Application of Paramecium caudatum for the assessment of energy costs for food raw materials and products digestibility

Abstract

An analysis of the information contained in the scientific and technical literature shows the potential for the application of Paramecium caudatum culture to the first stage of pre-clinical evaluation of new sources of biologically active substances, functional ingredients and food products. The purpose of the work is to investigate the possibility of estimating the energy costs for digestibility of amaranth flour in a model experiment using Paramecium caudatum ciliates. The objects of the study were two samples of amaranth flour–from native amaranth grain of the Voronezh variety and from grain subjected to preliminary heat treatment (IR heating to a temperature of 100–150 °C for 30-50 sec). Experimental data have been obtained confirming the possibility of using test organism data in the pre-clinical evaluation of food and products: the control of the population size of Paramecium caudatum provides initial data for calculating such important indicators as biotic potential and standardized relative biological value, allowing for an indirect assessment of the energy costs of digesting a prototype (food raw materials or product) in comparison with the reference object. A comprehensive analysis of the experimental data obtained also leads to the conclusion that living systems can function with the use of the test samples. It has been established that the scope of the Paramecium caudatum test object in the preclinical evaluation of food raw materials and products can be expanded in the direction of estimating the energy costs of digesting food raw materials or products.

One Health Probiotics as Biocontrol Agents: One Health Tomato Probiotics

“…It is also possible to “regulate” probiotic antagonistic activities through the use of different technologies [ 62 ]. In food technologies that use tomatoes or their processed products, it is advisable to use plant-specific probiotic strains that have previously been assessed for efficacy and safety in model food systems, as well as in adequate biological test systems [ 109 , 110 ]. Unlike the potential negative effects of antibiotic use [ 111 ], the use of probiotics in healthcare [ 112 ], as well as in food production, is effective in combating pathogens and has no negative consequences [ 113 , 114 , 115 ].…”