Latest ArticlesThe quality of processing raw materials for fruit and vegetable is the foundation determining product quality. High-quality raw materials can guarantee the flavor and color of finished products, serving as the key to achieving high-quality development in the fruit and vegetable processing industry. However, during processing,storage and transportation, the internal tissues of fruit and vegetable raw materials are highly prone to browning induced by inherent properties and environmental stresses. This seriously impairs the color quality and shelf life of processed products, restricting the high-quality development of the fruit and vegetable processing industry. At present, anti-browning technologies have evolved from traditional chemical methods toward green and diversified approaches including physical and biological techniques. Elaborating and summarizing the research progress of anti-browning technologies can provide a theoretical basis for the research and development of novel and efficient source control technologies for raw materials. This paper systematically reviewed the types of browning,anti-browning technologies and scenario-based application research progress of fruit and vegetable processing raw materials, aiming to offer theoretical references for controlling the processing quality of fruits and vegetables from the source.
To explore the effects of cooking time on the flavor and texture characteristics of 3 kinds of common cereal porridges, namely rice porridge, millet porridge and maize porridge, and to compare the differences in glycemic index (GI) among different grain porridges.
The flavor and texture characteristics of the porridges cooked in a rice cooker were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and texture analyzer. A human trial was conducted to measure the GI values of the porridges, and the high-GI porridge was further optimized.
Flavor analysis revealed that aldehydes and esters were the dominant volatile compounds in the cereal porridges. Specifically, rice porridge was characterized by the fresh note of nonanal and hexanal, millet porridge was rich in vanillin and undecanal, while maize porridge exhibited a fruity note mainly from esters such as methyl heptanoate. Texture analysis showed that hardness of all 3 kinds of porridges decreased with prolonged cooking time, with maize porridge showing the highest hardness and rice porridge the lowest. Sensory evaluation indicated that rice and millet porridges cooked for 30 min achieved the highest overall scores, whereas maize porridge reached its optimum at 50 min. GI tests demonstrated that rice porridge was a high-GI food, millet porridge was a medium-GI food, and maize porridge was a low-GI food. Using rice porridge as the base, the formula was optimized by adding milk powder. The resulting low-GI (41.1) rice milk porridge with 13% milk powder showed a 47.4% reduction in GI compared with plain rice porridge.
Reasonable control of cooking time can optimize the eating quality of cereal porridges, and the addition of dairy products can effectively reduce their GI. This study provides a simple dietary improvement strategy for consumers to select daily porridges and manage glycemic control.
To establish an extraction process of proteins in Trichiurus lepturus processing by-products by ultrasonic pretreatment-enzyme method and investigate the fundamental properties of the proteins.
Taking Trichiurus lepturus processing by-products as raw materials, the enzymatic extraction conditions of protein by trypsin were optimized through single-factor experiments and orthogonal tests. On this basis, 4 kinds of pretreatment methods including acid pretreatment, alkali pretreatment, thermal pretreatment and ultrasonic pretreatment were applied to Trichiurus lepturus processing by-products, and the process parameters of ultrasonic pretreatment were further optimized via single-factor experiments and orthogonal tests.
Trypsin was the optimum protease, and the optimum enzymolysis conditions were as follows: Enzymolysis temperature 55 ℃,solid-liquid ratio 1:2 (g:mL), enzymolysis time 1.5 h, enzyme dosage 0.5%, the protein recovery of enzymatic hydrolysate was 76.05%±0.69%. The optimum technological conditions of ultrasonic pretreatment were as follows:Ultrasonic power 180 W, ultrasonic time 40 min, ultrasonic temperature 40 ℃. Proteins were extracted under optimal conditions of ultrasound pretreatment with a protein recovery rate of 85.93%±0.62%. The highest content among amino acids was glycine, followed by glutamate and alanine, and had strong 2,2’-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonate) diammonium salt (ABTS) cationic radical, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) radical scavenging activity, and Fe3+ reducing activity.
Ultrasonic pretreatment-enzyme method achieves efficient recovery of protein from Trichiurus lepturus processing by-products. The extracted proteins exhibit strong antioxidant capacity, providing technical support for the high-value utilization of Trichiurus lepturus processing by-products.
To optimize the extraction process for flavonoids from Alxa Cistanche to improve the elution efficiency of its active components, determine the antioxidant activity of the flavonoids to clarify the intrinsic relationship between flavonoid content and antioxidant efficacy, apply the Cistanche extract obtained from the optimized extraction process to the formulation of Cistanche liqueur, and analyse its impact on the flavor compounds of the liqueur.
With Cistanche in Alxa as the research object and the total flavonoid yield as the evaluation index, the effects of the solid-liquid ratio, extraction time and ethanol concentration on the flavonoid yield of Cistanche were studied. The antioxidant properties of Cistanche flavonoids were evaluated by measuring the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazine (DPPH) radical scavenging rate hydroxyl radical scavenging rate,2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) scavenging rate and total antioxidant capacity. The flavor substances of Cistanche liqueur were identified to analyze their characteristic volatile organic compounds.
The optimal extraction conditions were determined as a solid-liquid ratio of 1:38(g:mL), an extraction time of 1.7 h, and an ethanol concentration of 58%. Under these conditions, the yield of Cistanche flavonoids reached 7.38%±0.45%. Cistanche flavonoids exhibited good antioxidant activity in various antioxidant index measurements.
Response surface experiments are conducted to determine the optimal process conditions for the extraction of flavonoids from Alxa Cistanche. This process significantly increases the flavonoid yield with good reproducibility, and confirms that Cistanche flavonoids exhibit strong antioxidant activity.Furthermore, an analysis of flavor components in the Cistanche liqueur identifies various volatile compounds, including esters, alcohols and aldehydes, which collectively contribute to its distinctive sensory profile and aromatic characteristics.
To systematically investigate the synergistic influence mechanism of different storage temperatures and pre-harvest fertilization treatments on the post-harvest quality of Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu, determine the most ideal preservation strategy.
The study utilized a 3 (fertilization)×3 (temperature)×3 (biological replicates) experimental setup. Pears subjected to different pre-harvest fertilization treatments [melilotus officinalis green manure (CM), sunflower green manure (DK) and no fertilizer (CK)] were stored at different temperatures (4,12 and 20 °C). Over a 55 d storage period, a texture analyzer was used to periodically determine 8 texture parameters:Weight loss rate, hardness, fracturability, cohesiveness, springiness, chewiness, gumminess, resilience and adhesiveness.
Storage temperature played a crucial role: The 4 ℃ treatment considerably restricted the final fruit weight loss to within the range of 0.13%–0.31%, performing better than the 12 ℃ (0.14%–0.41%) and 20 ℃ (0.28%–0.74%) treatments, and also maintained texture more effectively. For instance, by the 50th day of storage, the fruit hardness at 4 ℃ stayed at a relatively higher level, while the CK+20 ℃ group dropped to 8.86 kN.Under the same 4 ℃ condition, the fertilization treatment had a notable effect, with the melilotus officinalis green manure (CM+4 ℃) exhibiting the overall best performance: Its elasticity value was still 0.60 on 30 d, which was notably higher than CK+4 ℃ (0.32) and DK+4 ℃ (0.28), and cohesion and other parameters mostly remained stable at various time points.
The combined application of “4 °C low-temperature storage” and “pre-harvest melilotus officinalis green manure management” effectively maintains the postharvest weight and edible quality of Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu through an internal-external synergistic mechanism. This strategy provides clear practical guidance for preserving the postharvest quality of Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu.
To investigate the blood glucose regulatory effects of Pediococcus acidilactici AUI2505 and Limosilactobacillus reuteri AUI2506 on hyperglycemic Danio rerio.
The in vitro probiotic properties and safety of 2 strains of lactic acid bacteria were evaluated through simulated gastrointestinal fluid tolerance tests,antibiotic susceptibility assays, hemolytic activity assessment and analyses of hydrophobicity and auto-aggregation ability. A hyperglycemic Danio rerio model was established by immersing the fish in water containing 3% glucose to induce blood glucose metabolism disorder, after which the Danio rerio were treated with the bacterial strains. After intervention, the survival rate, blood glucose levels, insulin levels, inflammatory factors and glucose tolerance of the Danio rerio in each group were measured.
Strains AUI2505 and AUI2506 exhibited survival rates greater than 80% in simulated gastric fluid and greater than 40% in simulated intestinal fluid, respectively. Both strains were sensitive to most antibiotics tested and non-hemolytic. The 2 strains exhibited favorable hydrophobicity and auto-aggregation capacity. In the hyperglycemic Danio rerio model, it was demonstrated that following intervention with bacterial suspensions of AUI2505 and AUI2506, all experimental groups exhibited normal larval survival rates,blood glucose and inflammatory cytokine levels were significantly decreased (P<0.05), and glucose tolerance was significantly enhanced (P<0.05). Additionally, a significant reduction in insulin level was shown in the AUI2505 group (P<0.05).
Pediococcus acidilactici AUI2505 and Limosilactobacillus reuteri AUI2506 have significant hypoglycemic effects, providing a theoretical foundation for their use in adjunctive probiotic treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus.
To construct an intelligent detection system based on portable near infrared spectroscopy(1000–1800 nm) and ensemble learning algorithms for rapid identification of 8 kinds of edible starch.
A total of 239 commercial starch samples from 8 botanical sources—corn, potato, cassava, wheat, sweet potato, mung bean, lotus root and pea—were collected, yielding 2392 near infrared spectroscopy spectra. The spectra were preprocessed by standard normal variate (SNV) and Savitzky-Golay first derivative (window length=11, polynomial order=2). And it was directly modeled across the full spectral range without conducting characteristic wavelength screening.
The 5 kinds of classification models—K-nearest neighbors (KNN), random forest (RF), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), eXtreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and a weighted soft-voting ensemble model—were trained and compared. In validation using an independent test set of 59 samples, the ensemble model achieved an accuracy of 97.0% with a Brier score as low as 0.008.
The system takes only 0.8 seconds for a single prediction, providing an efficient and reliable on-site detection technical solution for starch adulteration monitoring and species traceability.
Fragaria anansissa Duch fruits are characterized by thin skin, high flesh water content, and vigorous postharvest physiological metabolism, rendering them highly susceptible to mechanical damage and microbial infection during storage and transportation, which results in rapid decay and a short shelf life. To reduce losses and enhance commercial value, the development of safe and efficient preservation technologies is essential. This paper systematically reviewed recent domestic and international research on postharvest Fragaria anansissa Duch preservation, focused on physical, chemical, biological, nanomaterial-based and integrated preservation technologies,and provided an in-depth analysis of their preservation mechanisms and application effects. Physical preservation delayed fruit senescence by controlling environmental conditions to suppress metabolic processes. Chemical preservation employed exogenous chemical compounds to inhibit microorganisms and exert antioxidant effects.Biological preservation utilized naturally derived substances or antagonistic microorganisms to control pathogens and water loss. Nanomaterial-based preservation exploited the unique properties of nanomaterials-such as strong antimicrobial activity, controlled-release capability and enhanced barrier properties-to improve the efficacy of preservatives or the performance of packaging materials. Furthermore, the synergistic effects achieved by combining multiple technologies also demonstrate promising application prospects. Based on current research, future efforts should strengthen the use of multi-omics approaches to elucidate preservation mechanisms, promoted the development of novel bio-derived preservatives, and explored the application of smart responsive packaging materials, driving preservation technologies toward the integration of green, efficient and intelligent strategies. This review aims to provide a theoretical basis for research on Fragaria anansissa Duch postharvest preservation and offer scientific guidance for process optimization and industrial application.
High-value edible vegetable oils, such as camellia oil or olive oil, have drawn much attention from the market for their authenticity of origin due to their unique nutritional value and economic attributes. However, issues like fraudulent origin labeling and adulteration have severely compromised the protection of geographical indication products and industry development. Currently, discriminant techniques, including near-infrared spectroscopy,inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry, fatty acid profiling and electronic nose, etc., have widely been applied for origin traceability. Multisource data fusion combined with machine learning has demonstrated superior accuracy and robustness compared to single-technique approaches. This article systematically summarized the research progress of the aforementioned detection technologies in the traceability of high-value vegetable oils. It also focused on analyzing the main problems existing in the current research: Most of the existing studies concentrated on the identification of large-scale differences across countries or provinces, while there was a relative lack of detailed traceability research at the county-level and smaller scales, and there was also a lack of unified data preprocessing standards and a multi-source information collaboration framework. Based on this, this paper proposed that in the future, efforts should be made to establish standardized preprocessing procedures and shared databases. Through the deep integration of multi-dimensional data such as spectra, elements, isotopes and volatile components, as well as the optimization of intelligent algorithms, a leap from precise identification of small-scale production areas to dynamic verification should be achieved. The construction of an intelligent traceability platform integrating data management, feature comparison and model reasoning will provide solid technical support for ensuring product authenticity, improving regulatory efficiency and promoting the sustainable development of the high-value vegetable oil industry.
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