Journal of Food Science最新文献

Egg white (EW), a rich protein source, holds promise for creating a high-protein, low-fat gel product. However, browning issues during heating and sterilization have hindered its wider application. In this study, lactic acid bacteria fermentation was employed to eliminate reducing sugar in EW, and its impact on the molecular structure and gelling properties was explored. The results revealed that fermentation would trigger protein structural unfolding and aggregation, evident from higher fluorescence intensity and enlarged protein particle diameters, resulting in the decrease in gelling hardness. In comparison, Streptococcus thermophilus-fermented EW (under 6 × 10⁸ CFU/mL incubation rate, fermented for 6 h) exhibited the highest gel hardness, ascribed to the relatively weaker structure transformation, with high water holding capacity and stronger intermolecular hydrophobic interaction. To further enhance the gelling properties of fermented EW, membrane concentration treatment was applied, exhibiting superior characteristics in appearance, aroma, and taste. In summary, lactic acid bacteria fermentation and concentration are feasible solutions to improve appearance and texture of EW gels simultaneously. The research findings offer eco-friendly and practical strategies for enhancing the quality of EW gels, providing valuable theoretical insights for the development of innovative, texture-rich, and healthy nutritional foods.

Antibiotic residues have become a significant challenge in food safety, threatening both ecosystem integrity and human health. To combat this problem, we developed an innovative photo-powered, self-powered aptasensor that employs a novel carbon-doped three-dimensional graphitic carbon nitride (3D-CN) combined with a metal-organic framework composed of N-doped copper(I) oxide-carbon (Cu₂O@C) skeletons. The 3D-CN serves as the photoanode, offering stable photocurrent production due to its three-dimensional open framework structure. The N-doped Cu₂O@C acts as the photocathode, providing oxidation protection for the metal core and enhancing light absorption due to its metal-organic framework structure. A key feature of our work is exploiting the Fermi level difference between the n-type photoanode and p-type photocathode, which facilitates faster migration of photogenerated electrons toward the photocathode, thereby enhancing the sensor's self-powered effect. Experimental results reveal that upon aptamer loading, the sensor can linearly detect tetracycline (TC) within a range of 0.5 pmol/L to 300 nmol/L, with a detection limit as low as 0.13 pmol/L. It also demonstrates excellent selectivity, stability, and reproducibility, making it applicable to real samples such as milk and river water. Consequently, our research provides a highly efficient and sensitive method for monitoring TC in food, with significant practical implications and profound impacts on food safety.

Comprehensive comprehension of the interaction between proteins and polyphenols is crucial for advancing their utilization in food processing. This study investigated no-covalent interaction between pea protein isolate (PPI) and quercetin (Que) through spectroscopic analysis and molecular simulation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and circular dichroism spectrum showed that the interaction between PPI and Que changed the secondary structure of the protein due to a decrease in α-helix content and an increase in the random coil. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that the Quebound PPI via hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions (ΔH > 0, ΔS > 0, and ΔG < 0), which was also confirmed by molecular docking. Particle size and ζ-potential showed that PPI and Que demonstrated effective interaction and binding capabilities, enhancing the stability. In addition, the antioxidant and bioaccessibility of complexes have also been enhanced. This study shed a light on the application of protein-polyphenol complexes for developing functional foods. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Interaction between pea protein isolate and quercetin can change the protein conformation to maintain the stability of quercetin and is helpful to expand the market value and application value of plant protein. The research has important implications for using leguminous protein as embedded support to improve the stability of polyphenols compounds.

To achieve starch straws with high strength and large toughness, the effects of annealing time on structural and functional performances of mung bean starch straws were studied. The results revealed that with increasing annealing time from 0to 60 min, the ratios of 1047 cm^-1/1022 cm^-1 in Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy decreased from 1.37 to 1.20, and the relative crystallinities decreased from 12.09% to 11.01%. The relative crystallinity increased to 13.28% when annealing time increased to 120 min. The maximum bending force increased from 10.93 to 104.24 N, and modulus of elasticity enhanced from 0.93 to 62.68 N/mm when annealing time increased from 0 to 120 min. Starch straws annealed for 120 min had the lowest water absorption (94.61%), while starch straws annealed for 60 min had the highest water absorption (127.38%). This outcome not only lay a theoretical foundation for preparing biodegradable starch straws with excellent performance, but also apply for beverages, food container, food packaging films, and so on, strongly promoting starch industrial transformation and development.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have great potential for the adsorption of minor molecular alcohols in the vapor phase. However, the drawbacks of powdered MOFs, including low recyclability and problematic separation, limit their application in fermented wine. Chitosan (CS) is a low-cost, eco-friendly, moldable matrix used in the food industry. In this study, a novel CS@ZIF-8 adsorbent with excellent microporous surface area was successfully synthesized by incorporating hydrophobic ZIF-8 into CS. The results showed that CS@ZIF-8 beads had a high adsorption affinity for methanol at a Zn²⁺/2-methylimidazole molar ratio of 1:5. The adsorption mechanism of methanol on CS@ZIF-8 beads was systematically studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, isotherms, and kinetics. The Langmuir model calculated the maximum adsorption of methanol to 56.8 mg/g. Adsorption kinetics are consistent with pseudo-second-order models. Furthermore, CS@ZIF-8 beads presented excellent recyclability for removing methanol for five consecutive cycles. It could treat 60 bed volumes of Chinese yellow wine in column filtration experiments to make the concentration below 50 mg/L. In summary, the highly efficient CS@ZIF-8 adsorbent has great potential for methanol adsorption from fermented wines. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Methanol will exhibit adverse symptoms such as weakness and headaches after it is ingested. Therefore, methanol control is an important safety factor in the production of fermented wine. The adsorption method is recognized as a widely used technique due to its high efficiency and selectivity. The CS@ZIF-8 adsorbent synthesized in this paper provides a new idea for methanol removal.

To investigate the effect of p-coumaric acid (p-CA) on postharvest cherry tomatoes, breaker stage fruits were treated with p-CA to analyze the physiological metabolism during storage. The results showed that exogenous p-CA treatment improved the sensory quality of tomato fruits. Transcriptomics results indicated that 782 genes (339 up-regulated and 443 down-regulated) were differentially expressed between p-CA treated and control fruits. Results suggested that p-CA treatment regulated the synthesis of phenolic compounds and inhibited the fruit ripening through the pathways of mangiferic acid biosynthesis and phenylalanine metabolism. Key enzymes activities of the phenylpropane metabolic pathway of tomato fruits were increased, including phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase (C4H), and 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (4CL). In addition, the total phenols content, flavonoids content and antioxidant capacities of tomato fruits were improved with p-CA treatment. Overall, these findings showed that p-CA treatment could be a potential strategy for fruit and vegetable preservation.

Pea protein is one potential environmentally sustainable way of recreating the functionality of eggs in coatings for baked goods. These coatings are commonly applied to enhance visual properties of baked goods that consumers desire, especially color and gloss. This project used a simplified pie crust formulation (flour, shortening, and water) as a model baked good system to investigate color and gloss properties of pea protein coatings comprising three pea protein glycerol ratios, prepared at 2 pH values, and applied at three different weights, baked for either 15 or 30 min. Pictures were also taken and used to estimate L*, a*, and b* colorimeter values from images using random forest and artificial neural network models developed using SciKit-Learn. Image acquisition was also conducted at different lighting conditions and the results are corrected utilizing a principal component analysis (PCA) weighting approach. Results show that pea protein glycerol solutions are all glossier than egg washes, and the 80%/20% ratio gives the highest glossiness. Furthermore, there are not significant differences in any of the colorimeter values at any concentration when applying 1 g of protein. The artificial neural network model coupled with PCA weighting led to reasonable estimates of color at different lighting conditions. Together, these results offer an alternative for the use of pea protein/glycerol in lieu of egg washes.

The study evaluated the combined effects of drying methods (air drying [AD], hot AD [HAD], microwave drying [MD], and freeze-drying [FD]) and ultrasonication parameters (sonication temperature [STemp]: 40, 50, and 60°C) and heating time (STime: 60 and 120 min) on natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) extraction of phytochemicals from Amaranthus hybridus stem. Increasing the STemp increased the extraction yield (ECY) of the phytochemicals for all drying methods but increase in the heating time reduced the ECY slightly. MD combined with 60°C ST showed the highest ECY (53%), whereas HAD combined with 40°C ST had the lowest ECY (18%). At 60 min heating time, increasing the ST from 40 to 50°C increased the total phenolic content (TPC) in the extract for most drying methods except MD, and a sonication time of 120 min showed a slightly higher TPC, especially for MD samples. At 60 min sonication, total flavonoid content (TFC, 800 mgQE/g) was highest for AD plus 50°C ST and lowest for AD combined with 60°C (100 mgQE/g), whereas for 120 min sonication, MD and AD with 50°C showed the highest TFC (690 mgQE/g). FD retained better some of the vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin) but MD retained better vitamin C. The antioxidant capacity was not so much different among the drying methods except for FD, which showed lower values. These results provide a theoretical basis for the synergistic applications of drying and ultrasonication during NADES extraction of phytochemicals from Amaranthus hybridus.

Cow milk (CM) is an important food source for humans, and food allergy caused by CM has attracted attention worldwide. To our knowledge, systematic studies about the effects of Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Pediococcus pentosaceus on the IgE-/IgG-binding ability and nutritional properties of CM are very rare. In this study, L. paracasei, L. plantarum, and P. pentosaceus fermentation on the IgE-/IgG-binding ability was determined by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), and the protein quality, amino acid profile, and color were systematically evaluated. The results showed that these LAB strains exhibited higher protein degradation ability, and the IgE reactivity reduction rate was 41.03%-60.00% and the IgG reduction rate was 29.86%-67.20%, respectively. Additionally, the nutritional value was improved obviously, and the color was altered significantly, which was conductive to develop dairy products. These findings provided a theoretical foundation for the development of hypoallergenic dairy products. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: In this study, L. paracasei, L. plantarum and P. pentosaceus could be considered as good potential candidates for solving cow milk allergy owing to their decreased IgE/IgG binding ability andimproved nutritional and sensory properties, which provide a promising strategy to develop hypoallergenic dairy products.

Employing lipidomics, this study investigated the lipid composition of seabuckthorn fruit oil processed via supercritical CO₂ extraction and centrifugal separation. Qualitative analysis showed that a total of 2861 lipid molecules were identified in seabuckthorn fruit oil. Quantitative analysis showed that the content of lipids in seabuckthorn fruit oil extracted by supercritical CO₂ extraction (927,539.84 µg/mL) was significantly higher than that in centrifugal-separated seabuckthorn fruit oil (735,717.63 µg/mL), with 17 distinct lipid classes and 215 lipid molecules differentiated through multivariate statistical analysis. Lipid molecules, such as diacylglycerol (DG), ceramides (Cer), monohexosyl ceramide, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and monogalactosyl DG, were predominantly found in the oil extracted using supercritical CO₂. In contrast, monogalactosyl monoacylglycerol, diglycosyl ceramide, and Cer phosphate were significantly present in the oil extracted by centrifugal separation. These findings contribute new insights into how processing methods affect the quality and composition of seabuckthorn fruit oil and provide a basis for detecting oil adulteration.