The rapid growth of the human population has significantly increased the demand for food, leading to the intensification of agricultural practices that negatively impact the environment. Climate change poses a significant threat to global food production, as it can disrupt crop yields and modify the lifecycle stages of phytopathogens and pests. To address these challenges, the use of microbial inoculants, which are bioproducts containing beneficial microorganisms known as plant growth promotion microorganisms (PGPMs), has emerged as an innovative approach in sustainable agriculture. This review covers the isolation and identification of beneficial strains, the screening and selection process, the optimization of production techniques, and the importance of quality control and field testing. It also discusses the key points for the development and formulation of high-quality microbial inoculants, as well as highlights their advancements, current challenges, and future directions for research and application.

In recent years, the adoption of sustainable pest management strategies has increased interest in the utilization of biopesticides, with a focus on harnessing beneficial microorganisms. Among these, lipopeptides, such as surfactins, iturins, and fengycins produced by the genus Bacillus, have gained significant attention due to their multifaceted biocontrol mechanisms and wide-ranging inhibitory effects. This review aims to address the regulation, biosynthesis, and production of three main lipopeptide families secreted by the genus Bacillus, as well as the identification and quantification analysis used to date, through the omic tools approach. The three families have been identified as key contributors to the biocontrol abilities of these bacteria, with their broad-spectrum activity making them valuable tools in integrated pest management approaches that aim to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides use while maintaining crop health and productivity.

Plum edible part was used to obtained extracts by during a 4 h maceration process using three different solvents (ethanol, methanol and water) for the determination of total phenols and flavonoids, antioxidant capacity by (2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hemolysis inhibition in human blood assays. Subsequently, phenolic compounds were identified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC-MS). The results indicated that the ethanolic extract of plum fruit being a good source of phenolic (12–18 mg GAE/g FW) and flavonoids (2.3–2.5 mg QE/g FW) content in both varieties of plum. Also, the fruits proved a good source of antioxidants as measured by DPPH and ABTS; likewise, plum aqueous extracts showed the highest protective effect on human erythrocytes with 74.34 and 64.62% for yellow and red plum, respectively. A total of 23 bioactive compounds were identified by UPLC-MS, including gallic acid, rutin, resorcinol, chlorogenic acid, catechin, and ellagic acid, and the antioxidant capacity can be attributed to these species. The edible part of plum contains compounds of biological interest, suggesting that this fruit has antioxidant potential that can be exploited for various technologies.

This study describes the preparation and characterization of eggplant peel extract-loaded electrospun gelatin nanofiber and study of its in vitro release. Results obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) micrograph revealed that eggplant peel extract-loaded electrospun gelatin nanofiber is in nanometric range with an average diameter 606.7 ± 184.5 and 643.6 ± 186.7 nm for 20 and 33.3 mg mL⁻¹ of extract addition, respectively. Moreover, the incorporation of extract improved morphology by being smooth, homogeneous, and without account formation compared to nanofibers without extract (control). Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectra indicated that interaction exists between electrospun gelatin nanofiber and eggplant peel extract by hydrogen bond interactions, mainly. Electrospun gelatin nanofibers showed encapsulation efficiency greater than 90% of extract and a maximum release of 95 and 80% for the medium at pH 1.5 and 7.5, respectively. Therefore, the electrospinning technique is a good alternative for the conservation of bioactive compounds present in the eggplant peel through electrospun gelatin nanofiber.

The market trend for pitaya is increasing, although the preservation of the quality of this fruit after the harvest is challenging due to microbial decay, dehydration, and oxidation. In this work, the application of antimicrobial chitosan-based coatings achieved successful postharvest preservation of pitaya (Stenocereus pruinosus) during storage at 10 ± 2 °C with a relative humidity of 80 ± 5%. The solution of cross-linked chitosan with hydroxypropylmethylcellulose with entrapped Neem oil (16 g·L⁻¹) displayed the best postharvest fruit characteristics. The reduction of physiological weight loss and fungal contamination, with an increased redness index and release of azadirachtin from the microencapsulated oil, resulted in up to a 15 day shelf life for this fruit. This postharvest procedure has the potential to increase commercial exploitation of fresh pitaya, owing to its good taste and high content of antioxidants.

Papaya seeds (Carica papaya L.), a by-product of the food industry, contain primary metabolites and offer secondary health benefits, but are often considered a waste with no value. Therefore, the aim of this research was to optimize the extraction process of polyphenols from papaya seeds (Carica papaya L.) to maximize their antioxidant activity using the response surface methodology (RSM). A design of experiment (DOE) approach was applied to produce the optimum conditions of factors such as solvent concentration (0–100%), temperature (30–60 °C), time (1–6 h), and exhaustion (1–6 times) to improve the extraction process. The response variables were the number of phenols and flavonoids, and the inhibition capacity of the DPPH and ABTS radicals. The main findings indicated that optimal conditions—100% solvent concentration, a temperature of 30 °C, an extraction time of 6 h, and 6 depletion cycles—maximized the yield of total polyphenols, total flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity, as evaluated using ABTS and DPPH assays. The extracts presented values of 2.521 to 6.168 mg AGE/g DW for total polyphenols and 30.830 to 68.599 mg QE/g DW for total flavonoids. Likewise, they presented an antioxidant capacity using DPPH and ABTS methods with values of around 15.151 to 72.389 and 29.434 to 165.393 μM TE/g DW, respectively. Identification was also performed using liquid chromatography to determine the presence of sugars (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) and organic acids (oxalic, citric, tartaric, malic, quinic, and succinic). However, optimal values were presented outside the study area, which indicates the maximum point of the surface was at intervals higher than those studied in this investigation. The papaya seed can be applied in future research for the optimization of bioactive compounds extracted from vegetable waste and it represents a matrix with potential in the area of technological development and health.