Acrylamide is a toxic chemical substance produced when starch-rich foods are fried at high temperatures. Asthma is a chronic and complicated respiratory disease, of which genetic and environmental factors are the main triggers. Orally-received components may have an effect on asthma pathophysiology. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of AA as a stimulus in asthma. BALB/c mice were allocated into four groups as follows: two OVA-sensitized asthmatic groups, including one treated with AA by gavage feeding and one non-treated (asthma group), and two healthy (non-asthmatic) groups, one treated with AA by gavage feeding and one non-treated (negative control group). Airway hyperresponsiveness, cell count, cytokine levels in BAL fluid, lung histopathology, IgE levels, and oxidative stress indices including plasma level of MDA, pulmonary antioxidant enzymes (SOD and CAT) levels, HP content, and collagen fiber accumulation in lung tissue were measured. We found that the group of mice treated with both OVA and AA (asthmatic and AA-treated mice) experienced higher levels of asthma-associated biomarkers, including higher enhanced pause (Penh value), eosinophilic inflammation, mucus hyper secretion, goblet cell hyperplasia, total and OVA-specific IgE levels, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 levels than the group sensitized only with OVA (asthmatic mice). The OVA-AA-treated mice also experienced worsened levels of oxidative stress indicators. Healthy (non-asthmatic) mice that only received AA were in similar conditions to healthy untreated mice (negative control group). The OVA-AA-treated group showed more severe allergic asthma symptoms in comparison to the group only sensitized with OVA. Therefore, food/water contaminated with AA can act as a stimulant of allergic asthma and exacerbate the bronchial inflammatory responses.

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Sadeghinezhad J., Hajimohammadi B., Izadi F., Yarmahmoudi F., Latorre R. (2015): Evaluation of the morphologic method for the detection of animal and herbal content in minced meat. Czech J. Food Sci., 33: 564-569.The quantitative and qualitative accuracy of the routine histological method for the determination of unauthorised animal and herbal content in minced meat was to evaluated. Laboratory adulterated minced beef meat; each containing 5, 10, 15 and 20% of soya and chicken gizzard was prepared. Then each sample was divided into three parts and four paraffin embedded blocks were prepared from each part. The sections were stained using haematoxylin and eosin, toluidine blue and Masson's trichrome. The histological examination revealed the soya and gizzard tissues clearly in all the samples. The histometrical analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the estimated percentages of both additive tissues and the real related percentages. Overall, neither was there any significant difference between the data of the three parts of each sample and the real percentages. The findings of the present research suggest the histological technique as an effective method for qualitative and quantitative evaluations of minced meat.

Toxoplasma gondii causes toxoplasmosis with a global prevalence in the world. A large proportion of human illness is most frequently associated with consuming raw and undercooked meat or other animal products containing infective parasitic stages of T. gondii . This systematic review and meta-analysis study evaluated the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in cattle, sheep, camels, goats, and poultry worldwide. The search was performed in databases including PubMed, WoS, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and ISC from 2000 to 2019 in Persian and English. The main inclusion criteria were the prevalence of toxoplasmosis among livestock and poultry and the prevalence indices by sample size. During these 20 years, the overall prevalence of toxoplasmosis in livestock and poultry was 28.3% (95% confidence interval (CI) 25–31.9%) using the random-effects meta-analysis model. The highest prevalence of T. gondii in livestock and poultry animals was found in Asia in 2014 with 89.8% (95% CI 78.5–95.5%). The lowest prevalence was found in Asia in 2013 with 1.26% (95% CI 0.4–3.8%). A quarter of livestock and poultry were infected with T. gondii . Since livestock products are globally important sources of people's diet, our findings are useful for policymakers to control T. gondii infection in livestock. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10393-022-01575-x.

Objective Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, infects humans by consuming infected raw or undercooked meat and foods harboring mature oocysts. In this study, we assessed the prevalence of T. gondii in sheep and goats coming from central Iran. After completing the questionnaire, about one gram of liver or diaphragm tissue was taken as a sample from 90 sheep and 90 goats slaughtered in Yazd Province and stored at – 20 ºC. DNA extraction was done, and then T. gondii was detected using nested PCR. Results This study indicated that the prevalence of T. gondii in all slaughtered animals was 11.6% (21 of 180), including 14.4% (13/90) in sheep and 8.8% (8/90) in goats. The infection rates in liver and diaphragm samples were 12.2% (11/90) and 11.1% (10/90), respectively (p = 0.8163). The infection rate in animals older than one was 16.3% (15/92), and it was 6.8% (6/88) in animals under one year of age. Therefore, no significant differences were found (p = 0.475). Infection rates were 19.5% (18/92) in males and 3.4% (3/88) in females (p = 0.0007). In conclusion, the infection rates of toxoplasmosis in livestock in this area are almost high, and therefore, it is necessary to design appropriate prevention programs to control the disease.

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Zoonotic concerns of cattle sarcocystosis are of importance, because humans are the final host for Sarcocystis hominis. Therefore the meat products containing beef may encompass sarcocysts which endanger food safety. In this study, we described the first report of molecular identification of S. hominis in Iranian traditional hamburgers using PCR-RFLP. Throughout a pilot research that was carried out to setup a molecular approach to identify the Sarcocystis spp., using PCR-RFLP, a sample of raw Iranian traditional hamburger was purchased from a street food seller located in Yazd, central Iran in May 2013. DNA extraction was done, by salting out method; briefly, the sample was lysed with NET buffer. The DNA purification and precipitation was then performed. Amplicon and digestion results were analyzed, using gel agarose electrophoresis. The results showed a PCR product with 926 bp in length after amplification and 376 and 550 bp in length after digestion. This product was identified as S. hominis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of S. hominis infection in Iranian hamburger.

is a worldwide zoonotic parasite belong to phylum Athropoda. When the eggs are swallowed by intermediate host, the larvae are released in intestine and reach the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) and occasionally liver, lungs, heart, kidneys, spleen, and other body organs by the blood and lymph circulation. There are a few evidences showing transmission of microorganisms by migrating The aim of this study was to determine the role of nymph in transmission of enteric bacterial pathogens to internal organs of sheep. For this purpose 11 parasite positive and 11 parasite negative MLNs to were obtained from the native slaughtered sheep and were examined microbiologically in terms of bacterial contamination. The average total bacterial count and count in the parasite positive samples were respectively 6.7 and 3.3 times higher than parasite negative ones ( < 0.05). However no significant differences were found for and intestinal enterococci between parasite positive/negative samples. This indicates that nymphs play as vehicles for bacteria and so contaminate offal. nymphs transfer some bacterial agents to internal organs and enhance post mortem spoilage of the infected organs. It is also able to transfer some bacterial pathogens to internal organs which could potentially be the etiology of severe infectious or even zoonotic diseases. Especially in some regions where the consumption of raw or semi-cooked lymph nodes and other visceral organs are common.