Scientific evidence of probiotic benefits on human health is continuously expending and there are sufficient data to justify testing of probiotics for treatment or prevention of several disorders from antibiotic- or Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, to anxiety, depression and psoriasis. Although hundreds of products are marketed as probiotics, many of the strains they contain haven’t been evaluated sufficiently. In addition, there are still no official or generally accepted methods for the analysis of probiotic products, although strain quantification and identification are crucial. Perhaps the most difficult challenge for research on probiotic products is providing proof of efficacy in healthy individuals. In clinical trials, the efficiency of probiotic intervention has to be relied on well-documented effects measured with reliable biomarkers independent of the subjective criteria for the health status of individuals. A wide variety of host, dietary and environmental factors that affect gastrointestinal microbiota additionally make clinical studies difficult. The article deals with the current status and prospects of probiotics in the field of foods, dietary supplements and medicines.
B.04 Guest lecture
COBISS.SI-ID: 4193160The paper is an invited lecture at the annual meeting of the 30th Bitenčevi živilski dnevi. According to the United Nations, there are currently 7.6 billion people in the world, and in 2050 there will be 9.8 billion people in the world. World food production will have to increase by 70% globally by 2050 and double in developing countries. The diet has a strong carbon footprint, as 26% of greenhouse gases come from food production. At the same time, lost and discarded food is a growing local and global problem, as we throw away about 1/3 of the world's food. Foods have due to differences in production, processing, storage, transport, etc. a very different carbon footprint, which is highest for foods of animal origin and small for foods of plant origin. Due to the growing global population and the obvious climate change with limited natural resources, we will have to change our eating habits in the future. As the world’s diet is often unhealthy also due to the excessive amount of high-carbon foods, the pursuit of a healthy diet and a sustainable diet is intertwined in some respects. Some suggest that the solution lies in a diet with an even higher proportion of plant-based foods than at present (for Europe, this means from the current 70% to 90%). However, such a very one-sided, less varied diet can be dangerous to health, as it usually leads to a lack of many nutrients, which are very common in such a diet even in the developed world. In addition, in some parts of the world, there are no or very limited options for producing food-rich foods other than through animal husbandry. With 60% of all agricultural land, which represents only a quarter of Slovenia's territory, Slovenia is also such an example. The transition to an almost completely plant-based diet is neither a nutritional nor an environmental alternative. It is certain that we will need to improve, develop and use more sustainable diets that respect biodiversity and ecosystems, which are adequate, safe and healthy, culturally acceptable, accessible and economically equitable, while optimizing human and natural resources.
B.04 Guest lecture
COBISS.SI-ID: 5064568Member of the program group Romana Mrinšek Logar participated as an editor in the creation of a book of essays on microbiology, which was dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Slovenian Microbiological Society. The publication presents in a more popular way the importance of microorganisms in everyday life, from the role in nature, in food processing, maintaining health and obtaining important metabolites. The publication contributes to the dissemination of knowledge about microorganisms among the general public.
C.02 Editorial board of a national monograph
COBISS.SI-ID: 26092547Invited lecture of the European Association of Student Technologies, BEST (Board of European Students of Technology) within the interdisciplinary summer school, which aims to expand knowledge in the field of current (bio) technological topics among participants (European students of various sciences). The global energy consumption continues to increase in keeping up with industrialization and improving quality of life. On the other hand, heavy use of fossil fuels is recognized as one of the main contributors to climate change. Thus, there is much interest in producing biofuels (and other chemicals) by microbial cell factories and enzymes from renewable non-food biomass, instead of relying on petrochemical routes. To meet the need to develop industrially competitive microorganisms (enzymes), differenet strategies are being applied: from exploring (meta)genomes for novel biocatalysts, genome-wide identification of metabolic engineering targets, fine-tuning and control of gene expression, genome and protein engineering to creation of synthetic circuits. The lecture covers some general approaches used to identify and develop improved biocatalysts for transformation of waste biomass to biofuels and value-added chemicals.
B.04 Guest lecture
COBISS.SI-ID: 4268936In the field of animal nutrition, Jata Emona in 2020 in cooperation with the Chair of Nutrition, Department of Anima Science of the Biotechnical Faculty and the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia prepared a new formulation of TL-TOP starter - starter for calves, for intensive feeding of calves up to 200 kg live weight. The advantage of this feed is that it contains a relatively high fiber content (dehydrated alfalfa) and therefore we can reduce hay during intensive fattening in the meal. In test trials on calves up to 200 kg with a new starter and with whole milk or milk replacer, we achieved high average daily gains. More than 1200 g / day. The average increase in calf weight in Slovenia is around 800 g / day.
F.07 Improvements to an existing product