Betalains in the era of global agri-food science, technology and nutritional health

Natural pigments from plants are of growing interest as substitutes for synthetic dyes in the food and pharmaceutical industry and they increase their added value if they possess positive effects on health. These pigments can be added as such if they are in the legal authorized lists of additives or can be added as phytochemical-enriched plant extract achieving the original product, which has received it, the new nomenclature of functional food. In this way, we comprise on this review a wide point of view of a group of natural pigments known as betalains. From a chemical point of view, betalains are ammonium conjugates of betalamic acid with cyclo-DOPA (betacyanins, violet) and aminoacids or amines (betaxanthins, orange or yellow), which are compounds present in our diet. Besides and taking into account that one type of betalain, betanin is approved as food colorant (E-162) by the European Union and that enlarges the specific weight of these compounds in the diet, we have evolved an overview from the biosynthesis, technology and promoting production, industrial uses as pigments up to physiological and nutritional biovailability or biological and health-promoting properties of betalains for accessible information to industrials, researchers and consumers.     

The future of the global food system

Although food prices in major world markets are at or near a historical low, there is increasing concern about food security—the ability of the world to provide healthy and environmentally sustainable diets for all its peoples. This article is an introduction to a collection of reviews whose authors were asked to explore the major drivers affecting the food system between now and 2050. A first set of papers explores the main factors affecting the demand for food (population growth, changes in consumption patterns, the effects on the food system of urbanization and the importance of understanding income distributions) with a second examining trends in future food supply (crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, and ‘wild food’). A third set explores exogenous factors affecting the food system (climate change, competition for water, energy and land, and how agriculture depends on and provides ecosystem services), while the final set explores cross-cutting themes (food system economics, food wastage and links with health). Two of the clearest conclusions that emerge from the collected papers are that major advances in sustainable food production and availability can be achieved with the concerted application of current technologies (given sufficient political will), and the importance of investing in research sooner rather than later to enable the food system to cope with both known and unknown challenges in the coming decades.     

Biotechnology in the wood industry

Wood is a natural, biodegradable and renewable raw material, used in construction and as a feedstock in the paper and wood product industries and in fuel production. Traditionally, biotechnology found little attention in the wood product industries, apart from in paper manufacture. Now, due to growing environmental concern and increasing scientific knowledge, legal restrictions to conventional processes have altered the situation. Biotechnological approaches in the area of wood protection aim at enhancing the treatability of wood with preservatives and replacing chemicals with biological control agents. The substitution of conventional chemical glues in the manufacturing of board materials is achieved through the application of fungal cultures and isolated fungal enzymes. Moreover, biotechnology plays an important role in the waste remediation of preservative-treated waste wood.     

Biotechnology

A selection of interesting papers that were published in the two months before our press date in major journals most likely to report significant results in biotechnology.     

Biotechnology

A selection of interesting papers that were published in the two months before our press date in major journals most likely to report significant results in biotechnology.     

Biotechnology in the 21st century

Although the future is unpredictable, it is highly likely that biotechnology will play a much more visible and significant role in the 21st century than it did in the 20th century. The number and kinds of drugs provided by biotechnology will expand markedly and biotechnology will stand at the center of the oncoming revolution in bioinformatics.     

Biotechnology and the sea

Abstract

The application of recent discoveries in genetic engineering to marine plants and animals offers enormous potential for harvesting more food, pharmaceuticals, and industrial compounds from the sea. Using biotechnology's ability to excise and replace genetic material selected for specific functions, such efforts would allow manifold increases in production of substances conventionally reliant on the capture of often rare marine species. This article reviews the status of marine biotechnology with particular attention to its current and prospective uses for medicine, industrial chemicals, pollution control, and aquaculture. It concludes with some observations about the relationship of marine biotechnology to broader economic, legal, and ethical concerns about genetic manipulation.     

Biotechnology and the internet

This article attempts to bridge the gap between the arena of computers and the ever expanding protocols for individuals interested in accessing available information on biotechnology. A brief overview of the Internet and how to find information is provided. However, the focus of this review is on “what is out there’ for the biotechnologist and how to find it. Internet addresses for some key sites are listed.     

能源生物技术

对生物技术在能源领域的应用包括燃料酒精、生物柴油、生物制氢及微生物采油技术等的国内外现状进行了综述,对其研究的意义和前景进行了分析。     

Biotechnology in hydrometallurgical processes

The presence of microorganisms in metal sulfide leaching operations has been found to be beneficial in catalysing the dissolution process. Currently this technology is applied on a commercial scale in the recovery of copper and uranium in heap, dump and in-situ leach techniques. However, the biotechnological principles are not limited to the extraction of these two elements. Cobalt, nickel and zinc could be solubilized from their respective sulfides, and coal, silver and gold resources purified from pyrite and arsenopyrite inclusions.