Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is still a common functional gastrointestinal disease that presents chronic abdominal symptoms but with a pathophysiology that is not yet fully elucidated. Moreover, the use of the synergistic combination of prebiotics and probiotics, known as synbiotics, for IBS therapy is still in the early stages. Advancements in technology led to determining the important role played by probiotics in IBS, whereas the present paper focuses on the detailed review of the various pathophysiologic mechanisms of action of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics via multidisciplinary domains involving the gastroenterology (microbiota modulation, alteration of gut barrier function, visceral hypersensitivity, and gastrointestinal dysmotility) immunology (intestinal immunological modulation), and neurology (microbiota–gut–brain axis communication and co-morbidities) in mitigating the symptoms of IBS. In addition, this review synthesizes literature about the mechanisms involved in the beneficial effects of prebiotics and synbiotics for patients with IBS, discussing clinical studies testing the efficiency and outcomes of synbiotics used as therapy for IBS.

In the current study, the major volatile compounds from three categories of traditional fruit brandies (plum, apple and pear) were characterized by gas-chromatography (GC-FID). There were collected 26 samples from different locations of Transylvania (Romania), all made by traditional technologies involving fermentation in barrels and distillation in copper stills. The major volatile compounds, besides ethanol, identified and quantified were: acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate, methanol, 1-propanol, 2-butanol, iso-butylic alcohol, alcool amyl active, iso-amylic alcohol, 1-butanol and furfural. For each type of brandy, positive but no significant correlations between methanol and furfural concentrations in plum and apple brandy were noticed. To evaluate the differences in composition regarding the geographical origin of plum brandies and to analyze the composition of plum, apple and pear brandies it has been compared the mean values (MVP, MVA and MVPe) obtained for each volatile. For plum brandies it has been observed differences among the mean values of each volatile, in samples originating from counties Cluj, Bistriţa-Năsăud and Maramureş. For methanol, acetaldehyde and 1-propanol the MVP Cluj values were significantly higher than MVP Bistriţa-Năsăud. For iso-butylic alcohol, amyl active alcohol, iso-amylic alcohol the MVP Cluj values were significantly higher than for Bistriţa-Năsăud and Maramureş, while for ethyl acetate and furfural the MVP Bistriţa-Năsăud were significantly higher than MVP Cluj and MVP Maramureş. When compared the mean values of volatiles in plum vs apple vs pear brandies, for ethyl acetate, methanol, 2-butanol, 1-propanol and 1-butanol, the MVPe values were significantly higher than MVA, for furfural, amyl active and iso-amylic alcohols, while for acetaldehyde the MVPe values were significantly higher than MVP. Methanol represented the major volatile component, characteristic to fruit brandies, released by enzymatic degradation of methoxylated pectins. Therefore, this molecule can be considered not only a parameter of distillate safety but also an indicator of natural origin of distillate and traditional processing.

Nowadays, the consumers' global demand for healthier diets is steadily increasing, and the development of novel functional ingredients has become a focus of the food industry. On the other hand, the accumulation of huge amounts of food wastes every year has led to environmental degradation and especially to significant loss of valuable material that could otherwise be exploited as new health-promoting ingredients, fuels and a great variety of additives. In this respect, the biggest challenge of the current scientific world is to convert the underutilised by-products generated by the food and beverage industries into more profitable and marketable added value products which would also contribute significantly to meet the nowadays society needs. This chapter gives an overview regarding the possibility of exploiting the brewing industry wastes as sources of bioactive compounds in order to produce functional ingredients and products with added value.

Chromium (Cr) is a toxic heavy metal that contaminates soil and water resources after its discharge from different industries. A pot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of single and/or combined application of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) (250 μM) and sodium hydrogen sulfide (NaHS) (1 mM) on growth, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange characteristics, oxidative stress biomarkers, antioxidant machinery (enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants), ion uptake, organic acid exudation, and Cr uptake of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) exposed to severe Cr stress [Cr: 0 (no Cr), 150, and 300 μM]. Our results depicted that Cr addition to the soil significantly (P < 0.05) decreased plant growth and biomass, gas exchange attributes, and mineral uptake by S. oleracea when compared to the plants grown without the addition of Cr. However, Cr toxicity boosted the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by increasing the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), which is the indication of oxidative stress in S. oleracea, and was also manifested by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content and electrolyte leakage to the membrane-bound organelles. The results showed that the activities of various antioxidative enzymes, such as superoxidase dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and the content of non-enzymatic antioxidants, such as phenolic, flavonoid, ascorbic acid, and anthocyanin, initially increased with an increase in the Cr concentration in the soil. The results also revealed that the levels of soluble sugar, reducing sugar, and non-reducing sugar were decreased in plants grown under elevating Cr levels, but the accumulation of the metal in the roots and shoots of S. oleracea, was found to be increased, and the values of bioaccumulation factor were <1 in all the Cr treatments. The negative impacts of Cr injury were reduced by the application of SNP and NaHS (individually or combined), which increased plant growth and biomass, improved photosynthetic apparatus, antioxidant enzymes, and mineral uptake, as well as diminished the exudation of organic acids and oxidative stress indicators in roots of S. oleracea by decreasing Cr toxicity. Here, we conclude that the application of SNP and NaHS under the exposure to Cr stress significantly improved plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, and gas exchange characteristics; regulated antioxidant defense system and essential nutrient uptake; and balanced organic acid exudation pattern in S. oleracea.