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The consumption of probiotics has been associated with a wide range of health benefits for consumers. Products containing probiotics need to have effective delivery of the microorganisms for their consumption to translate into benefits to the consumer. In the last few years, the microencapsulation of probiotic microorganisms has gained interest as a method to improve the delivery of probiotics in the host as well as extending the shelf life of probiotic-containing products. The microencapsulation of probiotics presents several aspects to be considered, such as the type of probiotic microorganisms, the methods of encapsulation, and the coating materials. The aim of this review is to present an updated overview of the most recent and common coating materials used for the microencapsulation of probiotics, as well as the involved techniques and the results of research studies, providing a useful knowledge basis to identify challenges, opportunities, and future trends around coating materials involved in the probiotic microencapsulation.

The berries of Solanum elaeagnifolium (trompillo) have been used since ancient time in Chihuahua, Mexico, as a milk coagulant in cheese making. This article describes an approach to the characterization of the plant coagulant from trompillo. From the main results, it was noticed that only the yellow berries of trompillo have proteolytic and milk-clotting activity. These activities were observed in the crude extracts (CEs) obtained from both seeds and fruit peels of yellow berries. The proteolytic activities of these CEs ranged from 6.0 to 8.5 U-Gly/mg, although the absence of NaCl in the CEs decreased their activities significantly. The milk-clotting activities of CEs from the berries of trompillo (4347-2564 MCA) were similar to those reported for other plant coagulants. Some CEs had a similar ratio of milkclotting activity/proteolysis as rennin and chymosin. This plant coagulant produced an unspecific hydrolysis on caseins, increasing the yield in fresh-type miniature cheese.Keywords: Solanum elaeagnifolium; plant coagulant; silverleaf nightshade; trompillo; fresh cheese Las bayas de Solanum elaeagnifolium (trompillo) se han utilizado por años en la elaboración de queso en Chihuahua, México. Este trabajo describe los avances en la caracterización del coagulante vegetal obtenido del trompillo. Se encontró que solo las bayas amarillas del trompillo presentaban actividad proteolítica y coagulante (en leche). Estas actividades se observaron en los extractos crudos (CE) obtenidos tanto de las semillas como de las cáscaras de los frutos amarillos. Las actividades proteolíticas de estos CEs fueron de 6.0 a 8.5 U-Gly/mg, aunque la ausencia de NaCl disminuyó significativamente su actividad. La actividad coagulante de los CEs obtenidos del trompillo (4347 a 2564 MCA) fueron similares a los reportados en otros coagulantes de plantas. Además, algunos CE presentaron un proporción de actividad coagulante/proteólisis similar al de la renina y quimosina. Finalmente, este coagulante vegetal produce una hidrólisis inespecífica en la caseína, incrementando el rendimiento en queso Fresco miniatura.

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Cream cheese is a fresh acid-curd cheese with pH values of 4.5–4.8. Some manufacturers add a small volume of rennet at the beginning of milk fermentation to improve the texture of the cream cheese. However, there is no information about the effect that proteases other than chymosin-like plant-derived proteases may have on cream cheese manufacture. This work aimed to describe some proteolytic features of the protease extracted from fruits of Solanum elaeagnifolium Cavanilles and to assess the impact that this plant coagulant has on the viscoelastic properties of cream cheeses. Results showed that caseins were not hydrolyzed extensively by this plant-derived coagulant. In consequence, the ratio of milk clotting units (U) to proteolytic activity (U-Tyr) was higher (1184.4 U/U-Tyr) than reported for other plant proteases. The plant coagulant modified neither yield nor composition of cream cheeses, but viscoelastic properties did. Cream cheeses made with chymosin had a loss tangent value (tan δ = 0.257) higher than observed in cheeses made with 0.8 mL of plant-derived coagulant per liter (tan δ = 0.239). It is likely that casein fragments released by the plant-derived coagulant improve the interaction of protein during the formation of acid curds, leading to an increase in the viscoelastic properties of cream cheese.

Manganese peroxidases (MnP) from the white-rot fungi Phanerochaete chrysosporium catalyse the oxidation of Mn2+ to Mn3+, a strong oxidizer able to oxidize a wide variety of organic compounds. Different approaches have been used to unravel the enzymatic properties and potential applications of MnP. However, these efforts have been hampered by the limited production of native MnP by fungi. Heterologous expression of MnP has been achieved in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic expression systems, although with limited production and many disadvantages in the process. Here we described a novel molecular approach for the expression and purification of manganese peroxidase isoform 1 (MnP1) from P. chrysosporium using an E. coli-expression system. The proposed strategy involved the codon optimization and chemical synthesis of the MnP1 gene for optimised expression in the E. coli T7 shuffle host. Recombinant MnP1 (rMnP1) was expressed as a fusion protein, which was recovered from solubilised inclusion bodies. rMnP1 was purified from the fusion protein using intein-based protein purification techniques and a one-step affinity chromatography. The designated strategy allowed production of an active enzyme able to oxidize guaiacol or Mn2+.

Two different extraction processes, Soxhlet and ultrasound, were used to obtain the oil extracts of Western Schley, Wichita, and Native pecan nuts cultured in Chihuahua, Mexico. The aspects evaluated in this study were the extraction yield of the processes and fatty acids' profile of the resulting extracts. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify and determine the composition percentage of fatty acids present in pecan nuts oils extracted. The results obtained show that higher oil extraction yields were obtained by Soxhlet method with hexane (69.90%) in Wichita varieties. Wichita, Western Schley, and Native pecan nuts from Chihuahua are rich in PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) and MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids) and have low levels of SFA (saturated fatty acids). The predominant fatty acid present in all pecan nuts oils was linoleic acid followed by oleic acid. Myristic acid, palmitic acid, and linolenic acid were also identified in representative quantities. The results from this study suggest that there are statistically significant differences in the chemical composition of the pecan nuts oils extracted from the varieties cultured in Chihuahua, Mexico, and those cultivated in other regions of the world.

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