Wheat bran, a principal byproduct of flour milling, stands as an abundant source of dietary fiber, yet its economic potential remains under-exploited in current forage applications. Arabinoxylan (AX), constituting the core of dietary fiber, emerges as a versatile compound with multifaceted functionalities. Its nutritional significance, coupled with its role in cereal food processing, has prompted a surge of studies focusing on the valorization of wheat bran AX. Moreover, the hydrolyzed derivative, arabinoxylan oligosaccharides (AXOS), demonstrates prebiotic and antioxidant properties, offering potential avenues to mitigate the risk of chronic diseases. This review summarizes current knowledge on the valorization of wheat bran AX in terms of the processing and nutritional properties of AX. Moreover, multiple novel applications of AX in the materials area, including biodegradable food packaging films, delivery of bioactive substances as nanoparticles, and the manufacture of food emulsifiers, are also highlighted to extend the utilization of AX. This review underscores the immense potential of wheat bran AX, advocating for its exploitation not only as a nutritional asset but also as a primary ingredient in advanced materials. The synthesis of nutritional and materials perspectives accentuates the multifaceted utility of wheat bran AX, thereby paving the way for sustainable valorization pathways. By unraveling the latent potential within AX, this paper advocates for the holistic and sustainable utilization of wheat bran in diverse, value-added applications.
Millets are widely recognized for their nutritional significance; however, the methods employed for their processing are currently lacking. This article primarily focuses on the advanced technologies and progressions in millet dehulling and polishing. These technologies operate based on the fundamental principles of compression-shearing, abrasion-friction, and centrifugal-impact forces. Processing of millets can be challenging because of the physical characteristics and tight attachment of hull and bran to the endosperm. However, several dehullers have been designed to solve this problem for different kinds of millets. In addition, the nutritional and anti-nutritional characteristics undergo alterations due to both dehulling and polishing processes. These alterations are thoroughly examined and discussed in this article. Specifically, anti-nutrients such as tannins and phytate are predominantly found in the outer pericarp of the grain and experience a reduction after undergoing dehulling and polishing. The nutritional properties are also subjected to a reduction; however, this reduction can be mitigated by subjecting the grains to certain pretreatments before dehulling and polishing. These treatments serve to enhance dehulling efficiency and nutrient digestibility while simultaneously reducing the presence of anti-nutrients. Novel thermal and non-thermal methodologies such as microwave, hydrothermal, high-pressure processing, and ohmic heating can be employed for processing millets, thereby diminishing the loss of nutrients. Additional research can be carried out to investigate their impact on the dehulling and polishing of millets.
Soybean protein has high nutritional value, but its functional properties are easily affected by external factors, which limits its application in food industry. In the study, soybean protein isolate (SPI) was modified by dry heat glycation of galactooligosaccharides (GOS). The gel properties, antioxidant properties and structural changes of SPI-GOS conjugates were investigated. The application of SPI-GOS conjugates in noodles was also explored. The results observed that the glycation degree of SPI increased with the increasing reaction time. SDS-PAGE and spectral analysis showed the changes of spatial conformation of SPI after glycation. The antioxidant activity of SPI increased after glycation and DPPH radical scavenging activity of SPI-GOS peaked at 48 h of reaction. The hardness, elasticity and resilience of soybean protein gel reached their relative maximum at 48 h, 48 h and 12 h of glycation reaction, respectively. Moreover, the appropriate addition of glycated SPI improved the quality of noodles. The noodles with 4% addition of SPI-GOS had higher hardness, elasticity and tensile properties. This study will provide an effective method to modify soybean protein and expand the use of soybean protein in food industry.