Trends in Food Science & Technology最新文献

{"title":"Ripened Pu-erh tea modulates the gut microbiome to enhance metabolic homeostasis and redox-inflammatory balance: A systematic review of core health benefits and mechanisms","authors":"Ming Zhao ,&nbsp;Teng Wang ,&nbsp;Lin Zeng ,&nbsp;Qiuyue Chen ,&nbsp;Dihan Yang ,&nbsp;Yiqing Guan ,&nbsp;Nianguo Bo ,&nbsp;Yong-Quan Xu ,&nbsp;Yan Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105448","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105448","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Ripened Pu-erh tea (RpPT), a distinctively fermented Chinese Geographical Indication product, is highly valued for its sensory properties and potential health benefits. However, the core health benefits of RpPT remain incompletely defined, and the underlying mechanisms are not fully elucidated.</div></div><div><h3>Scope and approach</h3><div>This review synthesizes evidence from the past four decades, gathered from both international and Chinese academic databases, to systematically define RpPT's core health benefits and elucidate their mechanistic basis, thereby supporting its practical applications.</div></div><div><h3>Key findings and conclusions</h3><div>Analysis of 351 studies indicates that RpPT's primary health benefits include hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, and redox-inflammatory balance effects, along with organ-protective, detoxifying, anti-cancer, and antimicrobial properties. The central mechanism involves profound remodeling of the gut microbiota, characterized by a decreased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and an increase in beneficial genera such as <em>Akkermansia</em>, <em>Bifidobacterium</em>, and <em>Lactobacillus</em>. These changes elevate the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as acetate, propionate, and butyrate, while reducing lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels and bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity. Consequently, improve intestinal redox-inflammatory status (SOD↑, GSH↑, MDA↓, NF-κB↓, IL-6↓, TNF-α↓) and intestinal barrier function. Systemically, SCFAs activate the PPARγ/AMPK pathways in the liver and adipose tissue, promoting lipid <em>β-</em>oxidation and thermogenesis while inhibiting lipogenesis and improving glucose homeostasis. Simultaneously, reduced BSH activity alters bile acid metabolism, activating the gut-liver FXR-FGF15 axis to facilitate lipolysis. Clinical trials confirm RpPT exerts metabolic regulation, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, gut microbiota modulation, and organ protection efficacy. Thus, RpPT's core health benefits stem from its modulation of the gut microbiome, which enhances intestinal redox-inflammatory balance and barrier function, hence promotes metabolic homeostasis, positioning it as a promising functional beverage for managing metabolic disorders.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":441,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Food Science & Technology","volume":"167 ","pages":"Article 105448"},"PeriodicalIF":15.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145577327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cold-plasma surface engineering induces multifunctional enhancements in biodegradable packaging films","authors":"Xanyar Mohammadi,&nbsp;Golshan Matinfar,&nbsp;Abul Hossain,&nbsp;Anubhav Pratap-Singh","doi":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105445","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105445","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Biodegradable packaging materials made from polysaccharides, proteins, and other biobased polymers offer environmental benefits over synthetic plastics but often suffer from poor mechanical strength, water sensitivity, and weak barrier properties. These limitations hinder their broader adoption in food packaging applications. Cold plasma (CP), a non-thermal and solvent-free surface engineering technique, has emerged as a promising solution to enhance the functionality of biodegradable films without affecting their bulk characteristics.</div></div><div><h3>Scope and approach</h3><div>This review summarizes recent developments in CP technology for modifying biodegradable packaging materials. Key focus areas include plasma-induced changes in surface chemistry, wettability, and interfacial properties, as well as CP-assisted coating strategies and nanoparticle integration.</div></div><div><h3>Key findings and conclusions</h3><div>CP treatment introduces reactive species that etch and functionalize polymer surfaces, increasing surface roughness and incorporating polar groups. These modifications can improve wettability, coating adhesion, and compatibility with active agents. CP also enhances tensile strength, thermal stability, and barrier performance under optimized conditions. Moreover, it enables the synthesis and functionalization of nanomaterials, such as nanocellulose, starch, and protein-based nanoparticles, providing additional reinforcement and functionality to packaging films. Plasma-treated films have shown improved antimicrobial performance, particularly when combined with essential oils or metallic nanoparticles. While CP offers a green, tunable platform for developing multifunctional packaging systems, challenges related to treatment uniformity, scalability, and material-specific responses remain. Addressing these limitations through process optimization and standardization will be essential to support industrial translation and regulatory approval.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":441,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Food Science & Technology","volume":"167 ","pages":"Article 105445"},"PeriodicalIF":15.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145577336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beyond astaxanthin: The bioactive ingredients of Haematococcus pluvialis and their applications in food","authors":"Shu-tao Sun ,&nbsp;Yan-jie Jiang ,&nbsp;Jesus Simal-Gandara ,&nbsp;Xu Guo ,&nbsp;Shengxiang Yang ,&nbsp;Ying-ying Chen ,&nbsp;Meng-qi Zhang ,&nbsp;Qi-dong Ren ,&nbsp;Mu-xuan Wang ,&nbsp;Jin-yue Sun ,&nbsp;Ning-yang Li ,&nbsp;Chao Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105444","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105444","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div><em>Haematococcus pluvialis</em> (HP) is extensively cultivated as the primary natural source of natural astaxanthin. However, astaxanthin constitutes less than 10 % of dry biomass, resulting in a significant quantity of residue after extraction. This residual biomass is rich in proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, carotenoids, and other bioactive compounds. Currently, these residues are mainly utilized in low-value applications, including aquatic feed, animal feed, and biorefining for biofuels. Nonetheless, growing evidence indicates that HP residues retain valuable biological activities and functional properties, offering promising potential for use in high-value food products.</div></div><div><h3>Scope and approach</h3><div>In this review, the bioactivities and applications of HP residue components, including proteins, peptides, polysaccharides, lipids, carotenoids, and other bioactive compounds have been discussed.</div></div><div><h3>Key findings and conclusions</h3><div>HP-derived components demonstrate excellent emulsifying, gel-forming, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and many other capabilities. These features enable their application as natural food additives to enhance the color, texture, and rheological properties of plant-based meat analogues and 3D-printed foods. Additionally, they serve as effective alternatives to synthetic preservatives, contributing to extended shelf life and improved organoleptic qualities in functional foods. To fully exploit these opportunities, future research should focus on developing efficient and environmentally friendly extraction technologies tailored to specific bioactive compounds. It is also essential to conduct in-depth studies on the structure-function relationships of HP components, validate their health benefits through <em>in vitro</em> and <em>in vivo</em> models. Furthermore, efforts toward process scaling, economic evaluation, and meeting regulatory standards are critical for the commercial adoption and sustainable valorization of HP residues.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":441,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Food Science & Technology","volume":"167 ","pages":"Article 105444"},"PeriodicalIF":15.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145527070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Meat Industry 5.0 – a review of technological approaches and robotic systems in the meat processing industry","authors":"Chiara André-Zarna ,&nbsp;Katharina Simmen ,&nbsp;Karl Helge Albretsen ,&nbsp;Per Berg ,&nbsp;Eirik B. Njaastad","doi":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105439","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105439","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The meat processing industry is experiencing a significant technological transformation, with automation and robotisation increasingly complementing traditional manual labour. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and human-robot collaboration—core elements of Industry 5.0—are central to this shift. These technologies are being adopted to address persistent labour shortages, amplified by events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and to meet growing demands for safer, more sustainable, and resilient food production systems.</div></div><div><h3>Scope and approach</h3><div>Despite ongoing progress, a consolidated overview of automation technology in secondary meat processing, particularly in the context of Industry 5.0, is lacking. This review addresses this gap by examining recent technological developments, identifying current industry needs, and outlining key research challenges. The focus is on the secondary processing of the world's most consumed meats by volume: poultry, pork, beef, and veal.</div></div><div><h3>Key findings and conclusion</h3><div>Emerging technologies show strong potential to enhance productivity, food safety, and working conditions. However, major barriers to adoption remain, including high integration costs, strict food safety compliance requirement, and the need for flexible systems that can accommodate variability in raw materials. Automation levels vary significantly between meat types, generally decreasing with animal size. The review emphasises the need for adaptable, modular automation solutions that support gradual integration into existing operations. Addressing critical challenges, including labour shortages, hygienic processing, and environmental sustainability, will be key to ensuring a more robust and future-ready meat processing industry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":441,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Food Science & Technology","volume":"167 ","pages":"Article 105439"},"PeriodicalIF":15.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145577294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Emerging trends in intelligent packaging for tackling food waste in the modern food supply chain","authors":"Mahfuzur Rahman ,&nbsp;Abdus Sobhan ,&nbsp;Omer Sadak","doi":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105436","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105436","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Food waste is a global challenge due to a lack of proper food packaging and safety infrastructure, with one-third of all food produced worldwide being wasted. This issue of food waste not only affects food security but also contributes significantly to environmental degradation and economic losses. To preserve food and prevent food waste across the food supply chain, there is a growing demand to integrate modern packaging technologies combined with the existing packaging systems available on the market. Intelligent packaging has emerged as a promising modern packaging technology that integrates biosensors, indicators, and IoT systems and can detect food pathogens or contaminants and alert consumers online or offline about food freshness for healthy food consumption. The focus of this review is to outline trends, contributions, and challenges of intelligent packaging technologies to tackle food waste in the modern food supply chain and provide some perspectives on their potential for future food packaging industries. This review will explore the role of smart materials and digital technologies in monitoring and extending food shelf life while promoting sustainability. In addition, this review aims to introduce the concept of management for the integrated food supply chain, which is critical for preventing food waste and ensuring food traceability within the entire chain, as well as its cost-related drawbacks and proposing further steps in tackling food waste.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":441,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Food Science & Technology","volume":"167 ","pages":"Article 105436"},"PeriodicalIF":15.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145577322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enzymatic modification of oilseed proteins for improved functional properties","authors":"Yawen Huang ,&nbsp;Qianchun Deng ,&nbsp;Shangwen Chen ,&nbsp;Zhengming Wu ,&nbsp;Xiaoqian Tang ,&nbsp;Dengfeng Peng ,&nbsp;Yashu Chen ,&nbsp;Chao Wang ,&nbsp;Ziyu Deng","doi":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105443","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105443","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Oilseed proteins are abundant and nutritionally valuable, making them an important source of plant-based protein. However, their high content of multimeric structures limits their functional performance in food systems. Enzymatic modification is a mild and environmentally friendly approach with high specificity and controllability. Regulating protein structure can effectively enhance functional properties. Nevertheless, its practical application is constrained by low substrate solubility and limited accessibility of reactive sites. In addition, current studies remain fragmented, and mechanistic understanding is still limited. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the structure–function relationships of enzymatically modified oilseed proteins and integrate the existing dispersed research findings and technical approaches.</div></div><div><h3>Scope and approach</h3><div>This review summarizes the composition, structural characteristics, and enzymatic modification mechanisms of various oilseed proteins. It focuses on how enzymatic modification affects the structure and functionality of different oilseed proteins. In addition, it provides an overview of the current applications of modified oilseed proteins in the food industry.</div></div><div><h3>Key findings and conclusions</h3><div>Enzymatic modifications such as hydrolysis, crosslinking, glycosylation, and deamidation can effectively enhance the functionality of oilseed proteins by promoting controlled structural rearrangements. Multi-enzyme and enzyme–physical field synergies offer promising strategies to overcome mass transfer limitations and improve the exposure of active sites, leading to more uniform and efficient modification. Finally, this review outlines future research directions to guide the expanded processing and utilization of oilseed proteins.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":441,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Food Science & Technology","volume":"167 ","pages":"Article 105443"},"PeriodicalIF":15.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145527071","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The freshness palette: A critical review of smart materials and platforms for sensing ammonia in high-protein foods","authors":"Xinjia Zhou ,&nbsp;Xiaoli Qin ,&nbsp;Qiang Wang ,&nbsp;Jinfeng Zhong","doi":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105442","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105442","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) is recognized as a biomarker for spoilage in high-protein foods. However, the translation of smart sensing technologies for TVB-N detection from laboratory prototypes to commercially viable products is hindered by a persistent \"performance trilemma\": the inherent trade-off between sensitivity, selectivity, and stability. This trilemma manifests as critical performance discrepancies; for instance, ultrasensitive prototypes with color changes too subtle for consumer detection, and pH indicators with poor real-world reliability due to cross-interference from humidity and CO₂. As a result, major challenges in sensor reliability and industrial scalability persist, defining the critical lab-to-market gap that this review addresses.</div></div><div><h3>Scope and approach</h3><div>The review critically assesses the principles of TVB-N as a spoilage biomarker and the core sensing mechanisms for its detection. A comprehensive assessment of sensing materials, from natural pigments to advanced nanomaterials, is presented. Furthermore, performance enhancement strategies and system integration formats are analyzed to establish a technological roadmap for developing next-generation freshness sensors.</div></div><div><h3>Key findings and conclusions</h3><div>The practical application of many sensing materials is fundamentally constrained by the performance trilemma. Intrinsic instability restricts the commercial use of natural pigments, while low selectivity against environmental interferents (e.g., humidity and CO₂) compromises the real-world reliability of most pH-based sensors. Recent advances highlight the integration of sensors with smartphones and artificial intelligence to enable quantitative analysis. Future success depends on two critical aspects: the rational design of intrinsically stable and selective materials and the development of robust, predictive analytical platforms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":441,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Food Science & Technology","volume":"167 ","pages":"Article 105442"},"PeriodicalIF":15.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145527145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Electric field-based technologies for functional modification of food biopolymers: Recent advances and trends in proteins, dietary fibers and starches","authors":"Ramon Bocker,&nbsp;Eric Keven Silva","doi":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105437","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105437","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The development of novel food ingredients with tailored functional properties is a key strategy to meet consumer demands for healthier, sustainable products and to improve the technological performance of food formulations. Fibers, starches, and proteins are fundamental biopolymers that determine texture, stability, and sensory attributes, and their techno-properties can be significantly enhanced through structural modification. In recent years, electric field-based technologies have gained prominence as innovative tools to precisely modify these macromolecules, providing an efficient alternative to conventional chemical or thermal treatments.</div></div><div><h3>Scope and approach</h3><div>This review provides a critical discussion of recent trends (2020–2025) in the use of ohmic heating (OH), moderate electric fields (MEF), high-voltage electrical discharge (HVED), and pulsed electric fields (PEF) to modify the technological properties of proteins, dietary fibers, and starches for ingredient design. The mechanisms by which these technologies induce structural and conformational changes, the process parameters influencing the outcomes, and the impacts on hydration, solubility, emulsification, gelling, viscosity, retrogradation, and digestibility, among other functional properties are systematically discussed. Particular emphasis is placed on highlighting the advantages of these techniques in producing sustainable, high-performance ingredients through controllable, mild, and sustainable processes.</div></div><div><h3>Key findings and conclusions</h3><div>Electric field-based technologies are important tools in food ingredient engineering, enabling targeted modification of fiber hydration and water-holding capacity, starch gelatinization and retrogradation behavior, and protein solubility and emulsifying properties. PEF and HVED excel in non-thermal, structural disruption, OH and MEF promote uniform heating and conformational rearrangements, and all provide opportunities for designing novel ingredients with improved technological and nutritional attributes. As research advances, optimizing processing parameters and scaling up industrial applications will be crucial to fully harness their potential for the development of novel, sustainable food ingredients aligned with market and sustainability trends.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":441,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Food Science & Technology","volume":"167 ","pages":"Article 105437"},"PeriodicalIF":15.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145577323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Decoding consumer food preferences via electroencephalography (EEG): Neurophysiological mechanisms of sensory perception and therapeutic potential","authors":"Fanghang Qiu ,&nbsp;Jiahui Shao ,&nbsp;Yunxiao Wei ,&nbsp;Shiguo Chen ,&nbsp;Xingqian Ye ,&nbsp;Donghong Liu ,&nbsp;Huan Cheng","doi":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105434","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105434","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Contemporary food consumption has transcended basic satiety, evolving into a paradigm that prioritizes multisensory experiences and health benefits. Therefore, understanding the neurophysiological basis behind consumer preferences (including pleasurable responses and physical and mental health conditions) is crucial for driving product innovation and personalized nutrition.</div></div><div><h3>Scope and approach</h3><div>This review synthesizes evidence from multimodal neurophysiological techniques, with a primary focus on electroencephalography (EEG) as a tool to decode implicit emotional and cognitive responses. We integrate EEG with explicit measures to establish a comprehensive framework for assessing food preferences, covering both the role of multisensory interactions in shaping acceptance and the empirically validated effects of therapeutic foods on sleep, stress, cognition, and metabolic health in specific populations.</div></div><div><h3>Key findings and conclusions</h3><div>The combination of implicit methods such as EEG and explicit methods can comprehensively reveal consumers' preference behaviors. Olfaction and gustation play pivotal roles in this process, alongside audio-visual presentations and somatosensation (including touch, pain, and temperature sensation). Multisensory interactions further enhance consumers' sensory experiences and provide a novel pathway for promoting healthy dietary patterns like salt and sugar reduction through mechanisms such as odor-induced taste enhancement. Additionally, clinical research has empirically validated that foods possess inherent therapeutic effects in improving sleep quality, alleviating stress, optimizing cognitive functions, and intervening in obesity. These findings offer scientific evidence for the development of new products in the food industry and the formulation of personalized nutrition schemes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":441,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Food Science & Technology","volume":"167 ","pages":"Article 105434"},"PeriodicalIF":15.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145577324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rational design of Whey protein–polysaccharide delivery systems: Synergistic mechanisms and advanced applications","authors":"Guang-Lin Luo ,&nbsp;Ping-Ping Wang ,&nbsp;Chun Chen ,&nbsp;Xiong Fu","doi":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105438","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105438","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Whey proteins–polysaccharides (WPs–Ps) complexes have attracted considerable attention as promising delivery systems for bioactive compounds in functional foods and pharmaceuticals. Their advantages stem from excellent biocompatibility, natural edibility, and sustainability. These complexes provide an effective platform to address the intrinsic limitations of hydrophobic or sensitive bioactive, such as poor solubility, instability, and low bioavailability, thereby opening new opportunities in the nutraceutical and therapeutic sectors.</div></div><div><h3>Scope and approach</h3><div>This review critically summarizes the interaction mechanisms of WPs-Ps complexes, including electrostatic forces, hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, Maillard reactions, and enzyme-mediated cross-linking. It further classifies various WPs-Ps complex-based delivery systems, such as nanoemulsions, multilayer emulsions, hydrogels, nanoparticles, microcapsules, and nanofibers, emphasizing how factors like ratio, pH, concentration, and oil phase content modulate their performance characteristics.</div></div><div><h3>Key finding and conclusions</h3><div>WPs–Ps complexes significantly improve solubility, encapsulation efficiency (EE), stability, and bioavailability of various bioactive compounds. They also enable controlled and targeted release, thus addressing critical delivery challenges in food and pharmaceutical applications. Despite the remarkable progress, further research is required to optimize scalable production methods and to design stimuli-responsive delivery systems that allow precision control over release kinetics. Such developments will be essential to fully realize the potential of WPs–Ps complexes in functional foods and therapeutic formulations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":441,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Food Science & Technology","volume":"167 ","pages":"Article 105438"},"PeriodicalIF":15.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145527069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}