Editorial: Changes in food functional components during innovative processing technologies and delivery systems, digestion, and metabolism

Chitosan-based hydrogels: From preparation to applications, a review

Chitosan, derived from the deacetylation of chitin, is an abundant natural biopolymer on earth. Chitosan and its derivatives have become promising biological materials because of their unique molecular structure and excellent biological activities. The reactive functional groups of chitosan such as the amino and hydroxyl groups play a crucial role in facilitating the synthesis of three-dimensional hydrogel. Chitosan-based hydrogels have been widely used in medical, pharmaceutical, and environmental fields for years. Nowadays, chitosan-based hydrogels have been found in a wide range of applications in the food industry such as food sensors, dye adsorbents and nutrient carriers. In this review, recently developed methods for the preparation of chitosan-based hydrogels were given, and the biological activities of chitosan-based hydrogels were systematically introduced. Additionally, the recent progress in food sensors, packaging, dye adsorbents, and nutrient carriers was discussed. Finally, the challenges and prospects for the future development of chitosan-based hydrogels were discussed.

Interaction and binding mechanism of ovalbumin with cereal phenolic acids: improved structure, antioxidant activity, emulsifying and digestion properties for potential targeted delivery systems

Ovalbumin (OVA) has been considered as a nutrient carrier for bioactive, which has high nutrition value and multiple properties. Recently, proteins-phenolic acids composite delivery systems have received widespread attention. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the interaction between OVA and cereal phenolic acids (CPA) to establish delivery systems for bioactive. Spectroscopy results have found that CPA generated complexes with OVA, causing the microenvironment changes of OVA. Ferulic acid (FA), p-coumaric acid (CA), vanillic acid (VA), syringic acid (SY), sinapic acid (SI), and protocatechuic acid (PA) not only quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of OVA, but also altered protein microenvironment. Further investigation showed these complexes were formed by static quenching mode, while hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interaction were dominant binding forces. Meanwhile, the interaction decreased α-helix contents and increased β-sheet contents, leading to conformational changes in OVA. Besides, OVA/CPA complexes displayed an increase in hydrophobicity with a reduce in free-SH. After combination with FA, SY, CA, VA, SI, PA, it was found that all formed complexes had superior solubility, emulsifying and antioxidant activities than native OVA. Among them, OVA-PA exhibited the highest emulsifying activity index and emulsion stability index values (36.4 ± 0.39 m2/g and 60.4 ± 0.94 min) and stronger antioxidant activities. Finally, the combination with phenolic acids further improved the digestion efficiency in vitro of OVA. The OVA-CPA complexes showed improved properties for excellent delivery systems. Overall, OVA-CPA complexes could be a good carrier for bioactive, which provided valuable avenues in target delivery system application.

Anti-inflammatory effects of a naturally lacto-fermented cucumber product on RAW 264.7 macrophages in association with increased functional ingredients

A naturally lacto-fermented cucumber product was developed for use as anti-inflammatory functional foods. To explore the anti-inflammatory characteristics, water (CWE) and ethanol extracts (CEE) from this product were selected to assess their anti-inflammatory potential on RAW 264.7 macrophages in the absence or presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), using four different inflammatory models. Changes in pro- (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokine secretions by treated macrophages were measured using ELISA. The results showed that both CWE and CEE had strong potential to inhibit LPS-stimulated inflammation in macrophages in a repair manner. CWE had a better effect than CEE. The total phenolic, flavonoid and saponin contents in CEE were significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with IL-10 (r = 0.384, P = 0.036*) and TNF-α (r = 0.371, P = 0.043*) levels, but slightly correlated with TNF-α/IL-10 secretion ratios (r = -0.184, P = 0.359) by treated RAW 264.7 cells, respectively.

Application of Encapsulation Strategies for Probiotics: From Individual Loading to Co-Encapsulation

Consumers are increasingly showing a preference for foods whose nutritional and therapeutic value has been enhanced. Probiotics are live microorganisms, and their existence is associated with a number of positive effects in humans, as there are many and well-documented studies related to gut microbiota balance, the regulation of the immune system, and the maintenance of the intestinal mucosal barrier. Hence, probiotics are widely preferred by consumers, causing an increase in the corresponding food sector. As a consequence of this preference, food industries and those involved in food production are strongly interested in the occurrence of probiotics in food, as they have proven beneficial effects on human health when they exist in appropriate quantities. Encapsulation technology is a promising technique that aims to preserve probiotics by integrating them with other materials in order to ensure and improve their effectiveness. Encapsulated probiotics also show increased stability and survival in various stages related to their processing, storage, and gastrointestinal transit. This review focuses on the applications of encapsulation technology in probiotics in sustainable food production, including controlled release mechanisms and encapsulation techniques.