Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome of Coronavirus-2 (Sars-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the new Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) responsible for the current pandemic that threatens global health. Although some anti-COVID-19 therapeutic agents are under investigation, there is still no evidence of antiviral action against Sars-CoV-2. Research in the literature describes the success of probiotics in the treatment of viral infections from their byproducts, known as postbiotics, such as exopolysaccharides, hydrogen peroxide, and different bacteriocins. Based on these reports, we describe the main postbiotics that present antiviral actions against different viruses with a view to suggesting their use as possible therapeutic agents for COVID-19. The revised data show promising effects for using postbiotics as efficient vehicles against various types of viruses. However, further investigation of the underlying mechanisms is required for their indication against Sars-CoV-2 and other Sars-CoV infections.

One of the biggest challenges in the food industry is the incorporation of probiotics into food products while maintaining their properties, both in the processing phases and in the gastrointestinal tract. The production of this type of functional food, which has been used to prevent and/or help in the treatment of some diseases, needs improvements at the technological and economic levels. This review provides a comprehensive view of the main techniques used to encapsulate probiotic yeasts and analyzes the main variables involved in the industrial process. A systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out, considering the most current technical recommendations for this type of study, as well as the standardized criteria for the eligibility of articles. From a total of 1269 initial articles, only 14 complete articles, published in high-impact journals over the years 2013 to 2019 and focused on in vitro assays with probiotic yeasts, were considered in the analysis performed. In general, microencapsulation was efficient in maintaining yeast survival after gastrointestinal tests, viability studies, and thermal resistance in distilled water and food. Many variables can affect microencapsulation, but they are not always described or properly elucidated, leading to the conclusion that better delineated research is needed. Examples of these challenges include selecting appropriate encapsulating materials, optimizing encapsulation techniques, and ensuring the stability and viability of probiotics during processing and storage. Due to these challenges, the industrial application of probiotic microencapsulation is not yet well established; however, it holds promising potential.

In Brazil, dairy production is the second most important segment of the food industry, due to its nutritional and sensory characteristics. Lactic cultures are used in production technology to accentuate the flavor, aroma, texture, and acidity of dairy products that make them more acceptable to consumers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the technological potential of species of the genus Enterococcus and strains of S. infantarius subsp. infantarius isolated from artisanal Coalho cheese from Paraíba, Brazil, to select them for the manufacture of fermented dairy products. The acidifying capacity, proteolytic activity, aroma production, β-Galactosidase activity, tolerance to sodium chloride, and antagonistic activity against different pathogens were evaluated. Of the strains analyzed, 26.67% were considered fast acidifiers, 33.33% were able to produce proteolytic enzymes, 26.67% showed β-galactosidase enzymatic activity and 33.33% were tolerant to sodium chloride. The pathogens are inhibited by 40.00% of the lactic acid bacteria (BAL) tested. The strains of Enterococcus showed higher values than the strains of S. infantarius subsp. infantarius, in particular the E. faecium KT990027 strain. Thus, we can conclude that E. faecium KT990027 can be used as a starter culture, as it presented the best general technological characteristics applicable to this type of culture. These results confirm that the artisanal Coalho cheese from Paraíba has BAL that can be used in the dairy industry.

In recent years, obtaining protein hydrolysates and peptides from food proteins has been widely studied in order to better understand not only their nutritional and functional properties, but also the possibility of their use as ingredients in functional foods. It is known that many dietary proteins have, in their primary structure, peptide sequences that, when released, can be absorbed by enterocytes and modulate specific physiological functions, in addition to providing essential amino acids and contributing to energy metabolism. Therefore, this review aims to carry out a systematic review to assess the effectiveness of these bioactive compounds in controlling blood pressure in rats. In addition, the methodological quality of the published articles was evaluated. Searches in Scopus, ScienceDirect, ISI Web of Science and PubMed databases were focused on studies on the use of hydrolysates and peptides obtained from the enzymatic hydrolysis of various chicken tissues in rats. It was possible to verify that the positive antihypertensive effects were mainly dependent on the enzymatic conditions and enzymatic hydrolysis and the monitoring of vital organ functions is essential for the regulation of blood pressure. Due to their effectiveness and low cost, chicken protein hydrolysates could be an interesting alternative for biotechnology applications. Administration of hydrolysates and peptides derived from chicken proteins to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) exhibit potential antihypertensive activity with likely cardiac protective effects against target organ damage.

Introdução: A imunoterapia com células T-CAR tem sido utilizada como um método alternativo de tratamento da Leucemia Linfóide Aguda (LLA). A LLA é uma patologia na qual há o aumento exacerbado de células jovens imaturas, visto que seus precursores celulares mais afetados são as células T e, na maioria das vezes, células B. O objetivo deste artigo foi explanar sobre a técnica de imunoterapia com células T-CAR, assim como o seu funcionamento. Metodologia: Trata-se de uma revisão bibliográfica de abordagem qualitativa do tipo exploratória, dos quais, foram realizadas buscas nas principais bases eletrônicas nacionais e internacionais: Pubmed, Eletronic Library On-line (SCIELO) Biblioteca virtual de saúde (Bvs), Cell, Science, Nature e Scholar Google no período de 2007 a 2018. Resultados: A LLA é uma patologia que acomete a produção de células sanguíneas como eritrócitos, megacariócitos e granulócitos, isso se deve devido à propagação elevada de blastos na medula óssea. Esta doença tem como tratamento convencional principalmente a quimioterapia e a radioterapia, como também o transplante de células tronco, entretanto esses métodos podem vir a causar diversas complicações ao paciente. A terapia com células T-CAR tem como alvo a destruição de células B do indivíduo, através do reconhecimento de antígenos específicos dessas células (CD19). Conclusão: O tratamento com as células T-CAR demonstra efeitos adversos de baixa gravidade comparado às terapias convencionais (quimioterapia e radioterapia). Portanto, essa imunoterapia pode favorecer no futuro um elevado número de pacientes no combate não apenas a LLA, mas também a diversas outras doenças.

Introdução: A doença de Alzheimer (DA) é uma patologia neurodegenerativa progressiva e irreversível que acarreta perda de memória e diversos distúrbios cognitivos, como o comprometimento da memória, dificuldade de linguagem e mudanças comportamentais. Essa patologia aparece com maior prevalência em indivíduos com idade mais avançada (+65 anos). Em razão das características da DA e de seus diversos métodos complementares para diagnóstico, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a Espectroscopia de Prótons por Ressonância Magnética para diagnóstico desta patologia. Metodologia: Este trabalho refere-se a uma pesquisa bibliográfica de abordagem qualitativa do tipo exploratória. No qual, foram realizadas buscas em bases nacionais e internacionais, Medline, Scientific Eletronic Library On-line (SCIELO), Scholar Google (Google Acadêmico), Pubmed e Biblioteca virtual de saúde (Bvs), considerarando-se elegíveis os estudos nas línguas portuguesa e inglesa. Resultados: A DA atinge principalmente pessoas com mais de 60 anos, aumentando a probabilidade com o envelhecimento dos indivíduos, visto que suas manifestações ocorrem por degradação cognitiva e da memória, configurando, portanto, em uma patologia neurodegenerativa O diagnóstico da DA é preestabelecido junto à exclusão de outras possíveis causas para a demência. Essa exclusão é realizada por meio de exames clínicos, laboratoriais e neuroimagem cerebral. Conclusion: A técnica de neuroimagem por espectroscopia de prótons na ressonância magnética demonstra especificidade na quantificação dos metabólitos de N-acetilaspartato (NAA), Mio-inositol (MI), colina (Cho), Cho e Creatina (Cr) na DA, sendo uma alternativa viável para o estudo in vivo do paciente, uma vez que não representa uma análise invasiva.