Fresh-cut potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) are a popular food owing to their freshness, convenience, and health benefits. However, they might present a potentially high health risk to consumers during transportation, processing, and marketing. In the current study, 18 essential oils (EOs) were screened to test their antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes (LM), Salmonella typhimurium (ST), Staphylococcus aureus (SA), and Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EC O157:H7). The antibacterial effectiveness of a chitosan edible coating (EC) containing cinnamon oil was evaluated against microorganisms on fresh-cut potatoes. Fresh-cut potatoes were treated with chitosan EC and chitosan EC containing different concentrations (0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6%, v/v) of cinnamon oil, and uncoated samples served as the control. The viability of naturally occurring microorganisms and artificially inoculated LM on fresh-cut potatoes was evaluated, as were the colour, weight loss, and firmness of potatoes, every 4 days for a total of 16 days at 4 °C. The results demonstrate that the inhibition zones of cinnamon, oregano, and pomelo oils were 16.33–30.47 mm, 22.01–31.31 mm, and 21.75–35.18 mm, respectively. The cinnamon oil exhibits the lowest MIC (0.313 μL/mL) for four foodborne pathogens compared with oregano and pomelo oils. The chitosan EC containing 0.2% cinnamon oil effectively maintains the quality of fresh-cut potatoes including inhibiting the browning, preventing the weight loss, and maintaining the firmness. The decline of total plate counts, yeast and mould counts, total coliform counts, lactic acid bacteria count, and Listeria monocytogenes in EC containing 0.2% cinnamon oil were 2.14, 1.92, 0.98, 0.73, and 1.94 log cfu/g, respectively. Therefore, the use of chitosan EC containing cinnamon oil might be a promising approach for the preservation of fresh-cut potatoes.

Lactate accumulation and macrophage infiltration are pivotal features of both chronic inflammation and cancer. Lactate, once regarded merely as an aftereffect of glucose metabolism, is now gaining recognition for its burgeoning spectrum of biological roles and immunomodulatory significance. Recent studies have evidenced that macrophages display divergent immunophenotypes in different diseases, which play a pivotal role in disease management by modulating macrophage polarization within the disease microenvironment. The specific polarization patterns of macrophages in a high-lactate environment and their contribution to the progression of chronic inflammation and cancer remain contentious. This review presents current evidence on the crosstalk of lactate and macrophage in chronic inflammation and cancer. Additionally, we provide an in-depth exploration of the pivotal yet enigmatic mechanisms through which lactate orchestrates disease pathogenesis, thereby offering novel perspectives to the development of targeted therapeutic interventions for chronic inflammation and cancer.

The growing demand for fresh-cut products has led to an increasing interest in the study of enhancing the quality of ready-to-eat products. Eggplants are consumed as fresh-cut vegetables, which represent an increasing consumption rate. To extend the shelf life of the product, combination treatments have been proposed to inhibit the browning index (BI). Moreover, the storage temperature (4, 16, 25 °C), the concentration of ascorbic acid (AA) (1, 2, 3, and 4 g/L), and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) (MAP-1, O₂: 80 Kpa + CO₂: 0 Kpa; MAP-2, O₂: 5 Kpa + CO₂: 15 Kpa; MAP-3, O₂: 10 Kpa + CO₂: 10 Kpa; MAP-4, O₂: 15 Kpa + CO₂: 5 Kpa; MAP-5, O₂: 0 Kpa + CO₂: 80 Kpa) are screened through the BI of fresh-cut eggplant. Then, the effect of AA combined with MAP on the BI, phenolic content, and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) of fresh-cut eggplants is investigated over four days. In particular, two different areas of fresh-cut eggplant with seed and without seed were chosen to measure the BI. The result shows that the proper temperature (16 °C) maintains the BI of fresh-cut eggplant with seed during two days through screening. The screening of AA demonstrates that AA of 2 g/L is the better concentration to protect the color of fresh-cut eggplant with seed and without seed. AA of 2 g/L shows lower BI for fresh-cut eggplant with seed and without seed in MAP-2, MAP-3, MAP-4. The combination of AA (2 g/L) and MAP-2 significantly inhibited the browning of fresh-cut eggplants with seed. The application of AA (2 g/L) combined with MAP-2 inhibits the PPO and total phenol content activity over two and three days. Taken together, using AA combined with MAP may constitute a potential approach for maintaining the quality and inhibiting the browning of fresh-cut eggplants.