Natural pigments and colorants have seen a substantial increase in use over the last few decades due to their eco-friendly and safe properties. Currently, customer preferences for more natural products are driving the substitution of natural pigments for synthetic colorants. Filamentous fungi, particularly ascomycetous fungi (Monascus, Fusarium, Penicillium, and Aspergillus), have been shown to produce secondary metabolites containing a wide variety of pigments, including β-carotene, melanins, azaphilones, quinones, flavins, ankaflavin, monascin, anthraquinone, and naphthoquinone. These pigments produce a variety of colors and tints, including yellow, orange, red, green, purple, brown, and blue. Additionally, these pigments have a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, including immunomodulatory, anticancer, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antiproliferative activities. This review provides an in-depth overview of fungi gathered from diverse sources and lists several probable fungi capable of producing a variety of color hues. The second section discusses how to classify coloring compounds according to their chemical structure, characteristics, biosynthetic processes, application, and present state. Once again, we investigate the possibility of employing fungal polyketide pigments as food coloring, as well as the toxicity and carcinogenicity of particular pigments. This review explores how advanced technologies such as metabolic engineering and nanotechnology can be employed to overcome obstacles associated with the manufacture of mycotoxin-free, food-grade fungal pigments.

Multidrug resistant (MDR) Salmonella are a leading cause of foodborne diseases and serious human health concerns worldwide. In this study we detected MDR Salmonella in broiler chicken along with the resistance genes and class 1 integron gene intl1. A total of 100 samples were collected from broiler farms comprising 50 cloacal swabs, 35 litter and 15 feed samples. Overall prevalence of Salmonella was 35% with the highest detected in cloacal swabs. Among the Salmonella, 30 isolates were confirmed as S. enterica serovar Typhimurium using molecular methods of PCR. Disk diffusion susceptibility test revealed that all the Salmonella were classified as MDR with the highest resistance to tetracycline (97.14%), chloramphenicol (94.28%), ampicillin (82.85%) and streptomycin (77.14%). The most prevalent resistance genotypes were tetA (97.14%), floR (94.28%), bla_TEM-1 (82.85%) and aadA1 (77.14%). In addition, among the MDR Salmonella, 20% were positive for class 1 integron gene (intl1). As far as we know, this is the first study describing the molecular basis of antibiotic resistance in MDR Salmonella from broiler farms in Bangladesh. In addition to tetA, floR, bla_TEM-1, aadA1 and intl1 were also detected in the isolated MDR Salmonella. The detection of MDR Salmonella in broiler chicken carrying intl1 is of serious public health concern because of their zoonotic nature and possibilities to enter into the food chain.

Salmonella is an important zoonotic pathogen responsible for animal and human diseases. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and stereotyping of Salmonella isolates isolated from apparently healthy poultry. Furthermore, the clonal relatedness among the isolated Salmonella serovars was assessed. A total of 150 cloacal swab samples from apparently healthy chickens were collected, and were subjected for the isolation and identification of associated Salmonella organisms. The isolated colonies were identified and characterized on the basis of morphology, cultural characters, biochemical tests, slide agglutination test, polymerase chain reaction, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Antibiotic sensitivity patterns were also investigated using commonly used antibiotics. Of the 150 samples, 11 (7.33%) produced characteristics pink colony with black center on XLD agar medium, and all were culturally and biochemically confirmed to be Salmonella. All possessed serovar-specific gene SpeF and reacted uniformly with group D antisera, suggesting that all of the isolates were Salmonella Enterica serovar Gallinarum, biovar Pullorum and/or Gallinarum. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that 54.54% of the isolated Salmonella Enterica serovars were highly sensitive to ciprofloxacin, whereas the 81.81% isolates were resistant to amoxycillin, doxycycline, kanamycin, gentamycin, and tetracycline. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of the XbaI-digested genomic DNA exhibited identical banding patterns, suggesting that the multidrug resistant Salmonella Enterica serovars occurring in commercial layers are highly clonal in Bangladesh. The present study was conducted to find out the prevalence of poultry Salmonella in layer chicken and to find out the clonal relationship among them. The data in this study suggest the prevalence of Salmonella Enterica, which is multidrug resistant and highly clonal for commercial layers of Bangladesh.

Aim: The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence and molecular detection of fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli carrying qnrA and qnrS genes in healthy broiler chickens in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, and also to identify the genes responsible for such resistance. Materials and Methods: A total of 65 cloacal swabs were collected from apparently healthy chickens of 0-14 days (n=23) and 15-35 days (n=42) old. The samples were cultured onto Eosin Methylene Blue Agar, and the isolation and identification of the E. coli were performed based on morphology, cultural, staining, and biochemical properties followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting E. coli 16S rRNA genes. The isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility test against five commonly used antibiotics under fluoroquinolone (quinolone) group, namely gatifloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, ofloxacin, and pefloxacin by disk diffusion method. Detection of qnrA and qnrS genes was performed by PCR. Results: Among the 65 cloacal samples, 54 (83.08%) were found to be positive for E. coli. Antibiotic sensitivity test revealed that, of these 54 isolates, 18 (33.33%) were found to be resistant to at least one fluoroquinolone antibiotic. The highest resistance was observed against pefloxacin (61.11%). By PCR, of 18 E. coli resistant to fluoroquinolone, 13 (72.22%) were found to be positive for the presence of qnrS. None of the isolates were found positive for qnrA. Conclusion: Fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli harboring qnrS genes is highly prevalent in apparently healthy broiler chickens and possesses a potential threat to human health.

Staphylococcus aureus is a well-known foodborne pathogen. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of S. aureus isolated from serving utensils in food processing environments in Mymensingh city, Bangladesh and to determine their antibiogram and resistance determinants. A total of 120 environmental samples were collected from different food settings. Isolation and identification were conducted using conventional biochemical tests. Molecular identification of isolates and detection of methicillin and vancomycin resistance were done using primer-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting Tuf, nuc, mecA, and mecC genes. Antibiotic sensitivity tests were performed, and resistance genes were also detected by amplifying bla_TEM, vanA, vanB, and vanC genes. Among the 120 samples, 81 (67.5%) were positive for Staphylococcus spp. and 41 (50.62%) were positive for the nuc-gene. Among the 41 isolates, 5 (12.20%) were positive for mecA, but none were positive for the mecC gene. A total of 12.2% of the isolates were vanC-positive, of which 4 isolates (9.76%) were also positive for the mecA gene. Antibiotic sensitivity testing revealed that all S. aureus isolates (100%) from hotel samples were sensitive to ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol, 90.32% were sensitive to doxycycline, and 80.65% were sensitive to streptomycin. Conversely, all isolates (100%) were resistant to ampicillin, and 29.03% were resistant to vancomycin. All S. aureus isolates obtained from non-hotel samples were susceptible to chloramphenicol, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, meropenem, and vancomycin; however, 40% of isolates were resistant to novobiocin. Among the hotel isolates, 29 (93.55%) of the ampicillin-resistant isolates harbored the blaTEM gene while 5 (55.55%) of the vancomycin-resistant isolates harbored the vanC gene. Four of the five vanC positive isolates were also positive for the mecA gene. The presence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) which is also vancomycin-resistant in food processing environments is a threat to public health. This is the first report on the molecular detection of methicillin and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus isolated from food processing environments in Bangladesh.