Microbial Products for Health and Nutrition

This book highlights microbial products and their applications in the health sector. The chapters introduce novel advancements and applications in different pharmaceutical and nutraceutical aspects of applied microbiology. Readers will obtain a detailed overview of the relevance of microbial metabolites to human health and nutrition. Besides knowing the products already developed, they will also get an idea of microbial products currently in the development pipeline and those that are likely to emerge as potential nutraceuticals. Readers will get an interesting and useful perspective on how supplementing food with microbes or their bioactive metabolites can realize the idea of 'food as medicine'. This book introduces the biological activities of various microbial fermentation products, and how they are relevant to mitigating various disease conditions (e.g. neuropathy, diabetes, gut dysbiosis, malnutrition, etc.) in humans. One of the highlights of this volume is the exploration of microbial pigments as potential substitutes for synthetic colorants, offering safer and more sustainable alternatives for the food and healthcare industries. The book has equivalent contributions from experts in academia and industry to fill the communication gap between them. Through this book, readers will gain valuable insights into the historical perspectives, contemporary impacts, and future prospects of microbial applications in health and nutrition. From food preservation to biopharmaceutical production, the potential of microbial products to revolutionize our approach to health and wellness is undeniable.

Vijay Kothari, Ph.D. is a microbiologist working in India. He holds two decades of experience in teaching and research. He has >100 publications and >20 conference talks to his credit. His publications have enjoyed wide readership across the globe (>277,400 reads from ResearchGate alone). Many of his articles have been ranked in the top 25% among all those ranked by Altmetric. His research interests include Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), Traditional Medicine (antipathogenic, neuroprotective, prebiotic properties), and Microbial Response to Sonic Stimulation. His lab has identifed multiple potential targets in pathogenic bacteria, and currently working on their validation. Vijay is a recipient of AIMS award (Artifcial Intelligence Molecular Screen-2019) from Atomwise Inc., USA; Sentinel of Science (2016) from Publons; Future Leaders Mentoring Fellowship from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM―2023–24). He is a member of 25 different professional bodies. Vijay derives great satisfaction from the M.Sc. Dissertation projects guided by him, which hitherto has enabled 73 M.Sc. students to author one or more papers in indexed journals.

Subhasree Ray, Ph.D. is currently working as an Assistant professor at Sharda University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. She earned her Ph.D. degree from CSIR-IGIB, Delhi in 2018. She received the prestigious CSIR-SRF fellowship. Her main research work was focused on the production of biopolymers from waste biomass. After Ph.D., she joined as a postdoctoral researcher at Ewha University, and the University of Seoul, South Korea. Here, her main focus was anaerobic digestion of food wastes for methane production. She also studied methanogenesis at 4000 L pilot-scale plant. After successful completion of 1 year, she joined another project at Yeungnam University, South Korea. During that period, she worked on several fungal toxins and their inhibition from fermented food. She also worked on bioflm inhibition of pathogenic organisms by natural bioactive compounds. To her credit, she has 24 research papers published in peer-reviewed journals, 8 book chapters, and 2 books. In addition, she is a life member of various scientifc societies and also a member of various committees at the Sharda University for graduate and undergraduate programs.

Prasun Kumar holds a Ph.D. in Biotechnology from CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi, India. He is presently working as an Assistant Professor at Department of Biotechnology, Sharda University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. Earlier, he was working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Republic of Korea. He has over 7 years of experience in Applied Microbiological Research including about 2 years of experience in industrial R&D. His main areas of research are bioinformatics, biopolymers, microbial biodiversity, bioenergy, microbial bioflms, quorum sensing, quorum quenching, and genomics. His present research is oriented toward valorizing lignocellulosic bio-wastes into value-added products such as biopolymer, 2G ethanol, bioenergy, and antibioflm compounds. To his credit, there are over 34 articles in SCI journals, 5 books, and 14 chapters with international publishers. He has been serving the scientifc society by reviewing articles for several SCI journals and delivering guest lectures. Publons awarded him the peer-reviewed award in the year 2018. He also serves as the editorial board member of a few international journals.