effective antagonistic endophytic Bacillus strains that could be the best alternative for the sustainable and ecological sound management of HS disease in wheat under field conditions.

Head blight or scab caused by Fusarium graminearum (FG), once ranked as a minor disease in wheat, is now emerging as one of the economically important diseases in India. The present study represents the first in-depth population genetic analysis of the FG from the northern wheat belt of India. In this study, multiple conserved gene sequences comprised of β-tubulin (TUB), translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF), and histone-3 (HIS) regions were used for multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of 123 geographically distinct F. graminearum isolates collected from four different states (Haryana (HR), Punjab (PB), Rajasthan (RJ) and West Bengal (WB)) of India. The phylogenetic and haplotype analysis showed the presence of thirty haplotypes in all the analyzed populations. The haplotypic diversity in the RJ population (Hd = 0.981) was higher than in the HR (Hd = 0.972), PB (Hd = 0.965) and WB population (Hd = 0.962). Recombination events (Rm = 12) and mutation events (485) were also detected. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that genetic diversity was exclusively due to the differences within populations. The haplotype network was widely dispersed and not associated with specific populations, as a single common haplotype was not detected. The PB population contained both unique (H9, H10 and H11) and shared haplotypes (27 haplotypes) in a higher number in comparison to other geographical locations. Except for haplotype H22 (contains highly aggressive isolates), there was no specific linkage noticed between the isolate aggressiveness and haplotype. The concatenated sequences of all the three genes demonstrated a low level of genetic differentiation (Fst = −0.014 to 0.02) in the analyzed population. Positive values for the neutrality tests in PB, HR and RJ reveal a balancing selection mechanism behind the FG population structure. The WB population showed both positive and negative values of neutrality indices, indicating the role of both population expansion as well as balancing selection in structuring the FG population.

Sodium benzoate, the sodium salt of benzoic acid, is the first accepted and one of the widely used chemical preservatives in the food, cosmetic and, bevera

The field experiment was conducted at research farm of ICAR-Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner, Rajasthan during 2017-18 and 2018-19 to standardize the date of sowing and covering material. Under different dates of sowing and covering material long melon took 41-50, 44- 55 and 50-62 days after sowing for first male flower, first female flower and first harvest at marketable stage, respectively. The treatment T3 (20th December with polythene sheet) recorded the highest number of days for last harvest followed by T4 (20th December with non-woven cloth), while the least number of days for last harvest was recorded in T9 (10th February under open condition). The crop raised unde (T2-10th December with non-woven cloth) attained the harvestable maturity on 9th February in comparison to open filed sowing (T9) came in harvesting on 2nd April which was 49 days later than the tunnel. The sowing on second date of sowing with polythene covering (T3-20th December with polythene sheet) recorded the highest yield and fruiting duration followed by the sowing on same date with nonwoven cloth covering (T4-20th December with non-woven cloth). An advancement of 24 50 days was recorded with first two dates of sowing as compared to normal season which fetches higher price in the market.