Critical reviews in food science and nutrition最新文献

Foodborne bacteria are a significant contributor to foodborne diseases worldwide, and effective prevention requires accurate early detection and continuous monitoring. Nucleic acid test (NAT)-based detection methods have been extensively studied and applied due to their high specificity and rapid turnaround time. However, most NAT-based detection systems cannot achieve ideal sensitivity or short assay times without efficient sample pretreatment. Although reviews have individually addressed methods for nucleic acid (NA) extraction and methods for increasing the concentration of foodborne bacteria at low bacterial loads such as pre-enrichment and pre-concentration, a comprehensive review that compiles and critically analyzes all pretreatment steps as an integrated process has not yet been reported. This review summarizes key considerations and advances in all pretreatment stages, including sample preparation, enhancement of bacterial abundance, and NA extraction. Particular emphasis is placed on the compatibility and potential integration of each pretreatment steps and with NAT, while critically addressing practical challenges that are often overlooked. The evaluations presented in this review aim to enable the effective application of NAT for the detection of foodborne bacteria and to facilitate the development of fully automated workflows and field-deployable diagnostic systems.

Extreme heat events are rising in frequency and duration and can have a significant impact on fetal growth and pregnancy outcomes. This review provides strong evidence that links heat stress during pregnancy and/or lactation in mammals will impair the maternal gut, immune response, hormone balance, placenta function and morphology, and alter fetal growth and birth outcomes. In addition, there are also effects to lactation and postnatally, including a change in milk production and composition, and alterations to offspring's gut, immune response, muscle, and body composition, independent of diet. In addition to the rise in extreme heat events, maternal diet composition has further effects and leads to detrimental outcomes during pregnancy and on offspring health. Yet, there are still many open questions that remain before we fully understand the mechanisms of how heat exposure during pregnancy impacts maternal and child health outcomes and how well these translate to humans. Lastly, emerging evidence supports the beneficial effects of maternal nutritional supplementation, micronutrient intake, and dietary components on maternal-child health outcomes.

Prepared aquatic foods refer to ready to eat, heat, cook, and use aquatic products. These foods are gaining popularity as a result of consumer preference for their peculiar flavor. Flavor deterioration of prepared aquatic foods directly impacts the sensory quality and consumer acceptance. Identifying the mechanisms involved in flavor development and offering strategies to regulate flavor are crucial, as the flavor of prepared aquatic foods alters under various processing and storage conditions. Microorganisms play a crucial role in flavor evolution by participating in biochemical metabolic reactions and regulating quorum sensing systems. In this review, microbial species associated with the flavor of prepared aquatic foods are summarized. The mechanisms of protein, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism, as well as quorum sensing mediated by microorganisms in the flavor evolution of prepared aquatic foods, are also reviewed. The regulation of quorum sensing, non-thermal sterilization, antibacterial packaging, artificial intelligence colony prediction, and flavor-targeted compensation for flavor control are also discussed with current and prospective views. This review aims to provide insights into the promotion of desired flavor compounds and control of off-flavor substances in prepared aquatic foods from the perspective of metabolic mechanisms and quorum sensing in microorganisms.

Whole grains are abundant in polyphenols, phytosterols, dietary fiber β-glucan carotenoids, etc. They are highly bioavailable as intermediate metabolites processed by gut microbiota. These intermediate metabolites can enter the circulation from the gut, and then participate in the biochemical pathways that induce metabolic syndrome and improve the abnormal state of body. Metabolic syndrome is often accompanied by oxidative stress, carbonyl stress, inflammation and other abnormal states. Intermediate metabolites such as polyphenols can signal the brain. Then, under the control of the brain, it regulates the blood sugar level, blood lipid level, bile acid level, etc., and maintains the health. In this process, the brain-gut axis and liver-gut axis play a crucial part. In this review, the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) mellitus, obesity, atherosclerosis and nonalcoholic liver syndrome and the role of brain-gut axis and liver-gut axis in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome were described in detail. The regulatory role of whole grains in these four metabolic syndromes was investigated. Dietary components have great potential for better utilization in the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome. The importance of a whole grain diet was explored and techniques for improving the bioavailability of functional components in whole grains were also investigated.

Wheat is a fundamental food source and drying is an important part of the process to extend storage period of wheat. Hot air drying is widely used in the wheat drying industry due to its simple system and easy operation. However, the timely incorporation of AI-driven intelligent strategies into this industry has been overlooked. This paper focuses on reviewing the recent advances of hot air drying and its integration with intelligent technologies in wheat drying. The research trends and possible limitations of applying intelligent technologies in wheat hot air drying were outlined. Different hot air-drying processes and the initial state of wheat mainly affect the product quality and energy consumption. Increasing concerns over product quality, process costs, and intelligent drying system have motivated the researchers to investigate and the industry to adopt combination technologies. Various intelligent detection technologies and clean energy sources were reported to hold great potential in advancing the wheat hot air drying industry. Future research should focus on achieving technological and equipment innovations in industrial applications through computer simulations and artificial intelligence. Research directions aimed at optimizing process parameters and enhancing product quality should also be prioritized.

The exploitation of fish and their processing by-products constitutes a valuable approach for the production of multifunctional peptides (MFPs), which play a crucial role in promoting the sustainable development of marine resources and enhancing precision nutrition. This review provides a comprehensive summary of recent advancements in the field of fish-derived MFPs. The preparation techniques, such as enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation, not only enhance the biological activity of peptides but also significantly affect their taste activity. Moreover, developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and computational modeling have provided powerful tools for elucidating the interaction mechanisms between peptides and their targets, including both physiological and taste receptors. Consequently, the integration of interdisciplinary technologies is anticipated to expedite the targeted discovery and rational design of novel fish-derived MFPs, thereby facilitating their innovative applications in functional foods, medical supplies, cosmetics, seasonings, and animal feed industry.

Drawing on nearly two decades of systematic research in food dehydration and recent reports of microbial contamination in dehydrated food systems, this review highlights the urgent need for interdisciplinary collaboration to ensure microbiological safety in emerging dehydrated food matrices. We deconstruct the microbial hazards inherent to these products while challenging the long-held assumption of their intrinsic safety. The review proceeds through four key dimensions: (i) taxonomic profiling of pathogenic microorganisms associated with dehydrated foods, supported by outbreak reports and regulatory recalls; (ii) mechanistic evaluation of physicochemical intervention strategies for microbial inactivation, including efficacy comparisons and operational limitations; (iii) critical appraisal of advanced dehydration technologies-such as electromagnetic field-assisted drying, thermal gradient drying, and modified atmosphere drying-for real-time microbial control; and (iv) synergistic protocols integrating pretreatment sterilization with optimized drying parameters. Notably, electromagnetic technologies (microwave, radiofrequency, infrared) offer dual benefits, achieving log10-scale pathogen reductions while improving dehydration efficiency through volumetric heating. Evidence shows that hybrid approaches coupling physical sterilization with precision drying can achieve 2.3-4.7 log CFU/g microbial reduction without compromising product quality. These insights not only provide a framework for developing next-generation dehydration processes but also emphasize their public health significance, industrial applicability, and contribution to consumer protection.

Numerous foodborne pathogenic bacteria can enter a viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state when subjected to adverse environmental stresses. Owing to the inadequacy of conventional detection methods and insufficient awareness of their hazards, VBNC foodborne pathogenic bacteria pose a latent risk to food safety. This paper systematically reviews their resistance to common stresses (thermal, acid, salinity, and oxidative), antibiotic resistance, and pathogenicity. Key findings reveal consistent oxidative resistance enhancement in the VBNC foodborne pathogenic bacteria, whereas their resistance to heat, acid, and salinity varies with induction factors and bacterial species. Most bacteria enhance or retain their antibiotic resistance, and some previously sensitive strains acquire resistance upon entering the VBNC state, posing clinical challenges. For pathogenicity, VBNC pathogenic bacteria exhibit selective virulence gene and protein expression, and the retainment of species-dependent pathogenicity is further confirmed by cell and animal models, necessitating the consideration of both stressors and species in risk assessments. Overall, VBNC foodborne pathogenic bacteria constitute a triple threat of concealment, resistance, and pathogenicity. This review provides new insights for accurate prevention and control to better ensure food safety.

Recent studies have indicated that dietary polyphenols may affect serum uric acid (SUA) levels, although the results remain controversial. This study aimed to investigate this relationship through a meta-analysis. A total of 21 RCTs with 1502 participants were included. Polyphenols lementation was classified into flavonoid, stilbene, and curcuminoid groups. When the results of these studies were pooled, polyphenols lementation, particularly flavonoids and anthocyanin mixtures, significantly reduced SUA levels, while stilbenes and curcuminoids showed non-significant effects with current evidence. We specifically recommend long-term (> 8 wks) lementation with minimally processed plant-derived polyphenols in capsule or tablet form. This study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD 42023476304).

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) shape early-life health by guiding microbiome assembly, fortifying the mucosal barrier, calibrating immune responses by enhancing secretory IgA at mucosal surfaces, blocking pathogen adhesion, and influencing the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Direct deployment of structurally diverse HMO at population scale remains constrained by manufacturing complexity and cost. This review examines "nature-inspired" oligosaccharides derived from plant and marine algal as affordable, scalable HMO mimetics, mapping chemistry to biology across five functional domains: microbiota architecture & metabolism, inhibition of pathogen adhesion via glycan decoy mechanisms, immune education, mucosal barrier enhancement and gut-brain regulation. We synthesize and critically appraise evidence on plant-derived fructo-, xylo-, and mannan-oligosaccharides, as well as on red-algal agaro-oligosaccharides and brown-algal fuco-oligosaccharides. Although these glycans do not fully replicate individual HMO structures, they can exhibit convergent mechanisms: selective fueling of saccharolytic consortia to produce functional metabolites (SCFAs), multivalent fucose-rich decoying of viral/bacterial adhesins, dendritic-cell/T- and B-cell tuning, epithelial junction and mucus programs, and neuroactive/metabolite signaling along the gut-brain axis. Framed as functional mimicry rather than strict structural emulation, plant and marine oligosaccharides emerge as promising "glycobiotics" to deliver HMO-like benefits across the lifespan, with opportunities for precision, personalized, and sustainable formulations guided by multi-omics and glycoinformatics.