Antibiotic residue in chicken is a human health concern due to its harmful effects on consumer health. This study aims at screening the antibiotic residues from 80 chicken samples collected from farms located in different regions of Lebanon. An optimized multi-class method for identification and quantification of 30 antibiotics from four different chemical classes (sulfonamides, tetracyclines, quinolones, and beta-lactams) has been developed by using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. The evaluation of antibiotics residues in 80 chicken muscles samples has shown that 77.5% of samples were at least contaminated with antibiotics residues, out of which 53.75% were exposed to co-occurrence of multidrug residues. The screening of the four antibiotics families has shown that ciprofloxacin (quinolones) represents the highest occurrence percentage (32.5%), followed by amoxicillin (β-lactams) (22.5%) and then tetracyclines (17.5%). Means of sarafloxacin, amoxicillin, and penicillin G residues levels were above the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) recommended limit according to the European Union EC. This study revealed that chicken samples collected from Lebanese farms contain antibiotic residues. Guidelines for prudent use of antimicrobials agents for chicken should be adopted to reduce the prevalence of resistant Salmonella in chicken.

The valorization of industrial food byproducts by means of environment-friendly extraction methods is becoming a major interest because of its environmental and economic values. In this study, the efficiency of many technologies, such as ultrasounds (US), microwaves (MW), and infrared (IR), was compared, in terms of polyphenol yield and bioactivity from apricot pomace. IR was the most effective method with the highest polyphenol (10 mg GAE/g DM), flavonoid (6 mg CE/g DM), and tannin (3.6 mg/L) yields. In terms of efficacy, IR was followed by MW, US, then solid-liquid (S/L) extraction. IR extract from apricot pomace exhibited the highest inhibitory activity against all the studied gram-positive strains (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Staphylococcus epidermidis) and a one gram-negative strain (Escherichia coli). Moreover, IR extracts had by far the highest antiradical activity (AC) (40%) followed by MW (31%), US (28%), and then S/L (15%). High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) permitted the identification and quantification of rutin in all extracts; whereas catechin was detected in those of IR (3.1 μg/g DM), MW (2.1 μg/g DM), and US (1.5 μg/g DM). Epicatechin was exclusively found in IR extract (4 μg/g DM), suggesting the selectivity of IR towards this compound. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the IR technique induced the highest cellular and structural damage in apricot pomace, which could explain the effectiveness of this technology.

Occupational exposures and current diet are both sources of environmental contaminants that can be transferred in the mother’s body. These chemicals can definitely penetrate to the developing foetus and the nursing infant from contaminated breast milk during the lactation period. Nowadays, one of the special interests is the exposure of new-borns to toxic chemicals such as pesticides and antibiotics reported in human milk due to their potential harms, especially developmental deficits in early childhood. The aim of our current study was to assess the occurrence of pesticide residues and antibiotic residues contamination in breast milk collected from Syrian refugee lactating mothers residing in North Lebanon Camps. A total of 120 breast milk samples (40 in triplicate) were collected from camps in Akkar, North Lebanon using an electrical pump. A survey was administrated to determine socio-demographic characteristics, dietary and smoking habits and medical history of participating lactating mothers. The milk samples were analysed for the presence of antibiotic residues and pesticide residues using liquid and gas chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) and Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). This study reported the absence of antibiotic residues in 96.66% of our samples (n = 120) and the presence of pesticides residues in only 5% of our total breast milk sample. Our results considered the breast milk collected from Syrian refugee lactating mothers as safe from chemical contamination. It is worth conducting more studies on other Syrian refugee camps to test the effect of camp living conditions on breast milk safety.

Background and Aim: Transfer of antibiotics from raw milk to derived products is directly related to the processes involved in the manufacturing of dairy products, including East Mediterranean cheeses, since these have particular flow diagrams of production. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of skimming, pasteurization, curding, pressing, salting, cheese boiling, and whey acidification/heating on two widely used antibiotics in Lebanon, oxytetracycline (OTC) and tylosin (TYL), in the manufacture of commonly consumed cheeses in the East Mediterranean. Materials and Methods: Four hundred and fifty kilograms of full-fat bovine milk were spiked with OTC and TYL, then skimmed and pasteurized using holder and high-temperature short-time (HTST) methods. Milk was then processed to make cheeses (23 kg Baladi, 20 kg Akkawi, 20 kg Halloum, and 18 kg Double Cream). Liquid chromatography–mass-spectrometry was used to measure antibiotics. Analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences v25. Results: Skimming significantly (p=0.015) decreased TYL concentration by 68.6%. OTC degradation during holder (41- 54%) proved to be significant (p=0.015). HTST had a significant (p=0.012) effect on TYL with 32% degradation. Curding step in making Baladi had a significant (p=0.028) effect on OTC only with the concentration increasing by 1.5-fold. Acidification and heating of whey to produce Double Cream decreased significantly (p=0.037) OTC concentration (14.7- 46.3%), while TYL concentration increased significantly (p=0.000) by 300%. Pressing and salting in making Akkawi did not have any significant effect, while cheese boiling in making Halloum significantly decreased both antibiotics. Conclusion: OTC is transferred to Baladi and Akkawi (curd based) mainly, while double cream (whey based) has a high level of TYL transfer. Hence, people who consume these cheeses excessively could be exposed to high amounts of both antibiotics and thus be prone to their detrimental effect on health.

(1) Background: Cumin seeds, extracted from the plant Cuminum cyminum, are abundant in phenolic compounds and have been extensively researched for their chemical makeup and biological effects. The objective of this research is to enhance the water extraction of polyphenols through the water bath (WB) technique and to evaluate the antiradical, antibacterial, and anticancer effects of the extract. (2) Methods: Response Surface Methodology was used to find the best parameters to extract polyphenols. Three experimental parameters, time, temperature, and solid-liquid ratio, were tested. The disc diffusion method has been used to determine the antimicrobial activities against Salmonella Typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. The antiradical activity was performed using the DPPH method, while total phenolic content was performed using Folin–Ciocalteu. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was conducted to analyze the phytochemical profile of WB extracts. The anticancer activity of the lyophilized extract was assessed against three cancer cell lines (colon (HT29), lung (A549), and breast (MCF7) cancer cell lines).; (3) Results: The optimal conditions for water extraction were 130 min at 72 °C. The total phenolic compounds yield (14.7 mg GAE/g DM) and antioxidant activity (0.52 mg trolox eq./mL) were obtained using a 1:40 solid–liquid ratio. The primary polyphenols identified were the flavonoids rutin (0.1 ppm) and ellagic acid (3.78 ppm). The extract had no antibacterial or antifungal activities against the microorganisms tested. The extract showed anticancer activity of about 98% against MCF7 (breast cancer cell line), about 81% against HT29 (colon cancer cell line), and 85% against A549 (lung cancer cell line) at high doses. (4) Conclusions: Extraction time and a high solid–liquid ratio had a positive impact on polyphenol recovery and in maintaining their quantity and quality. Furthermore, the optimal aqueous extract exhibited strong antiradical activity reflected by the inhibition of free radicals in addition to a significant specificity against the tested cancer cell lines.