Metabolic disorders such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide. Although various therapeutic strategies exist, limitations in efficacy, tolerability, and long-term compliance remain major challenges. Consequently, natural bioactive compounds with well-defined mechanisms of action and favorable safety profiles have garnered growing research interest. Soy isoflavones, a group of naturally occurring plant-derived ingredients, have attracted considerable attention due to their promising effects in ameliorating metabolic disorders. This review summarizes recent in vitro, animal, and clinical studies on the regulatory effects of soy isoflavones and their major active components on obesity, T2DM, and NAFLD. Soy isoflavones ameliorate insulin resistance and maintain glucose homeostasis by modulating the PI3K/Akt and FOXO1/GSK3β signaling pathways. Furthermore, soy isoflavones regulate lipid metabolism balance by suppressing lipid synthesis and promoting fatty acid oxidation via the AMPK/SREBP-1C and PGC-1α pathways. Soy isoflavones also exhibit protective effects against the development and progression of metabolic disorders through mechanisms including suppression of inflammatory responses, amelioration of oxidative stress, and modulation of gut microbiota and its metabolic products. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the therapeutic potential and underlying mechanisms of soy isoflavones in managing glucose and lipid metabolic disorders, aiming to support further research and the development of soy isoflavones-based functional products.

In order to explore the full potential of Camellia oleifera seed cake protein (COSCP), this paper reviews the nutritional value, functional properties, bioactivity, functional modification, and food applications of COSCP, which reveals that COSCP is a food ingredient with high nutritional value, excellent functional properties, and sustainability, poised to play a key role in the development of functional foods and ingredients. The present paper sets out the current research priorities for COSCP, including the development of efficient extraction techniques, the deepening of understanding of its functional properties to enable innovative applications across food categories, and the exploration of its nutritional composition and potential health benefits. In addition, future research should concentrate on the advancement of fast-moving consumer goods development, the conducting of consumer acceptance studies, the assessment of environmental impacts, the investigation of effective methods to enhance COSCP stability and palatability, and the optimisation of its functional characteristics for a range of food applications. The above findings provide significant references for the high-value utilisation of Camellia seed cake meal.

Traditional emulsions consist of two or more immiscible phase systems, where one liquid is dispersed as small droplets in the other. Oleogel-structured emulsions (OGEs) are a novel type of emulsion system. They are prepared by incorporating food-grade gelling agents into the liquid oil phase of traditional emulsions; after crystallization or self-assembly, the gelling agents solidify to form a three-dimensional network structure that encapsulates the liquid oil. Consequently, OGEs can be used as substitutes for plastic fats, combining the health benefits of liquid oils (reducing trans and saturated fatty acids) with the advantages of solid fats: facilitating texture formation (e.g., in ice cream and margarine), restricting oil droplet migration, blocking oxygen, and delaying fat digestion. Currently, OGEs have been widely applied in the encapsulation of bioactive substances. Compared with traditional emulsions, OGEs exhibit superior stability and higher encapsulation and delivery efficiency. This review summarizes the preparation methods, physicochemical properties, and food applications of OGEs. It aims to explore the mechanisms of OGEs for encapsulating bioactive substances or nutritionally functional ingredients, provide strategies for replacing solid fats in specific foods and constructing efficient and stable emulsion-based delivery systems for bioactive substances, enhance the stability and bioavailability of encapsulated substances, and lay a theoretical foundation for their applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.

As individuals age, their skin undergoes physiological decline and aging due to a variety of internal and external factors. This process manifests in visible signs such as increased wrinkles, pigmentation changes, sagging, dryness and roughness, enlarged pores, and dilated capillaries. Anthocyanins (ACNs) exhibit a diverse array of physiological activities and demonstrate significant potential for delaying the aging of the skin. However, the structural instability and low bioavailability of ACNs considerably hinder their practical application. This article discusses the factors that influence the stability and bioavailability of ACNs as well as methods to enhance these properties. Furthermore, it elaborates on the role of ACNs in mitigating skin aging through various mechanisms, including inhibition of oxidative stress, promotion of collagen synthesis, suppression of inflammatory responses, reduction in melanin production, and repair of DNA damage associated with skin aging. In summary, ACNs hold considerable promise for use in anti-aging interventions for the skin and show potential applications across food nutrition, health care and beauty sectors, as well as clinical treatments.

The rice cakes play an important role in traditional Asian cuisine, which are prone to retrogradation during storage, resulting in quality deterioration and shortened shelf life. Currently, systematic reviews of the mechanisms and regulatory strategies for rice cake staling are relatively limited. The main mechanisms of rice pastry staling are systematically analyzed. The study focuses on the impacts of starch retrogradation, fat oxidation, and moisture migration on the staling process, base on an overview of the characteristics of cold and hot processing techniques. The multi-pronged anti-retrogradation strategies, including functional polysaccharides and dietary fibers, plant-derived ingredients, enzyme modification, and protein combination, are further summarized. The potential application of edible packaging and novel coatings in improving the storage stability of rice cakes is also reviewed. The article highlights issues and challenges in current rice cake research and explores innovative approaches to high-quality, low-additive, environmentally friendly development. The aim is to provide theoretical support for product enhancement and functional development.

Food storage and preservation is a key link in extending shelf life and ensuring food safety and quality. As an emerging physical preservation technology, spatial electric field (SEF) technology features advantages such as non-thermal effect, no chemical residues, minimal interference with the microstructure of food matrices, and wide applicability. It has been proven to exhibit significant food preservation and synergistic preservation effects, and has made remarkable progress in food storage and preservation research in recent years. From the perspective of physical field-organism interaction, this paper systematically sorts out the basic conceptual framework, technical classifications, applications across diverse food categories, and multiple action mechanisms of SEF in food storage and preservation. At the same time, it objectively points out the core limitations of the current application of this technology: the prevention and control system for potential safety risks under high-voltage operating conditions still needs to be improved, the preservation effectiveness of low-voltage electric field is insufficient, the adaptability of a single electric field technology to different types of food varies significantly, and the high cost of core equipment restricts its industrial application. Future research should focus on three key areas: a. Promoting the development of "multi-field synergy" and "electric field-composite preservation" technologies to further improve preservation effectiveness. b. Developing an intelligent control system for dynamic parameters based on food characteristics to enhance technical adaptability. c. Reducing application costs through modular production of core components and modular equipment design. This paper aims to provide a theoretical reference for constructing a SEF food preservation technology system that is suitable for industrial applications, green and efficient.

To obtain a bifunctional soy protein with antioxidant activity and emulsifying properties, soy protein isolate (SPI) was modified by combining hydrodynamic cavitation with gradient addition of rutin. The changes in physicochemical, structural, and functional properties of SPI before and after modification were analyzed. The results showed that after hydrodynamic cavitation treatment, the surface hydrophobicity of SPI increased, its structure unfolded, and the active groups were exposed, leading to a significant increase in its binding capacity with rutin (P<0.05). As the addition amount of rutin increased, the ultraviolet absorption of SPI enhanced, while the fluorescence intensity decreased with a red shift in the maximum absorption peak. The surface hydrophobicity, free thiol content, and free amino content all decreased. Furthermore, the contents of α-helix, β-sheet, and β-turn in the secondary structure decreased, while the content of random coil increased. Further analysis of antioxidant activity and emulsifying properties revealed that the conjugates formed by combing hydrodynamic cavitation treated SPI with rutin exhibited enhanced antioxidant activity and emulsifying properties. When the addition amount of rutin was 1 mg/mL, in terms of antioxidant activity, the DPPH free radical scavenging capacity increased from 77.80%±0.86% (before modification) to 83.76%±0.65%, the ABTS⁺ radical scavenging capacity increased from 53.09%±0.43% to 63.64%±0.53%, and the ferric reducing power increased from 1.12±0.06 to 1.29±0.12. In terms of emulsifying properties, the emulsification activity index increased from 24.50±1.37 m²/g to 28.55±0.43 m²/g, and the emulsification stability index increased from 69.25±1.77 min to 88.75±1.65 min. Therefore, hydrodynamic cavitation treatment combined with appropriate amount of rutin could effectively improve the functional properties of soy protein, which provided a new approach for protein modification.

To understand the physicochemical properties of quinoa RS3-type resistant starch (RS3-type QRS) and the effects of its in vitro fermentation on the intestinal flora and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), quinoa starch (QS) was prepared via alkali extraction and then autoclaved to obtain RS3-type QRS, and the amylose content, transmittancy, pasting properties, and thermal properties of both starches were analyzed. The in vitro fermentation characteristics of the two and their effects on intestinal metabolites were further explored using an in vitro fecal simulation fermentation system, 16S rRNA sequencing, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and non-targeted metabolomics. Compared with QS, RS3-type QRS had significantly higher contents of resistant starch and amylose (P<0.05), significantly improved transmittancy and solubility (P<0.05), possessed more stable thermodynamic properties, and was better in quality and easier to cook. After adding RS3-type QRS to the in vitro fermentation matrix, the abundance of Faecalibacterium increased whereas that of Escherichia-Shigella decreased. Members of the Firmicutes, including Blautia and Lactococcus, formed the core community in RS3-type QRS and were significantly positively correlated with butyric acid enrichment (P<0.01 or P<0.05). In metabolic pathways of bile secretion, the bile acid levels were significantly increased (P<0.05). SCFAs produced by the intestinal flora, together with the differential metabolites, maintained intestinal homeostasis. The findings from this study provide a reference for exploring the impact of RS3-type QRS on intestinal health and a theoretical basis for its application.

To investigate the hepatoprotective effect of hemp peptide, an acute alcoholic liver injury model was established in C57BL/6 mice, and the mechanisms were examined with respect to lipid metabolism and oxidative stress. H&E and Oil Red O staining were performed to assess hepatic histopathology. Serum and liver biochemical parameters, antioxidant enzymes, and alcohol-metabolizing enzymes were measured using biochemical assay kits. Related lipid metabolism and oxidative stress proteins were analyzed by Western blot. The results showed that compared with the alcoholic liver injury model control group, the high-dose hemp peptide group (1300 mg/kg·bw) exhibited significantly decreased liver indices in mice (P<0.05), with the hemp peptide group showing the maximum reduction of 12.48%. In the high-dose hemp peptide group, serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TG) were significantly reduced respectively (P<0.05). The levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in serum were significantly reduced respectively (P<0.05). The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in liver tissue were significantly increased respectively, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was significantly decreased (P<0.05). Mechanistically, CYP2E1 protein expression was significantly inhibited by hemp peptide, resulting in enhanced alcohol metabolism. Meanwhile, downregulation of SREBP-1c expression was observed, which effectively alleviated lipid metabolism disorders. Furthermore, PPARα protein expression was markedly upregulated, leading to accelerated fatty acid oxidation. Histopathological analysis revealed that hemp peptide ameliorated liver injury in mice to varying degrees. In conclusion, hemp peptide showed significant protective effects against alcohol-induced acute liver injury in mice, which would provide a theoretical foundation for developing hemp peptide functional foods.

To overcome the application limitations of natural jatropha starch, such as susceptibility to aging and poor solubility and stability, this study employed composite enzyme (EMD) synergistic medium grinding treatment (M-EMD), high-pressure homogenization treatment (H-EMD), nano-precipitation (N-EMD) modification techniques to enhance oilseed starch. The modified starch was then incorporated into starch-based double emulsion systems to evaluate its effects on interfacial tension, stability, and the in vitro digestion of lycopene-loaded emulsions. Results indicated that the modification effects of different synergistic modification methods on starch were significantly different. N-EMD treatment demonstrated optimal performance, yielding starch particles with the smallest size (0.797 μm), the most uniform distribution (PDI=0.19), the highest surface negative charge (Zeta potential=−70 mV), and the strongest hydrophilicity (contact angle=23.1°). Structural analysis revealed that both H-EMD and N-EMD treatments effectively induced starch molecular restructuring. The double emulsion droplets constructed from N-EMD starch were fine, uniform, and structurally regular, exhibiting the highest lycopene encapsulation efficiency (88%) and loading capacity (66%). During storage, this emulsion exhibited the optimal physical stability and minimal lipid oxidation. In simulated in vitro digestion, its free fatty acid release rate (45%) and Lyc bioavailability (48%) significantly surpassed other groups. In conclusion, enzyme-assisted nano-precipitation (N-EMD) represented the most effective strategy for optimizing oil palm starch properties and constructing efficient starch-based delivery systems. This study pioneers new pathways for high-value utilization of jatropha starch and provides theoretical foundations and technical references for developing high-performance food-grade delivery carriers for bioactive compounds.