Biological Science: Research Developments and Innovations Vol. 2

Lactic Acid Bacteria as Natural Biopreservation Agents in Modern Food Systems: Mechanisms, Antimicrobial Metabolites, and Industrial Applications

2026-09-04T10:15:18+00:00

The global shift towards clean-label foods has placed the food industry under increasing pressure to maintain microbiological stability and shelf life without an excessive reliance on synthetic preservatives. Biopreservation using lactic acid bacteria (LAB) offers a scientifically grounded response to this demand. This chapter reviews the role of LAB as producers of natural preservation systems in modern food matrices, integrating literature published between 2008 and 2025. Three conceptual pillars underpin LAB-based biopreservation: ecological competition through nutrient and micronutrient depletion, modification of the food microenvironment via acidification and redox shifts, and the production of inhibitory metabolites. The metabolite spectrum discussed includes organic acids, hydrogen peroxide, carbon dioxide, diacetyl, bacteriocins, phenyllactic acid (PLA), and the reuterin system, each examined in terms of its mechanism of action, target microorganisms, and applicable food matrices. Bacteriocins are considered in detail as ribosomally synthesised antimicrobial peptides that act through pore formation and lipid II binding, with nisin remaining the principal example approved for wide regulatory use. Antifungal applications, particularly phenyllactic acid and sourdough-based systems capable of delaying mould growth in bread for approximately ten days, are also addressed, together with the reuterin system, which can be generated in situ from food-grade glycerol and exhibits broad-spectrum activity. Evidence from processed meat, dairy, bakery, and chilled ready-to-eat products indicates that protective cultures are currently the most industrially practical format, since antimicrobial metabolites are produced in situ and microorganisms with recognised safety status face comparatively straightforward regulatory pathways. The principal challenge is no longer demonstrating efficacy but standardising performance across matrices, preserving sensory quality, managing the risk of microbial adaptation and microbiome shifts, and satisfying regulatory and labelling requirements. Integration of omics-based strain selection, quantitative predictive modelling, encapsulation, and edible coating technologies within a multiple-hurdle framework is identified as the most promising direction for accelerating responsible industrial adoption.

Gastroprotective Efficacy of Thespesia garckeana Fruit Pericarp: Insights from Phytochemistry and Toxicology

2026-09-04T10:21:46+00:00

Peptic ulcer disease remains an important gastrointestinal disorder, while non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug exposure, alcohol-related mucosal injury, recurrence, adverse effects and treatment access continue to justify the search for safe and affordable gastroprotective agents. Thespesia garckeana (syn. Azanza garckeana in some literature), popularly known as Goron Tula, is an ethnomedicinal plant with reported gastrointestinal and other therapeutic applications. This chapter integrates experimental evidence on the fruit pericarp, combining preliminary phytochemical screening, acute oral toxicity assessment, and anti-ulcer studies in aspirin- and ethanol-induced gastric injury models. Solvent extraction yield was aqueous (36.95%), ethanolic (39.09%) and methanolic (44.02%) with array of secondary metabolite classes (phytochemical profile). No mortality occurred up to 5,000 mg/kg in the oral acute toxicity study, although mild transient behavioral changes were observed. In male rats, methanolic extract (METG) at 200 mg/kg produced 99.4% inhibition in the aspirin model and 66.5% in the ethanol model, with the aspirin response closely approaching rabeprazole (98.8%). In female rats, the corresponding inhibition values were 79.6% and 69.0%. A restricted block analysis using sex as the blocking factor demonstrated significant variation attributable to sex (F=23.00, p<0.001) and a highly significant treatment effect (F=686.86, p<0.0001). These findings support a multifactorial gastroprotective profile involving antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, mucosal-defensive and cytoprotective actions, while the non-linear dose response indicates that higher dose does not necessarily confer greater protection, thus the crude methanol plant extract of T. garckeana demonstrated maximum anti-ulcer efficacy at a mid-range dose (200 mg/kg) but loses efficacy at a higher dose (400 mg/kg) exhibiting a classic biphasic dose-response relationship. The evidence supports further phytochemical standardization, mechanistic studies, toxicological evaluation, formulation research and eventual clinical investigation, rather than immediate clinical substitution for established anti-ulcer therapy.

Population Trends of Peccaries and Deer, Hunting, and Socioeconomic Factors in Rural Communities of Southern Yucatan, Mexico

2026-09-04T10:26:48+00:00

The objective of this chapter is to analyse estimates of the population density of collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and temazate deer (Mazama americana) during 2003–2004, 2007–2008, and 2008–2009 in the municipality of Tzucacab, Yucatán, in relation to hunting pressure on these populations and socioeconomic factors in rural communities. Seven 5-km linear transects were randomly established in the municipality in 2003–2004, and 18 were established between 2007 and 2009. Population estimates were obtained through direct sightings, track counts, and counts of deer pellets in plots located along the same transects. The results showed that population densities differed according to the method used. However, densities decreased significantly when the peccary track-count method was used from 2003–2004 to 2008–2009, with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of [1.7, 0.08] animals/km², respectively. Deer population densities also decreased from 2003–2004 to 2007–2009, with 95% CI values of [7.194, 0.217] deer/km², respectively, using the plot-based deer-pellet count method. The working hypothesis is that hunting intensity makes these populations vulnerable, based on reports from these periods. The study also discusses socioeconomic and political factors, including poverty, low educational attainment, chronic diseases, and a shortage of formal, permanent employment among the rural population, as conditions underlying the patterns described in this paper.

A New Species of Leech, Poecilobdella kananbalaae from Karnataka, India

2026-09-05T07:38:15+00:00

Poecilobdella is a genus of Asian leeches belonging to the family Hirudinidae. The species is characterised by a brown dorsal surface and a yellowish ventral surface without spots, three pairs of black dorsal stripes, of which the most lateral pair is broken, and one pair of black ventrolateral stripes. This study reports a new species discovered in Ulsoor Lake, Bangalore, India. The collected specimens were brown dorsally and yellowish ventrally, without any spots. Three pairs of black dorsal stripes were observed, with the most lateral pair being broken. One pair of black ventrolateral stripes was present. The eyes were situated on annuli 3, 5, 6, 8 and 11. Gonophores were present between annuli 33 and 34 and between annuli 38 and 39. The anterior sucker consisted of seven annuli, whereas the posterior sucker had five annuli. The discovery of Poecilobdella kananbalaae contributes to knowledge of freshwater-leech biodiversity in India. This chapter provides a basis for further taxonomic and ecological studies in the region. Future studies should focus on a detailed evaluation of the ecology and biology of the identified species.

Biorational Approaches for Managing Mustard Aphid (Lipaphis erysimi Kalt.)

2026-09-12T11:49:32+00:00

Mustard is an important oilseed crop whose productivity is constrained by the mustard aphid, Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.), a major sap-feeding pest. Conventional insecticide-based management can adversely affect beneficial organisms and the environment and may contribute to insecticide resistance, pest resurgence, and secondary pest outbreaks. This review synthesises biorational approaches for mustard aphid management, with emphasis on plant-based pesticides, microbial agents, new-generation biopesticides, insect growth regulators, and bioactive compounds. Botanical products, particularly neem leaf extracts, neem seed kernel extract, neem oil, and other plant extracts, have demonstrated substantial aphid-suppressive activity in laboratory and field evaluations. Several botanical treatments also showed comparatively favourable compatibility with predators, parasitoids, and honey bees, although responses varied among products and exposure conditions. Entomopathogenic fungi, including Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, Verticillium lecanii, and Nomuraea rileyi, have also shown effectiveness against mustard aphid. Bacterial agents and newer compounds such as spinosad, buprofezin, and diafenthiuron have been evaluated as additional biorational options. Plant-derived defence molecules, including lectins, defensins, protease inhibitors, and other bioactive compounds, may further contribute to aphid resistance. The reviewed evidence indicates that biorational products can support integrated pest management by reducing dependence on conventional insecticides while conserving beneficial organisms. Their judicious use, alone or in suitable combinations and rotations, offers a comparatively eco-friendly approach for sustainable mustard aphid management.

Contactless Precision Monitoring of Dairy Cattle: Computer Vision, Thermal Imaging and Artificial Intelligence for Health and Welfare

2026-09-12T11:53:11+00:00

Contactless sensing is becoming a central component of precision dairy management because cameras can observe animals repeatedly without attaching devices, interrupting routine behaviour or requiring repeated handling. This critical narrative review evaluates computer vision, depth imaging, infrared thermography and artificial intelligence as tools for monitoring health and welfare in dairy cattle. The literature was selected from open scholarly sources using a transparent, topic-specific search covering 1 January 2000 to 4 July 2026, with emphasis on peer-reviewed studies that provided biologically interpretable outcomes or meaningful validation under farm conditions. Evidence is strongest for automated body condition assessment, locomotion and lameness phenotyping, individual identification, classification of major behaviours, and extraction of thermal signatures related to udder inflammation, heat load and acute stress. Yet apparently high algorithmic performance often reflects narrow datasets, repeated images from the same animals, controlled camera geometry or labels derived from subjective human scores. Thermal imaging is particularly sensitive to ambient conditions, camera angle, emissivity assumptions, contamination and the anatomical region selected, while visible-light systems remain vulnerable to occlusion, lighting variation and domain shift between farms. Across modalities, external validation, longitudinal evaluation and decision-level clinical utility lag behind proof-of-concept accuracy. The most defensible near-term role of contactless monitoring is therefore continuous screening and risk stratification rather than autonomous diagnosis. Progress depends on animal-level data partitioning, multi-farm benchmarking, uncertainty-aware models, standardised reference phenotypes, multimodal fusion, edge deployment and welfare-centred evaluation of false alarms and missed cases. Contactless precision monitoring can strengthen dairy cattle health and welfare surveillance, but its value will be determined less by model novelty than by biological validity, generalisability and integration into actionable farm and veterinary workflows.

Engineered Biochar and Hydrochar in Agricultural Systems: Production Technologies, Soil Conditioning and Carbon Sequestration Mechanics

2026-09-12T11:57:05+00:00

Biochar and hydrochar are increasingly discussed as carbon-rich amendments that can connect biomass valorisation, soil rehabilitation and climate mitigation, yet the two materials are produced by fundamentally different thermochemical routes and cannot be treated as agronomically or climatologically interchangeable. This critical narrative review evaluates how production conditions and post-production engineering govern material properties, soil conditioning functions and the persistence of amendment-derived carbon. Literature published from 1 January 2006 to 4 July 2026 was searched using major open scholarly indexes and agricultural and biomedical databases, supplemented by citation chasing and DOI-level bibliographic verification. The evidence indicates that pyrolysis generally produces more condensed, aromatic and persistent carbon than hydrothermal carbonisation, whereas hydrothermal carbonisation offers a practical conversion route for wet feedstocks but commonly yields hydrochar with a larger labile carbon fraction and a greater risk of phytotoxic or nitrogen-immobilising effects when freshly applied. Engineering strategies including activation, mineral functionalisation, nutrient loading and co-composting can strengthen targeted functions, but their agronomic value depends on whether the introduced functionality remains effective in chemically complex soil and whether modification increases contaminant burdens, salt inputs or life-cycle emissions. Soil responses are strongly context dependent. The most reproducible benefits of biochar occur where the amendment corrects an identifiable constraint, particularly acidity, low nutrient retention, low water-holding capacity or poor soil structure; average effects are weaker and less predictable in fertile, fine-textured or weakly constrained soils. Carbon sequestration is controlled by intrinsic carbon structure together with ageing, organo-mineral association, aggregation, priming of native soil organic matter, non-carbon-dioxide greenhouse-gas responses and supply-chain emissions. Hydrochar can contribute to soil carbon management, but current evidence supports lower confidence in its long-term permanence than for well-carbonised biochar. The central implication is that agricultural char deployment should move from product-centred claims to function-matched design, long-term field validation and full carbon accounting.

Climate-Driven Pest and Disease Emergence in Cropping Systems: Risks, Early Warning and Resilient Crop Protection

2026-09-24T09:14:40+00:00

Climate change is altering the biological and epidemiological context in which crop protection operates. Warming, changing precipitation, drought, extreme events and rising atmospheric carbon dioxide can modify pest development, overwintering, migration, pathogen infection, host resistance, vector competence and the synchrony between pests and natural enemies. Yet climate-driven emergence is not a uniformly increasing process: responses vary with latitude, baseline climate, crop genotype, production system, pathogen lifestyle, dispersal capacity and management history. This critical narrative review synthesises evidence on arthropod pests and infectious crop diseases, with emphasis on the mechanisms that convert climatic change into altered outbreak probability, the strengths and limitations of early-warning approaches, and the design of resilient crop protection. Literature was selected through searches of open scholarly sources and citation tracing, prioritising peer-reviewed studies, high-quality reviews and field-relevant evidence published from 2000 to 4 July 2026, while retaining earlier foundational work where necessary. The evidence is strongest for poleward range shifts, warmer-season acceleration of many ectothermic pests, altered pathogen infection windows and changes in overwintering survival. Confidence is lower for universal claims about outbreak magnitude because thermal limits, moisture stress, extreme heat, trophic interactions and crop management can reverse or buffer expected responses. Weather-based forecasting, pathogen and pest surveillance, remote sensing, imaging, spore monitoring and machine-learning systems increasingly support anticipatory management, but transferability, calibration, data scarcity and unequal access constrain operational value. Resilient protection therefore requires portfolios rather than single technologies: climate-informed integrated pest management, durable host resistance, conservation biological control, diversified landscapes, resistance stewardship, adaptive thresholds, strengthened phytosanitary surveillance and locally validated decision support. The central challenge is not simply predicting more pests or more disease, but identifying where climate reorganises host-pest-pathogen systems sufficiently to invalidate historical risk assumptions and management calendars.