Current Trends in Exploiting the Influence of Natural Substances, Compounds and Probiotics as Antimicrobial Agents for Food and Health Applications 2.0

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a continuation of our previous Special Issue “Current Trends in Exploiting the Influence of Natural Substances, Compounds and Probiotics as Antimicrobial Agents for Food and Health Applications”.

Antibiotics, which are considered a mainstay of modern clinical medicine, are facing huge interest due to significant antimicrobial resistance that has emerged in several bacteria of nosocomial and community origin, posing a serious threat to human health. Additionally, different microbial pathogens also pose serious dangers to the food industry, where international rules discourage the use of conventional additives to prolong and preserve the quality and safety of foods. Regarding drug-resistant microbes, some pathogens such as particular molds, the food pathogens Listeria spp and Streptococcus mutans, and the emerging oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis are significant. The so-called “ESKAPEE” group of pathogens, which include Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter, and Escherichia coli, also pose a threat. Therefore, novel and effective approaches are necessary in order to combat this life-threatening issue. Herbs, as well as some foods and probiotic bacteria, are capable of combating pathogens, interacting with them, and acting on microbial cell membranes, the cytoplasm, quorum sensing, biofilms, drug efflux pumps, R-plasmids, etc. In this Special Issue, we aim to assemble current research and critical opinions on the different actions exhibited by natural extracts, foods, or probiotics against the pathogens cited above, as well as other pathogenic bacteria or molds that are pertinent to health; to describe recent technologies that are potentially relevant in the detection and monitoring of the microbial scenario; and to examine the actions of natural antimicrobials during the shelf-life of food, or on the surfaces of medical devices. Thus, we invite you to contribute to this Special Issue with your latest research findings or review articles in these areas. We look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Filomena Nazzaro
Prof. Dr. Vincenzo De Feo
Prof. Dr. Raffaele Coppola
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Microbiology is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Current Trends in Exploiting the Influence of Natural Substances, Compounds and Probiotics as Antimicrobial Agents for Food and Health Applications in Applied Microbiology (8 articles)