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New technologies used in the food industry are aimed at producing minimally processed products that are healthy and safe. The aim of this work was to study the influence of ultrasound on the functional and health properties of milk and dairy products, to examine specific mechanisms by which ultrasound changes the properties of dairy products, and to compare it with traditional and new technologies for processing dairy products. Milk β-lactoglobulin does not change its modification during low-temperature pasteurization, however, during high-temperature pasteurization, its hydrolysis in the stomach increases, while a decrease in calcium binding is found. It has been established that milk homogenization using ultrasound is useful for the inactivation of bacteriophages. Of particular interest is high intensity ultrasound, which has great potential for monitoring dairy products. It has been established that ultrasound is used as a quite gentle method (short-term exposure) to control the coagulation and gelation process in milk protein suspensions, reconstituted milk, and fresh milk. Many studies linking texture and rheological properties with acoustic properties have been conducted on cheeses during coagulation and fermentation processes. Under the influence of ultrasound, three stages are distinguished during milk coagulation caused by the action of rennet enzyme: at the first stage (pH > 5.1, without changing rheological parameters), aggregation or gel formation does not occur, at the second stage (4.85 < pH < 5.1, G\" frequency increases and pH decreases), aggregation begins, and at the third stage (pH < 4.85, G' and G\" increase rapidly with pH, which leads to the formation of a three-dimensional gel network of casein particles in milk), gel is formed in full. However, there are currently many limitations and conflicting results regarding the effects of ultrasound on dairy products. Additional research will provide a complete picture of how ultrasound exposure affects the characteristics of biologically active components of functional dairy products. Graphical Abstract

Spirocyclic motifs are emerging privileged structures for drug discovery. They are also omnipresent in the natural products domain. However, until today, no attempt to analyze the structural diversity of various spirocyclic motifs occurring in natural products and their relative populations with unique compounds reported in the literature has been undertaken. This review aims to fill that void and analyze the diversity of structurally unique natural products containing spirocyclic moieties of various sizes.

Microalgae are a group of autotrophic microorganisms that live in marine, freshwater and soil ecosystems and produce organic substances in the process of photosynthesis. Due to their high metabolic flexibility, adaptation to various cultivation conditions as well as the possibility of rapid growth, the number of studies on their use as a source of biologically valuable products is growing rapidly. Currently, integrated technologies for the cultivation of microalgae aiming to isolate various biologically active substances from biomass to increase the profitability of algae production are being sought. To implement this kind of development, the high productivity of industrial cultivation systems must be accompanied by the ability to control the biosynthesis of biologically valuable compounds in conditions of intensive culture growth. The review considers the main factors (temperature, pH, component composition, etc.) that affect the biomass growth process and the biologically active substance synthesis in microalgae. The advantages and disadvantages of existing cultivation methods are outlined. An analysis of various methods for the isolation and overproduction of the main biologically active substances of microalgae (proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, pigments and vitamins) is presented and new technologies and approaches aimed at using microalgae as promising ingredients in value-added products are considered.

This paper summarizes information about the division of bacteriocins into classes (Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, and archaea). Methods for producing bacteriocins have been studied. It is known that bacteriocins, most successfully used today are products of secondary metabolism of lactic acid bacteria. It is established that the main method of bacteriocin research is PCR analysis, which makes it possible to quickly and easily identify the presence of bacteriocin encoding genes. The mechanism of cytotoxic action of bacteriocins has been studied. It is proved that the study of cytotoxic (antitumor) activity in laboratory conditions will lead to the clinical use of bacteriocins for cancer treatment in the near future. It is established that the incorporation of bacteriocins into nanoparticles and targeted delivery to areas of infection may soon become an effective treatment method. The delivery of bacteriocins in a concentrated form, such as encapsulated in nanoparticles, will increase their effectiveness and minimize potential toxic side effects. The analysis of publications on this topic confirmed that diverse research on bacteriocins is relevant.

Microalgae are known to be rich in protein. In this study, we aim to investigate methods of producing and purifying proteins of 98 microalgae including Chlorella vulgaris, Arthrospira platensis, Nostoc sp., Dunaliella salina, and Pleurochrysis carterae (Baltic Sea). Therefore, we studied their amino acid composition and developed a two-stage protein concentrate purification method from the microalgae biomass. After an additional stage of purification, the mass fraction of protein substances with a molecular weight greater than 50 kDa in the protein concentrate isolated from the biomass of the microalga Dunaliella salina increased by 2.58 times as compared with the mass fraction before filtration. In the protein concentrate isolated from the biomass of the microalga Pleurochrysis cartera, the relative content of the fraction with a molecular weight greater than 50.0 kDa reached 82.4%, which was 2.43 times higher than the relative content of the same fractions in the protein concentrate isolated from this culture before the two-stage purification. The possibilities of large-scale industrial production of microalgae biomass and an expanded range of uses determine the need to search for highly productive protein strains of microalgae and to optimize the conditions for isolating amino acids from them.

This paper studies modern methods of producing and using callus, suspension cells and root cultures of medicinal plants in vitro. A new solution for natural product production is the use of an alternative source of renewable, environmentally friendly raw materials: callus, suspension and root cultures of higher plants in vitro. The possibility of using hairy root cultures as producers of various biologically active substances is studied. It is proven that the application of the genetic engineering achievements that combine in vitro tissue culture and molecular biology methods was groundbreaking in terms of the intensification of the extraction process of compounds significant for the medical industry. It is established that of all the callus processing methods, suspension and root cultures in vitro, the Agrobacterium method is the most widely used in practice. The use of agrobacteria has advantages over the biolistic method since it increases the proportion of stable transformation events, can deliver large DNA segments and does not require special ballistic devices. As a result of the research, the most effective strains of agrobacteria are identified.

Heavy-metal contaminants are one of the most relevant problems of contemporary agriculture. High toxicity and the ability to accumulate in soils and crops pose a serious threat to food security. To solve this problem, it is necessary to accelerate the pace of restoration of disturbed agricultural lands. Bioremediation is an effective treatment for agricultural soil pollution. It relies on the ability of microorganisms to remove pollutants. The purpose of this study is to create a consortium based on microorganisms isolated from technogenic sites for further development in the field of soil restoration in agriculture. In the study, promising strains that can remove heavy metals from experimental media were selected: Pantoea sp., Achromobacter denitrificans, Klebsiella oxytoca, Rhizobium radiobacter, and Pseudomonas fluorescens. On their basis, consortiums were compiled, which were investigated for the ability to remove heavy metals from nutrient media, as well as to produce phytohormones. The most effective was Consortium D, which included Achromobacter denitrificans, Klebsiella oxytoca, and Rhizobium radiobacter in a ratio of 1:1:2, respectively. The ability of this consortium to produce indole-3-acetic acid and indole-3-butyric acid was 18.03 μg/L and 2.02 μg/L, respectively; the absorption capacity for heavy metals from the experimental media was Cd (56.39 mg/L), Hg (58.03 mg/L), As (61.17 mg/L), Pb (91.13 mg/L), and Ni (98.22 mg/L). Consortium D has also been found to be effective in conditions of mixed heavy-metal contamination. Due to the fact that the further use of the consortium will be focused on the soil of agricultural land cleanup, its ability to intensify the process of phytoremediation has been studied. The combined use of Trifolium pratense L. and the developed consortium ensured the removal of about 32% Pb, 15% As, 13% Hg, 31% Ni, and 25% Cd from the soil. Further research will be aimed at developing a biological product to improve the efficiency of remediation of lands withdrawn from agricultural use.

Objectives: According to published data, mangiferin has the potential to prevent diabetes mellitus. The aim of this work was to obtain in vivo evidence of the biological activity of mangiferin predicted in silico. Methods: A prediction using the IT Microcosm system was employed to identify the correlation between the spatial structure of mangiferin and its biological activity. MAPK10, HCAR2, and CALCRL biotargets were used as the basis for predicting moderate antiglycation activity in silico. The presence of anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic activities in mangiferin was empirically tested in in vivo models. To assess anti-inflammatory activity in female Sprague–Dawley rats, acute exudative inflammation and chronic proliferative inflammation were induced. To assess hypoglycemic activity in female Sprague–Dawley rats, diabetes mellitus was modeled with an alloxan solution (150.0 mg/kg). During the experiment, fasting body weight, glucose, and total cholesterol concentrations in the blood serum of the animals were assessed weekly. To study hypocholesterolemic activity in female Mus musculus mice, hypercholesterolemia was modeled by administering a solution of Kolliphor P 407 three times a week. Mangiferin (50.0 mg/kg, 100.0 mg/kg) was administered orally daily for 7 days (in the last week of the experiment) or for 14 days (hypercholesterolemia model). Results: In vivo studies showed that mangiferin showed pro-inflammatory activity without affecting body weight and did not reduce glucose and cholesterol concentrations. The obtained results contribute to the evidence regarding the presence/absence of the anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, and hypocholesterolemic properties of mangiferin. Conclusions: The discrepancy between mangiferin’s actual activity and the in silico predictions suggests the need for further studies using lower doses of mangiferin and investigating approaches to enhance its bioavailability.

The development of new effective anti-coronavirus drugs and therapies is important, but it requires significant human, financial and, most importantly, time expenditures. The current pandemic is neither the first nor the last. Humanity has already accumulated considerable survival experience. We cannot do without prevention and epidemiological protection measures. This study reviews medicinal plants that grow in Northeast Asia and whose antioxidant, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory characteristics are already known, also in the framework of the prevention and treatment of pneumonia of various etiologies. The need for a comprehensive approach to maintaining immunodefences, including functional foods and positive emotions, is emphasized. In the period of pandemics, it is important to research various areas that allow to us accumulate a critical mass of information and cope with the next global disease.

The work reveals the results of studying the content of biologically active substances in samples of extracts of Ginkgo biloba callus cultures. Callus cultures grown in vitro on liquid nutrient media were the objects of the study. Considering various factors affecting the yield of the target components during extraction, the volume fraction of the organic modifier in the extracting mixture, the temperature factor, and the exposure time were identified as the main ones. The maximum yield of extractive substances (target biologically active substances with a degree of extraction of at least 50%) from the samples of callus culture extracts was detected at a ratio of extragent of 70% ethanol, a temperature of 50 °C, and exposure time of 6 h. Flavonoids, such as luteolin, quercetin, isoramentin, kaempferol, and amentoflavone, were isolated in the extract samples. As a result of column chromatography, fractions of individual biologically active substances (bilobalide, ginkgolide A, B, and C) were determined. The proposed schemes are focused on preserving the nativity while ensuring maximum purification from associated (ballast) components. Sorbents (Sephadex LH-20, poly-amide, silica gel) were used in successive stages of chromatography with rechromatography. The degree of purity of individually isolated substances was at least 95%.