Huifan Liu

Polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) can inhibit advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and lipid oxidation during frying. In a French fry–oil system, PMFs were compared with TBHQ and ACNs. Thermogravimetric analysis showed PMFs and TBHQ had good thermal stability, with decomposition peak temperatures of 298.48 °C and 258.68 °C, respectively. A 1.0 mg/mL PMFs solution exhibited free radical scavenging rates of 56.20–72.31%, indicating strong in vitro antioxidant activity. PMFs significantly suppressed increases in acid value and anisidine value in soybean and rapeseed oils, with inhibitory effects second only to TBHQ. PMFs maintained peroxide value at the lowest level after 6 hours of frying, and the loss rate of polyunsaturated fatty acids was significantly lower than that of the control, effectively protecting unsaturated double bonds. For AGE inhibition, PMFs kept levels low and outperformed ACNs overall, showing long-term inhibitory effects. These findings suggest PMFs from pomelo peel are promising natural antioxidants for frying oils.

Blood orange juice (BOJ) is a processed product rich in flavonoids, offering multiple health benefits. This study investigated the transformation patterns of structurally diverse flavonoids during gastrointestinal digestion of BOJ. Analyses were conducted through in vitro digestion models, random forest algorithms, and correlation studies. Findings: total flavonoid content decreased with digestion duration, showing a significant decline after 0.5 hours of gastric digestion. Four key flavonoids were identified, with their transformation patterns exhibiting three distinct digestive modes: anthocyanins predominated in the stomach, flavonones in the intestine, and flavonols and chalcones in continuous gastrointestinal digestion. Descriptive factors including ring number, double bond number, oil-water partition coefficient, and hydroxyl electro-topological state showed significant correlations (p <0.05) with conversion rates at different digestive sites. This study provides theoretical foundations and design references for stabilising flavonoid protection, elucidating physiological functions, and structure-directed optimization.

Water-soluble pectin (WSP) is a soluble dietary fiber with a high esterification degree and certain viscosity and emulsifying properties. It has diverse bioactivities—including antioxidant, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. This study aimed to investigate the in vitro antioxidant mechanisms of water-soluble pectin, and the in vivo effects of intestinal antioxidant capacity and gut microbiota composition in hybrid grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus♂ × Epinephelus fuscoguttatus♀). In an experiment involving feeding fish with WSP added to the diet, the addition of 600 mg/kg WSP promoted the activities of CAT, SOD, and GSH-Px in the grouper intestinal tract, thereby enhancing the antioxidant properties. At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Actinomycetes and Armatimonadetes decreased significantly. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Vibrio and Subdoligranulum increased significantly. In addition, antioxidant genes, inflammatory factor genes, immune genes, apoptosis genes, and genes of specific transmembrane proteins may participate in the regulation and improvement of the hybrid grouper intestinal tract. (CAT, MnSOD, and GPX), (TNF-α, IL-β, IL-6, and TGF-β), (MHC2, TLR3, KEAP1, and IKK-α), (C3, C8, C9, and P53), and (Claudin-3a, Occludin, ZO-1, and ZO-3) may regulate the intestinal function of hybrid grouper. Therefore, adding an appropriate volume of WSP to the diet is beneficial for the intestinal health of hybrid groupers.

This study aimed to investigate the bioactive compounds and evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of juice prepared from whole pomelo fruits (WPJ). Methods: Total flavonoid content, naringin levels, and nutrient composition of WPJ were quantified over the storage period. Flavonoid profiling was conducted using LC–MS. Anti-inflammatory activity was assessed in vitro using LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages, where dose–response effects on nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were measured. An in vivo phenol red–induced mouse model was used to evaluate the effects of WPJ on respiratory secretion and pulmonary inflammation, with analysis of MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathways. Results: WPJ exhibited a high total flavonoid content (950.68 ± 7.65 mg/100 g), dominated by hesperidin, tribuloside, baicalin, apigenin 7-O-neohesperidoside, hesperetin, neohesperidin dihydrochalcone, naringenin, naringin, jaceosidin, and pinocembrin. In vitro, WPJ pretreatment significantly reduced NO, IL-6, and TNF-α production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In vivo, WPJ promoted phenol red secretion in the respiratory tract and attenuated pulmonary inflammatory responses, partly through inhibition of MAPK/NF-κB signaling. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that WPJ is rich in diverse flavonoids and possesses potent anti-inflammatory activity both in vitro and in vivo. Its ability to suppress key inflammatory mediators and modulate respiratory tract responses suggests potential benefits for pulmonary health. These findings support the potential application of WPJ as a functional food for preventing or alleviating cough- and phlegm-related conditions.

Dendrobium officinale polysaccharide (DP) was prepared with lactic acid bacterium fermentation to overcome the large molecular weight and complex structure of traditional DP for improving its functional activity and application range in this work. The structure was analyzed, and then the functional activity was evaluated using a mouse model of alcoholic liver damage. The monosaccharide compositions were composed of four monosaccharides: arabinose (0.13%), galactose (0.50%), glucose (24.38%), and mannose (74.98%) with a molecular weight of 2.13 kDa. The connection types of glycosidic bonds in fermented D. officinale (KFDP) were →4)-β-D-Manp(1→, →4)-β-Glcp(1→, β-D-Manp(1→, and β-D-Glcp(1→. KFDP exhibited an excellent protective effect on alcoholic-induced liver damage at a dose of 80 mg/kg compared with polysaccharide separated and purified from D. officinale without fermentation (KDP), which increased the activity of GSH, GSH-Px, and GR and decreased the content of MDA, AST, T-AOC, and ALT, as well as regulated the level of IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β to maintain the normal functional structure of hepatocytes and retard the apoptosis rate of hepatocytes. The results proved that fermentation degradation is beneficial to improving the biological activity of polysaccharides. The potential mechanism of KFDP in protecting alcoholic liver damage was inhibiting the expression of miRNA-150-5p and targeting to promote the expression of Pik3r1. This study provides an important basis for the development of functional foods.

Aquatic foods are nutritious, enjoyable, and highly favored by consumers. In recent years, young consumers have shown a preference for prefabricated food due to its convenience, nutritional value, safety, and increasing market share. However, aquatic foods are prone to microbial spoilage due to their high moisture content, protein content, and unsaturated fatty acids. Furthermore, traditional processing methods of aquatic foods can lead to issues such as protein denaturation, lipid peroxidation, and other food safety and nutritional health problems. Therefore, there is a growing interest in exploring new technologies that can achieve a balance between antimicrobial efficiency and food quality. This review examines the mechanisms of cold plasma, high‐pressure processing, photodynamic inactivation, pulsed electric field treatment, and ultraviolet irradiation. It also summarizes the research progress in nonthermal physical field technologies and their application combined with other technologies in prefabricated aquatic food. Additionally, the review discusses the current trends and developments in the field of prefabricated aquatic foods. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical basis for the development of new technologies and their implementation in the industrial production of prefabricated aquatic food.