BACKGROUND Spirulina microalgae have been added to food; however, there have been few reports on the methods used to protect the antioxidant potential against process conditions, and the effects on the sensory characteristics of products need to be better described. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence on the technological properties, sensory profile, and acceptability of the pasta with free or microencapsulated Spirulina biomass added. Pasta formulations included: free Spirulina (FSP), microencapsulated Spirulina (MSP), and empty microspheres (EMP), which were compared with the control pasta (CP). RESULTS The microencapsulation protected the antioxidant potential of Spirulina in 37.8% of the pasta cooking conditions. The microspheres presented low solubility in water (86 g.kg−1) and high encapsulation efficiency (87.6%), this being appropriate for addition to products that need cooking in water. The technological properties of pasta (water absorption, weight gain, firmness, and adhesiveness) were affected, but the overall acceptability index (85.13%) was not influenced by the addition of microspheres, despite changes observed in the sensory profile obtained by the CATA (check‐all‐that‐apply). CONCLUSIONS Spirulina could be added to pasta even without microencapsulation but the microencapsulation in alginate allows for the protection of the antioxidant potential of the biomass, representing a potential alternative for the bakery industry. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

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Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) ranks among the most lethal tumors worldwide, as a consequence of late detection and poor treatment response, evidencing the need for diagnosis anticipation and new therapeutic targets. First, we investigated the IL6 gene and protein expression in the esophagus of individuals without esophageal disorders (healthy), ESCC, and non-tumoral surrounding tissue (NTST). Our results showed that IL6 mRNA and protein expression is upregulated in tumor cells relative to NTST. In the TCGA dataset, we identified a set of genes whose expression was correlated with IL6 mRNA levels, including the antiapoptotic gene BCL3. By using an immortalized esophageal cell line, we confirmed that IL6 was capable of inducing BCL3 expression in esophageal cells. BCL3 mRNA and protein are overexpressed in ESCC and NTST compared to healthy esophagus, and BCL3 mRNA could distinguish the morphologically normal samples (healthy and NTST) with 100% sensitivity and 95.12% specificity. The spatial intratumoral heterogeneity of both IL6 and BCL3 expression was evaluated, corroborating IL6 upregulation throughout the tumor, while tumor and NTST showed a consistent increase of BCL3 expression relative to the healthy esophagus. Our study shows that IL6 overexpression seems to be a key event in ESCC carcinogenesis, contributing to ESCC through a homogeneous antiapoptotic signalling via BCL3 overexpression, thus suggesting anti-IL6 therapies to be further considered for ESCC treatment. Finally, our data support the use of BCL3 mRNA expression as a potential biomarker for ESCC detection.

There is a growing consumer demand for natural foods, and it is of great interest to develop and produce natural and effective substances for food preservation, replacing synthetic preservatives. The growth of bacteria can occur in food due to environmental conditions during handling and storage, even if good manufacturing practices have been observed. This can cause losses for the industry, also becoming a risk of contamination to the consumer, being necessary to develop new techniques for controlling these sources of contamination. Lactic acid bacteria are known for their benefits to the organisms of those who consume them and for the ability to produce, under appropriate conditions, natural antimicrobial compounds, which can be used as biopreservatives in food and contribute to the increase of shelf life. Bacteriocins are proteins or peptides produced in ribosomes that have the capacity to act against certain pathogens, preventing their multiplication in products during the periods of storage and distribution. The aim of this review is to present the main bacteriocin-producing microorganisms, the forms of production, as well as the techniques by which these bioproducts have been applied in the biopreservation of food products and the results obtained. Biopreservation using bacteriocins has been studied and established as a new and important method, however it is necessary to search for production processes of these bacteriocins on a larger scale and with cost reduction, so that their potential can be increasingly explored by science and industry. Studies related to mechanisms of action and applications in food are also necessary in order to support the decisions of regulatory agencies.