Current Biotechnology - Volume 14, Issue 4, 2025

Lamiaceae plants are a rich source of natural antioxidants, widely applied in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and functional foods due to their therapeutic potential against oxidative stress-related disorders. As natural product innovation accelerates, understanding patent trends can provide strategic insights into technological advances, key stakeholders, and emerging applications.

A systematic patent landscape analysis was performed using the Espacenet database. The search strategy was based on the intersection of Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) codes related to therapeutic applications (e.g., A61P39/06 for oxidative stress, A61P17/18 for dermatological use), medicinal preparations (A61K36), and botanical classifications (A01H6/50 for Lamiaceae). All patent documents up to 2024 were included, with no language restrictions. Patent families, publication trends, jurisdictions, assignees, CPC classifications, and technological applications were analyzed to map the innovation landscape.

Between 2001 and 2021, there was a steady rise in patent activity related to antioxidants from Lamiaceae species. China led in both the volume and diversity of innovations, followed by the United States and Europe. Technological applications are predominantly concerned with cosmetics, dermatological treatments, pharmaceuticals, and functional food products. Leading assignees included multinational and regional companies, indicating strong commercial interest in these bioactive compounds.

The patent trends reveal increasing global interest in sustainable, plant-derived antioxidant solutions. The strong presence of industry players highlights the translational potential of Lamiaceae-derived compounds in high-value sectors such as anti-aging, anti-inflammatory therapeutics, and wellness. Jurisdictional variations reflect strategic patenting behavior and regional innovation capacities.

This study highlights the growing strategic importance of Lamiaceae-derived antioxidants in innovation ecosystems. The patent landscape identifies key technologies, markets, and actors driving development in natural antioxidant applications. These findings support future interdisciplinary research and industry partnerships aimed at advancing sustainable, bioactive product innovation.

Synthetic biology using minimal-genome engineering has been proposed as the best way to optimize probiotic chassis. A minimal genome presents a significant advantage of enhanced production of heterologous proteins. This research article presents a comprehensive computational biology study for bacterial gene essentiality and genome reduction design within Lacticaseibacillus casei ATCC 393.

This study used a computational biology approach to identify the essential genes of L.casei ATCC 393. Essential genes were identified using DELetion design by Essentiality Analysis Tool (DELEATv0.1), Gene Essentiality Prediction Tool for Complete-Genome Based on Orthology and Phylogeny (Geptop2), the Database of Essential Genes (DEG), and Alignable Tight Genomic Clusters-Clusters of Orthologous Genes (ATGC-COG). The criteria for identification of essential genes included phyletic retention (essential orthologs), codon usage, G + C content, length, hydrophobicity score, and essential genomic elements, such as protein-coding genes and noncoding RNAs, among other factors.

Using a consensus approach, 633 putative essential genes were identified. In addition, 145 genes associated with probiotic attributes, such as the production of bacteriocins, bile and acid resistance, immune modulation, and adherence to host gut epithelia, were identified.

The directed evolution by serial passage was initiated by streaking L. casei ATCC 393 as part of the test phase of the Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycle. The survival rate data were calculated from mean 0D600 nm readings. The data revealed a significant difference in survival rates between E1 and E2 from day 1 to day 38 (V = 224, p = 0.00745), indicating that factors, possibly inherent to the isolates themselves or subtle variations in the environment, may be influencing the results. Overall, the significant differences suggest that survival rates were affected by specific NaCl concentrations. Lower survival rates were observed at 50 g/L and 71g/L compared to other concentrations.

The in silico analysis yielded valuable insights into the essential genes of L. casei ATCC 393. Further, it contributes to understanding the fundamental genetic makeup of L. casei ATCC 393 and its potential as a probiotic chassis for various applications, including the development of novel biotherapeutics.