Aimed at students, researchers, nutritionists, and developers in food technology, this research text addresses the nascent field of metabiotics. Metabiotics are products based on components of cells, metabolites, and signaling molecules released by probiotic strains, engineered to optimize host-specific physiological functions in a way that traditional probiotics cannot. This book examines the history, processes, design, classifications, and functions of metabiotics. It includes an overview of the composition and function of the gut microbiota, and discusses development of target-specific metabiotics. Further coverage includes comparisons to traditional probiotics, as well as probiotic safety and side-effects. Metabiotics: Present State, Challenges and Perspectives provides a complete history and understanding of this new field, the next phase of the probiotic industry.

The volume sheds new light on role of gut dysbiosis in cancer and immunological diseases and their clinical manifestations. Contributions in the volume discuss about the gut microbiota as a therapeutic target and the role of probiotics in its management. The volume explores application of probiotics in the treatment of various cancers viz. colorectal, gastric, lung, and breast cancer and immunological diseases. The volume comprises of chapters from expert contributors organized into various important themes which include, introduction, relationship between gut microbiota and disease condition, mechanisms involved, clinical and in vivo status, conclusion and future directions. This is a highly informative and carefully presented book, providing recent and innovative insight for scholars and researchers with an interest in probiotics and its applications in cancer and immunological diseases.

If the thought of bacteria conjures images of germs that should be avoided at all costs—and certainly not ingested—think again! Some friendly bacteria, called probiotics, are not only beneficial to your health, they’re essential. Now an internationally recognized scientist at a top U.S. medical school—one of the leading researchers in the field—sheds light on the extraordinary benefits of these natural health superstars. Thanks to an explosion of research in recent years, one thing is clear: probiotics, the healthy bacteria that inhabit the digestive tract, are the body’s silent partners for good health, optimizing the power of the immune system to fight disease and the “bad” germs we fear. But how do they work? And in the face of factors like stress and poor diet, which decrease their numbers, how do you keep your supply well stocked? Here is an up-to-the-minute, highly accessible guide to probiotics and the foods and supplements that contain and support them—many of which may be in your diet already. Discover: The key role of probiotics and prebiotics in restoring healthy balance to our bodies, improving immune system functioning, and curbing inflammation How to use probiotic foods and supplements to prevent and relieve allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, yeast infections, and the negative side effects of antibiotic use New evidence that probiotics may help fight asthma, cardiovascular disease, breast and colon cancer, autoimmune diseases, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia—and even obesity Natural sources of prebiotics, the nutrients that help make the digestive tract more hospitable for probiotic bacteria The Probiotics Revolution also includes a step-by-step plan for incorporating the many food sources of probiotics and prebiotics into your diet, a complete buyer’s guide to probiotic supplements, and how to introduce probiotics to your family and children.

This new book, Biotechnical Processing in the Food Industry: New Methods, Techniques, and Applications, explores several newly emerged techniques and technologies that have significantly changed the scenario of the dairy and food sector by making the processes more stable and more economically viable. Worldwide adoption of these novel technologies will also, the editors believe, provide benefit to consumers in terms of enhanced food safety labeling, nutritional security, and value-added products at reasonable cost. Divided into three main parts, the book looks at technological trends and advances in dairy research and industry, emerging technological developments, and potential advanced research in the food, health and processing industry.

This volume details the most up-to-date methods and protocols on how to manufacture functional meat products. Chapters guide researchers through functional meat products, probiotics, prebiotics, analytical methods, innovative fat reduction techniques, and the utilization of natural additives and bioactive compounds. Written in the format of the Methods and Protocols in Food Science series, chapters list necessary materials and methods for readily reproducible protocols. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Functional Meat Products aims to be a comprehensive guide for researchers and professionals in the food industry looking to explore and contribute to the development of healthier and more innovative meat products.

A groundbreaking look at Gaia theory’s intersections with neocybernetic systems theory Often seen as an outlier in science, Gaia has run a long and varied course since its formulation in the 1970s by atmospheric chemist James Lovelock and microbiologist Lynn Margulis. Gaian Systems is a pioneering exploration of the dynamic and complex evolution of Gaia’s many variants, with special attention to Margulis’s foundational role in these developments. Bruce Clarke assesses the different dialects of systems theory brought to bear on Gaia discourse. Focusing in particular on Margulis’s work—including multiple pieces of her unpublished Gaia correspondence—he shows how her research and that of Lovelock was concurrent and conceptually parallel with the new discourse of self-referential systems that emerged within neocybernetic systems theory. The recent Gaia writings of Donna Haraway, Isabelle Stengers, and Bruno Latour contest its cybernetic status. Clarke engages Latour on the issue of Gaia’s systems description and extends his own systems-theoretical synthesis under what he terms “metabiotic Gaia.” This study illuminates current issues in neighboring theoretical conversations—from biopolitics and the immunitary paradigm to NASA astrobiology and the Anthropocene. Along the way, he points to science fiction as a vehicle of Gaian thought. Delving into many issues not previously treated in accounts of Gaia, Gaian Systems describes the history of a theory that has the potential to help us survive an environmental crisis of our own making.

Current Advances for Development of Functional Foods Modulating Inflammation and Oxidative Stress presents the nutritional and technological aspects related to the development of functional foods with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Specifically, analytical approaches for the characterization of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of healthy foods and functional constituents, as well as technological strategies for the extraction of compounds and fractions from raw materials to produce anti-inflammatory and antioxidant ingredients are addressed. In addition, the molecular mechanisms by which foods and their components can modulate inflammation and their oxidative stress effects on disease prevention are explored. Finally, clinical research addressing nutritional needs in pathological subjects with inflammatory diseases are considered. - Covers methods of analysis and extraction of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds - Offers an overview of the main anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds in foods - Provides a guide on the mechanisms of action and health benefits of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant dietary bioactives