Jinpeng Wang

Ferulic acid (FA) is a hydroxycinnamic acid known for its strong antioxidant activity and potential benefits for intestinal health. However, its poor water solubility and instability limit its effectiveness. To address these issues, different ways have been explored to protect FA against degradation and further exert its potential benefits. This review discusses the absorption and metabolism of FA in the gut, as well as its potential impact on intestinal health. It also compares different intestinal delivery systems, such as nanoparticles, electrospun nanofibers, microcapsules, cross‐linked polymer gels, and Pickering emulsions, which can improve the solubility, stability, and bioavailability of FA in the gastrointestinal tract. This comprehensive review provides valuable insights for using FA in food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceuticals products.

Many phytochemicals suffer from poor water dispersity and storage stability, which restrict their application within aqueous-based commercial products. β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) is a water-dispersible molecule with a hydrophobic core that can encapsulate and protect non-polar substances. The functional attributes of β-CD can be further enhanced by chemical modification. In this study, a simple and effective dry-heating process was applied to fabricate succinic acid (SA)-modified β-CD (SACD) through esterification. SACD showed better encapsulation property than non-modified β-CD to guest molecules such as methyl orange (up to 1.41-folds of β-CD) and curcumin (with an encapsulation efficiency of up to 10 mg/g). Meanwhile, higher water solubility (up to 469.30 g per 100 g of H₂O) was achieved for SACD, indicating that a high dose of SACD could be applied in an aqueous food matrix. Such a simple strategy exhibiting low cytotoxicity shows great potential incorporating bioactive compounds into functional foods.

Owing to the diminishing resources and growing awareness of environmental issues, significant scientific attention has been paid to the development of physical gel materials using renewable and low-cost natural resources. Inspired by the strengthened mechanism of double-network and nanocomposite (NC) gels, we report a facile and green method to realize a mechanically stiff, fatigue-resistant, and adhesive-debranched waxy corn starch/poly(vinyl alcohol) double-crosslinked NC gel (W-Gel) skeleton material with dynamic noncovalent bonds. The in situ formation of debranched starch nanoparticles leads to self-assembly into three-dimensional waxberry-like microspheres, which act as physical cross-linkers by embedding themselves within network skeleton structures. The resulting hydrogel exhibited an excellent mechanical behavior, including a good stretchability over 1200% strain, a maximum compressive strength of up to 780.7 ± 27.8 kPa, and the ability to sustain as much weight as 4.6 kg (about 2000 times its own weight). Notably, the recovery efficiency exceeded 93% after the 60th compressive successive loading–unloading cycle at 50% strain. The hydrogel successfully adhered onto soft and hard substrates, such as skins, plastics, gauzes, glasses, and metals, manifesting in long-term, stable, sustained release of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). The EGCG-loaded W-Gels exhibited predominant antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhus).