To explore the effects of cooking methods on the quality and digestibility of Lipu taro, Lipu taro was used as raw material to cooking by four methods including boiling, steaming, pressure cooking and roasting. Its edible quality, nutritional quality and in vitro digestibility were determined, and the comprehensive scores were evaluated by coefficient of variation method. The results showed that the Lipu taro processed by pressure cooking had the highest sensory score, cohesiveness, gumminess, recoverable deformation, protein, fat, slowly digestible starch (SDS), and comprehensive score, indicating the best overall quality. Steamed taro showed the highest amounts of dietary fiber, total amino acids (TAA), essential amino acids (EAA), non essential amino acid (NEAA), and flavor amino acid, while exhibiting the lowest resistant starch (RS) content. Lipu taro processed by roasting had the highest cooking loss rate, hardness, chewiness, elasticity, total starch, ash, carbohydrates, rapidly digestible starch (RDS), RS, hydrolysis rate (HR), and predicted glycemic index (PGI), but the lowest moisture and SDS content, along with severe browning. Boiled taro had the lowest cooking loss rate, sensory score, texture properties, basic nutritional components, amino acid content, RDS, HR, PGI, and comprehensive score, suggesting substantial nutrient loss. In summary, pressure cooking best preserved the overall quality properties and cooking performance of Lipu taro, followed by steaming, while boiling showed the poorest overall quality.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different concentrations of macromolecular crowding agent Ficoll 70 on the thermal stability and functional properties of fused globular soybean 11S globulin in a 100 ℃ water bath heated for 20 min. The results showed that low concentrations of Ficoll 70 (2~40 mg/mL) maintained the secondary structure of fused globular 11S globulin, and the intrinsic fluorescence intensity and surface hydrophobicity were reduced, compared with those without Ficoll 70 treatment. The structure of fused globulin after heat treatment was the most similar to that of untreated fused globular 11S globulin at 40 mg/mL Ficoll 70. Meanwhile, the addition of Ficoll 70 reduced molecular aggregation, enhanced molecular flexibility, and significantly improved its emulsifying and foaming properties. When the concentration of Ficoll 70 was 40 mg/mL, the average particle size of fused globular 11S globulin decreased, EAI and ESI increased to 12.35±0.01 m²/g and 199.95%±0.29%, FC and FS increased from 54.29%±0.58% to 63.71%±1.89%, 57.81%±0.51% to 86.53%±0.46%, respectively. However, when the concentration of Ficoll 70 reached 50 mg/mL, it had a negative impact on the stability and functional properties of the protein, resulting in molecular aggregation and a decline in functional properties. The above results showed that the addition of an appropriate concentration of Ficoll 70 could adjust the structure of fused globular soybean 11S globulin by eliminating the volume effect, thus affecting the functional properties of fused globular soybean 11S globulin. This study provides a theoretical basis for improving the thermal stability and functional properties of fused globular soybean 11S globulin by using a macromolecular crowding agent.

To investigate the effects of different sterilization methods on the quality of kiwifruit juice. In this study, 'Hong yang' kiwifruit was used as raw material, and significance analysis and orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were used to evaluate the impacts of various sterilization treatments on several quality attributes of kiwifruit juice, including conventional physicochemical properties, color, polyphenols, flavonoids, vitamin C (V_C) content, and antioxidant activity. The results showed that thermal sterilization, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) sterilization and food irradiation (FI) exhibited significantly different effects on the quality of kiwifruit juice. Among them, HHP sterilization achieved the optimal sterilization effect, which exerted positive effects on maintaining color stability and V_C content, improving the contents of functional active components and the antioxidant activity of kiwifruit juice. The three thermal sterilization methods had significant differences in their impacts on lactic acid content, citric acid content and V_C content of kiwifruit juice, while no significant difference was found in the influence on malic acid content. Thermal sterilization treatments could increase the contents of sucrose, total polyphenols and total flavonoids in kiwifruit juice, whereas the high-temperature short-time (HTST) sterilization group showed a decrease in fructose content. Food irradiation had the most significant impact on juice quality, which caused obvious color deterioration and a significant loss of V_C, the main active component, in kiwifruit juice. This study provides a theoretical basis for the scientific selection of sterilization technologies for kiwifruit juice production.

To investigate the quality changes of French fries during processing, potato cultivars 'Atlantic' and 'McCain' were used as the research materials. The effect of cutting, blanching, freezing and frying processing on color, starch, reducing sugar, total phenol, antioxidant ability, water status and textural characteristics of French fries was studied. The results showed that freezing after blanching significantly (P<0.05) reduced the L^*, a^*and b^* values of French fries. Compared with French fries after fresh-cut process, freezing 'Atlantic' French fries after blanching reduced the L^* value by 4.24%. Direct freezing and freezing after blanching treatments had no significant (P>0.05) effect on the starch content of 'Atlantic' and 'McCain' French fries, but freezing after blanching significantly (P<0.05) reduced the reducing sugar content of 'McCain' French fries. The reducing sugar content of 'McCain' French fries in freezing group after blanching was 28.88% lower than that of fresh-cut fried group. Furthermore, frying could significantly (P<0.05) increase the total phenol content and antioxidant capacity of French fries. As for the texture characteristics and water status, freezing after blanching, direct freezing and frying all reduced the hardness and crispness of French fries. Freezing treatment after blanching led to an earlier T₂₁ migration time, while frying significantly (P<0.05) increased the proportion of bound water and immobile water. Correlation analysis indicated that the correlation among reducing sugar, starch and total phenol increased after frying, but it was affected by the cultivar and processing condition. This study provides a reference for an in-depth exploration of the effect of processing on potato quality.

This study aimed to investigate the differential binding affinities of various catechins to whey proteins and their subsequent impact effects on the proteins' digestive properties by selecting four catechins with distinct structural characteristics. The strengths of these interactions were evaluated using molecular docking, interaction force analysis, group content evaluation, and physicochemical property assessment. Additionally, the influence of catechin structures on the digestive properties and digestion products of the complexes was examined using an in vitro digestion model. The results demonstrated that an increase in hydroxyl and galloyl groups enhanced the interaction strength between catechins and whey proteins. Notably, epigallocatechin gallate exhibited the strongest interaction, achieving a binding rate of 90.56%. The catechins induced unfolding of the whey protein structure, exposing internal groups through the enhancement of hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions, thereby facilitating the formation of complexes with reduced particle sizes. The digestive properties of these complexes were closely associated with the structural attributes of the catechins. As the number of galloyl and hydroxyl groups increased, the complexes exhibited improved digestibility and hydrolysis. This enhancement was attributed to the unfolding of the whey protein structure and a reduction in particle size. Consequently, the digested products contained a higher proportion of small peptides, with the proportion of peptides having molecular weights less than 1000 Da in the digested product of the epigallocatechin gallate-whey protein complex reaching 43.4%. Antioxidant activity analysis further indicated that the generation of small peptides enhanced the antioxidant activity of the digestion products. Therefore, catechins with a greater number of hydroxyl and galloyl groups facilitated stronger interactions with whey proteins, thereby promoting their digestion. This study provides theoretical insights for the development of milk-based tea beverages and the digestion processes of complex foods.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of very fast chilling (VFC) on early postmortem lamb meat quality and myofibrillar protein characteristics, and provide theoretical basis for the development of pre-rigor maintain quality techniques for fresh meat. The longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscles were collected within 1 h after slaughter, which were used as experimental material, the muscles were assigned into three chilling groups respectively: Control group (the chilling rate was 4.8 ℃/h), Chilling 1 group (the chilling rate was 23.0 ℃/h), Chilling 2 group (the chilling rate was 25.1 ℃/h). Chilling 1 and Chilling 2 groups were both very fast chilling treatment groups. The analysis focused on the impacts of varying chilling rates on lamb quality and myofibrillar protein characteristics, and the mechanistic basis was clarified. The results showed that pH, myofibrillar protein (MP) solubility, water retention of MP gel, MP emulsification activity, MP emulsification stability and ATP content of the samples from the Chilling 1 and Chilling 2 groups were significantly higher than those from the Control group, but shear force, cooking loss, MP gel hardness and lactic acid content were significantly lower than Control group (P<0.05). At 24 h postmortem, the MP solubility of Chilling 1 and 2 Groups were 16.13% and 29.84% higher than that of the Control group, respectively, with corresponding 3.02% and 5.93% improvements in water retention of MP gel. At 72 h postmortem, the emulsifying activity and emulsifying stability of Chilling 2 group were 51.63 m²/g and 41.18%, respectively, both significantly higher than the emulsifying activity (43.16 m²/g) and emulsifying stability (37.76%) of the Control group (P<0.05). There was no difference in myofibrillar protein solubility of lamb meat within 72 h postmortem, no difference in MP gel water retention and MP emulsification activity were observed within 12 h postmortem of Chilling 2 group. This showed VFC treatment maintained the pre-rigor lamb meat quality to a certain extent. The results of ATP and lactic acid contents in lamb meat showed that the lactic acid contents in the Chilling 1 and Chilling 2 groups were significantly lower compared to the Control group, while the ATP content was significantly higher than Control group (P<0.05). The results demonstrated that the Chilling 1 and Chilling 2 groups slowed down the rate of glycolysis, which in turn delayed the decline of pH levels, and this contributed to maintaining pre-rigor lamb meat quality. These results suggested that VFC treatment could effectively maintain pre-rigor lamb meat quality, and the treatment effect with a chilling rate of 25.1 ℃/h was more significant.

This study investigated the effects of hot pressing, solvent extraction, aqueous extraction, and aqueous enzymatic extraction on the quality of tea seed oil (TSO) and systematically characterized the physicochemical properties of oleogels prepared using monoglyceride (MG), beeswax (BW), rice bran wax (RBW), and γ-oryzanol/β-sitosterol (SO) as structuring agents. Results indicated that the fatty acid composition of TSO remained consistent across extraction methods, predominantly comprising oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. Solvent extraction achieved the highest yield (94.92%±2.68%), with lower acid value (0.46±0.01 mg KOH/g) and peroxide value (0.03±0.00 g/100 g), along with higher α-tocopherol (249.78±15.84 mg/kg) and squalene (186.56±10.99 mg/kg) contents. However, it exhibited lower total phenolics (111.11±8.96 mg GAE/kg) and total sterols (3695.82±215.45 mg/kg). In contrast, aqueous enzymatic extraction yielded 85.55%±3.64% oil, with comparable acid value (0.59±0.01 mg KOH/g), peroxide value (0.02±0.00 g/100 g), α-tocopherol (225.91±13.75 mg/kg), total phenolics (144.58±2.87 mg GAE/kg), and squalene (177.96±1.48 mg/kg) to solvent extraction (all P>0.05). Notably, it demonstrated significantly higher phytosterol content (4867.15±265.33 mg/kg) and environmental compatibility, establishing it as the optimal method for balancing extraction efficiency, bioactive retention, and sustainability. All four oleogels exhibited oil-binding capacities exceeding 93%. MG- and SO-based oleogels involved van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonding, while BW and RBW oleogels relied solely on van der Waals interactions. X-ray diffraction revealed β and β′ polymorphs in MG, BW, and RBW oleogels, whereas SO oleogels exclusively formed β crystals. Texture analysis indicated that SO oleogels exhibited the highest oil-binding capacity (99.23%±1.68%) and hardness (5497.80±508.83 g) but poor spreadability. Conversely, MG oleogels balanced moderate hardness (746.47±58.29 g) and oil retention (97.80%±1.39%), rendering them suitable for solid fat replacement. In conclusion, aqueous enzymatic extraction is the preferred method for TSO production, and MG-based oleogel shows optimal potential as a solid fat substitute in food applications.

In order to investigate the effects of steam explosion (SE) pretreatment on the structure and emulsification stability of citrus peel pectin (CP), different pressures (0.3 MPa and 0.45 MPa, 3 min) were applied to treat citrus peels. The structural characteristics of CP were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Meanwhile, emulsification stability of CP were assessed through surface interface tensiometer, laser particle sizer and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The results revealed that the extraction yield of CP was significantly increased (P<0.05) after SE-0.3 MPa treatment from 7.59% to 21.17%. Moreover, molecular weight (Mw) of CP was reduced from 318.41 kDa to 114.22 kDa (0.3 MPa) and 48.26 kDa (0.45 MPa), respectively. Additionally, emulsion droplet size was significantly decreased (P<0.05) from 9.31 μm to 5.43 μm after SE-0.3 MPa treatment. No significant creaming, phase separation and increase of droplet size were observed in emulsion after storage at 25 ℃ for 21 days. This study provides a theoretical reference for the application of SE technology in the comprehensive utilization of citrus by-products.

This study investigated the changes in quality attributes and protein characteristics of Gobi red camel meat during post-slaughter maturation (0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 d). Quality parameters including pH, meat color, shear force, cooking loss, texture profile, and fatty acid composition were analyzed. Protein characteristics were evaluated through SDS-PAGE, total carbonyl content, sulfhydryl content, myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI), and myofibrillar protein secondary structure. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to examine relationships between maturation time and measured indices. The results showed that the pH exhibited a U-shaped trend, reaching its lowest point at 3 d. Shear force, hardness, and chewiness followed a similar pattern, peaking at 3 d. Cooking loss, L^* (lightness), and a^* (redness) initially increased before decreasing, while b^* (yellowness) progressively increased to 14.36±1.29 at 7 d. Fatty acid composition showed dynamic changes. Saturated fatty acids (SFA) peaked at 5 d (47.08%±0.12%). Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) demonstrated a trough pattern. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) increased initially and then decreased, reaching 16.80%±0.13% by 5 d. Protein analysis revealed a progressive increased in total carbonyl content and MFI, along with a decline in sulfhydryl group content. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed the appearance of new protein bands at 3 d, and the intensity of these bands became more pronounced as the maturation time increased. Secondary structure transitions from α-helix and β-sheet were observed, conventing into irregular coils and β-turns. Correlation analysis revealed that maturation time exhibited a strong positive correlation with both total carbonyl content and MFI (P<0.001), while showing a highly significant negative correlation with β-sheet content and shear force (P<0.001). Conclusion, the optimal maturation period for camel meat was determined to be 3~5 d, when the meat exhibited its most favorable quality characteristics.

Objective: This study aimed to screen antifreeze peptides (AFP) from fish-derived waste and elucidate their mechanisms of interaction with ice crystals by integrating molecular simulation with experimental validation. Methods: Cod skin collagen was used as the substrate. Simulated enzymatic hydrolysis was employed to identify proteases with optimal bioactive peptide yield. The hydrolysates were analyzed using Peptide Ranker, CryoProtect, ToxinPred and ExPASy databases to evaluate antifreeze potential and physicochemical properties. Molecular docking and dynamics simulations were employed to characterize AFP-ice binding mechanisms. Finally, the screened antifreeze peptides were synthesized using solid-phase synthesis, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was applied to identify the thermal hysteresis activity (THA) of antifreeze peptide AFP2 (AGSSGPGGER). Results: Trypsin demonstrated the highest efficiency among 39 proteases screened via the Peptide Cutter database. Eleven non-toxic, non-allergenic, and good water solubility AFPs were identified from 103 peptides. The binding energy between antifreeze peptide AFP2 and ice crystals was −130.45 kcal/mol. AFP2 bound to ice crystals and dynamically adjusted its conformation during the binding process to enhance the interaction stability via hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. Antifreeze peptide AFP2 exhibited high antifreeze activity, with thermal hysteresis activity of 0.9 ℃ and only 12.29% ice crystal formation during freeze-thaw cycles. Conclusion: This study efficiently screened and identified a highly active antifreeze peptide from fish-derived collagen using molecular simulation technology, providing a feasible approach for developing antifreeze peptides from fish waste and a theoretical foundation for the resource utilization of fish-derived byproducts.