Currently, emerging alimentary alternatives are growing, leading to the consumption of natural products including bio, fermented, and traditional foods. The studies over functional properties of food matrices and their derived compounds have resulted in the development of new functional alimentary items. However, most of the population still has limited access to, and information about, suitable foods. Analyzing traditional fermented products, we found fermented food matrices containing beneficial bacteria, with the possibility of exerting effects on different substrates enhancing the bioavailability of short-chain fatty acids (SFCAs), antioxidants, among other food-derived products. Maize (Zea mays L.), agave varieties, nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica), and beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were key foods for the agricultural and nutritional development of Mesoamerica. We believe that the traditional Mexican diet has relevant ingredients with these functionalities and their association will allow us to develop functional food suitable for each population and their current needs. In this review, the functional properties of maize, agave, nopal, and frijol are detailed, and the functional food innovation and development opportunities for these food matrices are analyzed, which may be an important precedent for future basic and applied research.

Sustainable agricultural practices are essential for eradicating global hunger, especially in light of the growing world population. Utilizing natural antagonists, such as fungi and bacteria, to combat plant diseases, rather than relying solely on synthetic chemical pesticides, which pose significant risks to the environment and human health, is known as biocontrol. Microbial biological control agents (MBCAs) have proven effective against phytopathogens and are increasingly embraced in agricultural practices. MBCAs possess several beneficial traits, including antagonistic potential, rhizosphere competence, and the ability to produce lytic enzymes, antibiotics, and toxins. These biocontrol mechanisms directly target soil-borne pathogens or indirectly stimulate a plant-mediated resistance response. The effectiveness of MBCAs in managing plant diseases depends on various mechanisms, such as hyperparasitism, antibiosis, competition for nutrients or space, disruption of quorum-sensing signals, production of siderophores, generation of cell wall-degrading enzymes, and the induction and priming of plant resistance. Formulating effective biopesticides requires optimal conditions, including selecting effective strains, considering biosafety, appropriate storage methods, and ensuring a prolonged shelf life. Therefore, formulation is crucial in developing pesticide products, particularly concerning efficacy and production costs. However, several challenges must be addressed to ensure the successful application of biological control, including the shelf life of biopesticides, slower efficacy in pest management, inadequate awareness and understanding of biocontrol methods, regulatory registration for commercialization, and suitable agricultural applications. This review clarifies the principles of plant disease biocontrol, highlighting the mechanisms of action and functionality of MBCAs in biocontrol activities, the formulation of biopesticides derived from microorganisms, and the challenges and barriers associated with the development, registration, commercialization, and application of biopesticides.

Cereals have been a foundational component of human diets across different continents, with rice dominating in Asia, sorghum in Africa, wheat in Europe, and maize in America. Mexico, more accurately Mesoamerica, is recognized as the origin of maize (including pigmented maize), with its first ancestor traced back to Tehuacán, Puebla, Mexico. Pigmented maize owes its vibrant colors due to its anthocyanin (i.e., cyanidin-3-glucoside) contents, which contribute to the red, purple, or blue coloration and offer notable health benefits. The antioxidant properties of maize are crucial, given the role of oxidative stress in various diseases, and present a valuable resource for functional foods and nutraceuticals. Emerging studies underscore the prebiotic potential of anthocyanins, showing their ability to modulate gut microbiota positively. This review aims to explore the potential of pigmented maize in traditional Mexican beverage (such as pozol and tejuino) production, emphasizing the bioactive compounds (mainly anthocyanins) present and their health benefits while also considering new opportunities in the functional food industry.

Feathers are the most prevalent agricultural waste generated by chicken farms, polluting the environment and wasting protein resources as a result of the accumulation of large amounts of feathers. Therefore, keratinase-producing microorganisms represent a promising potential technique for the degradation of feather waste. Streptomyces netropsis A-ICA and Bacillus subtilis ALICA, previously isolated from the rhizosphere of desert plants (Larrea tridentata and Prosopis juliflora) respectively, were assessed for their feather-degradation ability. Keratinase activity was optimized using various parameters, including incubation time, pH, temperature, and feather concentration. The maximum keratinase activity of S. netropsis A-ICA and B. subtilis ALICA (113.6 ± 5.1 and 135.6 ± 4.1 U/mL) was obtained at the 5th and 3rd day of incubation with initial pH of 7.0 and 7.5 at 25 and 30 °C, and 1% (w/v) of chicken feather, respectively. Under the optimized conditions, the concentration of soluble protein in the feather hydrolysate reached 423.3 ± 25 and 565.3 ± 7.7 µg/mL, with feathers weight loss of 84 ± 2 and 86± 1.5% by S. netropsis A-ICA and B. subtilis ALICA, respectively. The highest disulphide bond reductase activity reached 10.7 ± 0.4 and 10.96 ± 1.1 U/mL, after five and three days of inoculation with S. netropsis A-ICA and B. subtilis ALICA, respectively. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of feather protein hydrolysate obtained by S. netropsis A-ICA and B. subtilis ALICA was evaluated using DPPH radical-scavenging activity, which exhibited a significant antioxidant potential with an IC₅₀ value of 0.8 and 0.6 mg/mL. The 3D models of detected keratinases in both strains showed high similarity with subtilisin family. Further, the docking results clarified the importance of GSG and VVVFTP domains in B. subtilis and beta-keratin, respectively. The present study revealed the keratinolytic potential of S. netropsis A-ICA and B. subtilis ALICA in chicken feather degradation, which have potential application value and may be exploited as supplementary protein and antioxidant in animal feed formulations.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have gathered interest because of their unique characteristics and potential applications. In the current work, ZnO NPs underwent an eco-friendly biosynthesis process using garlic peel extract. The biosynthesized ZnO NPs were characterized using different analyses including Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The produced ZnO NPs exhibited a UV–vis spectrum absorption peak at 365 nm, thus indicating the formation of ZnO NPs. The SEM showed that the biosynthesized ZnO NPs had an irregular surface morphological shape with an average size of 17 nm, according to the DLS analysis. Based on the FTIR findings, the bioactive functional groups responsible for stabilizing and capping the ZnO-NPs were confirmed. The biosynthesized ZnO NPs exhibited 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity and antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive (Bacillus cereus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Klebsiella pneumonia). Therefore, the plant-mediated biosynthesized ZnNPs can be considered a promising candidate as an antioxidant and antimicrobial agent against pathogenic microbes found in different areas such as food safety and agriculture. Through the utilization of bioinformatics, we identified six potential targets for drug development in K. pneumonia and B. cereus, along with their corresponding interacting residues with zinc oxide nanoparticles. Additionally, our research revealed that the zinc oxide nanoparticles exhibited binding capabilities with the sulfiredoxin domain located at the specific targets of K. pneumonia, a crucial mechanism responsible for the repair of bacterial cells under oxidative stress.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate and compare the phenolic content (total phenols and flavonoids) and the antioxidant capacity of seventeen craft beers produced in Mexico. The results showed a considerable amount of content of total phenols and flavonoids in the styles Coffee Stout Imperial (362 mg GAE/L and 75 mg QE/L) and Stout Ale (299 mg GAE/L and 40.92 mg QE/L), followed by American Brown Ale (271 mg GAE/L and 27.35 mg QE/L), Brown Ale (211 mg GAE/L and 24.20 mg QE/L), and Dark (328 mg GAE/L and 20.94 mg QE/L). In contrast, the American Wheat Ale (65 mg GAE/L and 2.91 mg QE/L), Lager (102 mg GAE/L and 3.56 mg QE/L), and IPA (103.73 mg GAE/L and 3.75 mg QE/L) showed the lowest content of phenols and flavonoids. The antioxidant capacity is detected in all the beers evaluated, mainly in the Coffee Stout Imperial style beer (80%). In this study, different contents of total carbohydrates were observed according to the type of beer, with Coffee Stout Imperial, American Brown Ale, and Brown being the ones that presented the highest content of carbohydrates (24.25, 15.55, and 15.36 g/L, respectively) followed by the type of Pilsner beer. (13.60g/L). Finally, our study showed that the different styles of beers in Mexico presented different contents of polyphenols (phenols and flavonoids), antioxidant capacity, and carbohydrates. However, the Coffee Stout Imperial style beer showed the highest values ​​of the aforementioned parameters. Future studies should be carried out in the evaluation of the biological activity of the different styles of beers on nutritional parameters in the Mexican population. El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar y comparar el contenido fenólico (fenoles y flavonoides totales) y la capacidad antioxidante de diecisiete cervezas artesanales producidas en México. Los resultados mostraron una cantidad considerable de contenido de fenoles totales y flavonoides en los estilos Coffee Stout Imperial (362 mg GAE/L y 75 mg QE/L) y Stout Ale (299 mg GAE/L y 40,92 mg QE/L), seguidos por American Brown Ale (271 mg GAE/L y 27,35 mg QE/L), Brown Ale (211 mg GAE/L y 24,20 mg QE/L) y Dark (328 mg GAE/L y 20,94 mg QE/L). En contraste, la American Wheat Ale (65 mg GAE/L y 2,91 mg QE/L), Lager (102 mg GAE/L y 3,56 mg QE/L) e IPA (103,73 mg GAE/L y 3,75 mg QE/L) mostraron el menor contenido. La capacidad antioxidante se detectó en todas las cervezas evaluadas, principalmente en la de estilo Coffee Stout Imperial (80 %). En este estudio se observaron diferentes contenidos de carbohidratos totales según el tipo de cerveza, donde las Coffee Stout Imperial, American Brown Ale y Brown fueron las que presentaron el mayor contenido de carbohidratos (24,25, 15,55 y 15,36 g/L, respectivamente), seguidas del tipo Pilsner. (13,60g/L). Finalmente, nuestro estudio mostró que los diferentes estilos de cervezas en México presentaron diferentes contenidos de polifenoles (fenoles y flavonoides), capacidad antioxidante y carbohidratos. No obstante, las cervezas estilo Coffee Stout Imperial mostraron tener los mayores valores de los parámetros antes mencionados. Futuros estudios deben ser realizados en la evaluación de la actividad biológica de los diferentes estilos de cervezas sobre parámetros de nutrición en la población mexicana.