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Probiotics and Prebiotics in Animal Health and Food Safety

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A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2023) | Viewed by 20513

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Francesca Gaggia

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Guest Editor

DISTAL (Dept. of Agriculture and Food Science), Bologna, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Interests: probiotics; prebiotics; animal and insect gut microbiota; PGPR; enivironmental microbiology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

High numbers of scientific papers concern the study of probiotics and prebiotics for preserving or restoring human health and obtained results have led to new trends on medical and pharmaceutical applications. The animal field has received less attention, until now, despite having enormous potential. Modulation of the animal gut microbiota with feed additives such as prebiotics and probiotics is a key element for host protection against zoonotic microorganisms, animal performance and welfare.

Metagenomic and transcriptomic studies can now help increase the existing knowledge of the functionality of the gut microbiota, its decisive role in host interactions and the efficacy of probiotic and prebiotic treatments.

Food safety is of fundamental importance to the consumer. Protective Cultures (PCs) for the safety of animal-derived foods should support good manufacturing practices. PCs can be very useful in ready-to-eat food products, besides meeting consumer demand for chemical-free treatments. They are also very useful in raw foods to extent shelf life, or in certain foods for fungal control.

The purpose of this special issue is to collect original articles as well as reviews concerning probiotics and prebiotics in animals and protective cultures for the safety of animal-derived foods. Example of topics includes probiotics and prebiotics for the health of pigs, horses, poultry, cattle, companion animals, fish aquaculture and honeybees.

The use of “dead” or “inactivated” probiotics in animal are equally welcome.

Last December, Professor Bruno Biavati passed away too early. We lost a mentor, a colleague and a friend.

During his career, Professor Biavati devoted himself to the microbiology and physiology of bifidobacteria. As a tribute to the research activity of his microbial group, in 2012, a new species of bifidobacteria (Bifidobacterium biavatii) was named after him.

His interest in these bacteria led him to focus his research on the characterization of probiotics and the beneficial effects of their administration. In particular, his efforts were addressed to evaluate their efficacy in animals and humans.

He was a researcher with an insatiable curiosity and, although he was retired, he was still working with deep passion and those of us who worked and knew Bruno will miss his generosity in sharing ideas and participating in collaborative research studies.

This Special Issue on Probiotics and Prebiotics in Animal Health and Food Safety is dedicated to his memory and aims to collect original works and reviews dealing with the modulation of the animal gut microbiota with prebiotics and probiotics and protective cultures for food safety.

We mourn his loss but his legacy will live on.

Dr. Francesca Gaggìa

Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Animal Health
Probiotics
Prebiotics
Host-Gut Microbiota interaction
Food Safety
Protective Cultures

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1891 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Faecal Microbiota Characterisation of Potamochoerus porcus Living in a Controlled Environment

by Donatella Scarafile, Diana Luise, Vincenzo Motta, Caterina Spiezio, Monica Modesto, Marzia Mattia Porcu, Yadid Yitzhak, Federico Correa, Camillo Sandri, Paolo Trevisi and Paola Mattarelli

Microorganisms 2023, 11(6), 1542; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms11061542 - 09 Jun 2023

Viewed by 801

Abstract

Intestinal bacteria establish a specific relationship with the host animal, which causes the acquisition of gut microbiota with a unique composition classified as the enterotype. As the name suggests, the Red River Hog is a wild member of the pig family living in Africa, in particular through the West and Central African rainforest. To date, very few studies have analysed the gut microbiota of Red River Hogs (RRHs) both housed under controlled conditions and in wild habitats. This study analysed the intestinal microbiota and the distribution of Bifidobacterium species in five Red River Hog (RRH) individuals (four adults and one juvenile), hosted in two different modern zoological gardens (Parco Natura Viva, Verona, and Bioparco, Rome) with the aim of disentangling the possible effects of captive different lifestyle and host genetics. Faecal samples were collected and studied both for bifidobacterial counts and isolation by means of culture-dependent method and for total microbiota analysis through the high-quality sequences of the V3–V4 region of bacterial 16S rRNA. Results showed a host-specific bifidobacterial species distribution. Indeed, B. boum and B. thermoacidophilum were found only in Verona RRHs, whereas B. porcinum species were isolated only in Rome RRHs. These bifidobacterial species are also typical of pigs. Bifidobacterial counts were about 10⁶ CFU/g in faecal samples of all the individuals, with the only exception for the juvenile subject, showing 10⁷ CFU/g. As in human beings, in RRHs a higher count of bifidobacteria was also found in the young subject compared with adults. Furthermore, the microbiota of RRHs showed qualitative differences. Indeed, Firmicutes was found to be the dominant phylum in Verona RRHs whereas Bacteroidetes was the most represented in Roma RRHs. At order level, Oscillospirales and Spirochaetales were the most represented in Verona RRHs compared with Rome RRHs, where Bacteroidales dominated over the other taxa. Finally, at the family level, RRHs from the two sites showed the presence of the same families, but with different levels of abundance. Our results highlight that the intestinal microbiota seems to reflect the lifestyle (i.e., the diet), whereas age and host genetics are the driving factors for the bifidobacterial population. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Probiotics and Prebiotics in Animal Health and Food Safety)

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13 pages, 1635 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Lactobacillus fermentum Administration on Intestinal Morphometry and Antibody Serum Levels in Salmonella-Infantis-Challenged Chickens

by Miroslava Anna Šefcová, David Ortega-Paredes, César Marcelo Larrea-Álvarez, Iván Mina, Victoria Guapás, David Ayala-Velasteguí, Paula Leoro-Garzón, Gabriel Molina-Cuasapaz, Christian Vinueza-Burgos, Viera Revajová and Marco Larrea-Álvarez

Microorganisms 2023, 11(2), 256; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms11020256 - 19 Jan 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1940

Abstract

There are no studies reporting the effects of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Infantis (S. Infantis) on intestinal architecture and immunoglobulin serum levels in chickens. Here, we measured these parameters and hypothesized whether probiotic administration could modulate the observed outcomes. Two-hundred 1-day-old COBB 500 male chicks were allocated into four groups: (I) the control, (II) the group treated with L. fermentum, (III) the group exposed to S. Infantis, and (IV) the group inoculated with both bacteria. At 11 days post infection, blood was gathered from animals which were then euthanized, and samples from the small intestine were collected. Intestinal conditions, as well as IgA and IgM serum levels, were assessed. S. Infantis reduced villus-height-to-crypt-depth (VH:CD) ratios in duodenal, jejunal, and ileal sections compared to control conditions, although no differences were found regarding the number of goblet cells, muc-2 expression, and immunoglobulin concentration. L. fermentum improved intestinal measurements compared to the control; this effect was also evidenced in birds infected with S. Infantis. IgM serum levels augmented in response to the probiotic in infected animals. Certainly, the application of L. fermentum elicited positive outcomes in S. Infantis-challenged chickens and thus must be considered for developing novel treatments designed to reduce unwanted infections. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Probiotics and Prebiotics in Animal Health and Food Safety)

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21 pages, 1068 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Human Breast Milk: A Source of Potential Probiotic Candidates

by Margherita D’Alessandro, Carola Parolin, Silvia Patrignani, Gilda Sottile, Patrizio Antonazzo, Beatrice Vitali, Rosalba Lanciotti and Francesca Patrignani

Microorganisms 2022, 10(7), 1279; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms10071279 - 23 Jun 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2085

Abstract

This study focuses on the isolation of lactobacilli/bifidobacteria from human breast milk and their first characterization, in the perspective to find new probiotic candidates to be included in food products. More specifically, breast-milk-isolated strains demonstrated a very good aptitude to adhere to intestinal cells, in comparison with L. rhamnosus GG strain, taken as reference. The same behavior has been found for hydrophobicity/auto-aggregation properties. A remarkable antagonistic activity was detected for these isolates not only against spoilage and pathogenic species of food interest, but also against the principal etiological agents of intestinal infections. Indeed, isolated strains impaired spoilage and pathogenic species growth, as well as biofilm formation by gut pathogens. In addition, breast milk strains were characterized for their antibiotic susceptibility, displaying species-specific and strain-specific susceptibility patterns. Finally, to assess their technological potential, the fermentation kinetics and viability of breast milk strains in pasteurized milk were investigated, also including the study of the volatile molecule profiles. In this regard, all the strains pointed out the release of aroma compounds frequently associated with the sensory quality of several dairy products such as acetic acid, diacetyl, acetoin, acetaldehyde. Data here reported point up the high potential of breast-milk-isolated strains as probiotics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Probiotics and Prebiotics in Animal Health and Food Safety)

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17 pages, 3506 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis on Gut Barrier Function, Proinflammatory Response, ROS Production and Pathogen Inhibition Properties in IPEC-J2—Escherichia coli/Salmonella Typhimurium Co-Culture

by Nikolett Palkovicsné Pézsa, Dóra Kovács, Bence Rácz and Orsolya Farkas

Microorganisms 2022, 10(5), 936; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms10050936 - 29 Apr 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2587

Abstract

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance raises serious concerns worldwide. Probiotics offer a promising alternative to enhance growth promotion in farm animals; however, their mode of action still needs to be elucidated. The IPEC-J2 cell line (porcine intestinal epithelial cells) is an appropriate tool to study the effect of probiotics on intestinal epithelial cells. In our experiments, IPEC-J2 cells were challenged by two gastrointestinal (GI) infection causing agents, Escherichia coli (E. coli) or Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium). We focused on determining the effect of pre-, co-, and post-treatment with two probiotic candidates, Bacillus licheniformis or Bacillus subtilis, on the barrier function, proinflammatory cytokine (IL-6 and IL-8) response, and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production of IPEC-J2 cells, in addition to the adhesion inhibition effect. Bacillus licheniformis (B. licheniformis) and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) proved to be anti-inflammatory and had an antioxidant effect under certain treatment combinations, and further effectively inhibited the adhesion of pathogenic bacteria. Interestingly, they had little effect on paracellular permeability. Based on our results, Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis are both promising candidates to contribute to the beneficial effects of probiotic multispecies mixtures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Probiotics and Prebiotics in Animal Health and Food Safety)

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13 pages, 5865 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effect and Probiotic Properties of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Canine and Feline Feces

by Ki-Tae Kim, Jin-Woo Kim, Sun-Il Kim, Seonyoung Kim, Trung Hau Nguyen and Chang-Ho Kang

Microorganisms 2021, 9(9), 1971; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms9091971 - 16 Sep 2021

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 3661

Abstract

Oxidative stress is a phenomenon caused by an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defenses. It plays an important role in numerous disease states, including chronic kidney disease, neurological disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are known to have prominent antioxidant properties. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory potential of LAB isolated from animals for the efficient use of probiotics with host specificity. Antioxidant activity measurements of sixteen strains revealed that ABTS radical scavenging activities ranged from 26.3 to 57.4%, and DPPH free radical scavenging activities ranged from 4.7 to 13.5%. Based on the antioxidant activity assessment, five strains (Enterococcus faecium MG9003(YH9003), Enterococcus faecium MG9007(YH9007), Lactobacillus reuteri MG9012(YH9012), Lactobacillus fermentum MG9014(YH9014), and Pediococcus pentosaceus MG9015(YH9015)) were selected with the consideration of fermentation productivity (>1 × 10⁹ CFU/g). The selected strains exhibited nitric oxide inhibition and inhibited inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase expression. Furthermore, probiotic properties, including intestinal adhesion and stability, were identified. Our results show that the selected animal-derived strains can be effective probiotic candidates for potential effects on animal hosts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Probiotics and Prebiotics in Animal Health and Food Safety)

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16 pages, 679 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Honeybees Exposure to Natural Feed Additives: How Is the Gut Microbiota Affected?

by Daniele Alberoni, Loredana Baffoni, Chiara Braglia, Francesca Gaggìa and Diana Di Gioia

Microorganisms 2021, 9(5), 1009; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms9051009 - 07 May 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3471

Abstract

The role of a balanced gut microbiota to maintain health and prevent diseases is largely established in humans and livestock. Conversely, in honeybees, studies on gut microbiota perturbations by external factors have started only recently. Natural methods alternative to chemical products to preserve honeybee health have been proposed, but their effect on the gut microbiota has not been examined in detail. This study aims to investigate the effect of the administration of a bacterial mixture of bifidobacteria and Lactobacillaceae and a commercial product HiveAlive^TM on honeybee gut microbiota. The study was developed in 18 hives of about 2500 bees, with six replicates for each experimental condition for a total of three experimental groups. The absolute abundance of main microbial taxa was studied using qPCR and NGS. The results showed that the majority of the administered strains were detected in the gut. On the whole, great perturbations upon the administration of the bacterial mixture and the plant-based commercial product were not observed in the gut microbiota. Significant variations with respect to the untreated control were only observed for Snodgrassella sp. for the bacterial mixture, Bartonella sp. in HiveAlive^TM and Bombilactobacillus sp. for both. Therefore, the studied approaches are respectful of the honeybee microbiota composition, conceivably without compromising the bee nutritional, social and ecological functions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Probiotics and Prebiotics in Animal Health and Food Safety)

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Review

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27 pages, 2013 KiB

Open AccessReview

Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens: From Isolation and Taxonomy to Probiotic Properties and Applications

by Marina Georgalaki, Georgia Zoumpopoulou, Rania Anastasiou, Maria Kazou and Effie Tsakalidou

Microorganisms 2021, 9(10), 2158; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms9102158 - 16 Oct 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4578

Abstract

One of the main lactic acid bacterial species found in the kefir grain ecosystem worldwide is Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens, exhibiting strong auto-aggregation capacity and, therefore, being involved in the mechanism of grain formation. Its occurrence and dominance in kefir grains of various types of milk and geographical origins have been verified by culture-dependent and independent approaches using multiple growth media and regions of the 16S rRNA gene, respectively, highlighting the importance of their combination for its taxonomic identification. L. kefiranofaciens comprises two subspecies, namely kefiranofaciens and kefirgranum, but only the first one is responsible for the production of kefiran, the water-soluble polysaccharide, which is a basic component of the kefir grain and famous for its technological as well as health-promoting properties. L. kefiranofaciens, although very demanding concerning its growth conditions, can be involved in mechanisms affecting intestinal health, immunomodulation, control of blood lipid levels, hypertension, antimicrobial action, and protection against diabetes and tumors. These valuable bio-functional properties place it among the most exquisite candidates for probiotic use as a starter culture in the production of health-beneficial dairy foods, such as the kefir beverage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Probiotics and Prebiotics in Animal Health and Food Safety)

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