Jing Wang

Alkylresorcinols (ARs) are biomarkers of whole-grain intake and food authenticity, but simultaneous discrimination of AR homologues remains challenging due to structural similarity and co-occurrence in complex food matrices. Herein, a three-channel fluorescent sensor array based on graphene quantum dots (GQDs) was developed to discriminate and quantify five AR homologues (C17:0, C19:0, C21:0, C23:0, and C25:0). Noncovalent interactions between GQDs and ARs, with distinct surface chemistries, induce differential interfacial charge redistribution and excited-state relaxation, generating cross-reactive fluorescence patterns. Using principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis, the array yields unique fingerprints separating low, medium, and high concentrations. Linear correlation between PC1 scores and AR concentrations (0–60 μg·mL–1) enabled quantification, with detection limits down to 1.1 ng·mL–1. Validation using commercial whole-wheat products distinguished all five ARs, with recoveries of 96.10–108.40% and relative standard deviations below 3.76%. This robust, low-cost, high-throughput platform shows potential for food authenticity evaluation and biosensing.

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are functional lipids with unique physicochemical properties and metabolic advantages. Recently, their regulatory roles in various chronic diseases have attracted considerable attention. This review systematically summarizes recent research progress and the proposed mechanisms of MCTs and their metabolites in metabolic diseases, neurological disorders, gut health, and muscle function. In the metabolic field, MCTs offer potential nutritional strategies for managing obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and various metabolic liver diseases. These effects are primarily mediated by improving insulin sensitivity, regulating lipid metabolism, and modulating energy expenditure. In neurological diseases, MCTs demonstrate potential for preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and epilepsy through multiple pathways, including ketogenic energy supply, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and mitochondrial protection. Regarding gut health, MCTs and their derivatives may benefit digestive health by modulating gut microbiota and enhancing barrier function. For muscle health, MCTs help optimize energy metabolism and protein homeostasis, showing promise for countering sarcopenia and improving exercise performance. In conclusion, the prospects for MCTs are broad. Future research should focus on promoting their scientific application in precision nutrition and disease therapy, and more rigorous clinical trials are needed to confirm their efficacy and safety.

Exosomes, small molecules with phospholipid bilayer structures derived from cell membranes, usually contain many biomacromolecules, such as proteins, mRNAs, and miRNAs. Exosomes have been verified to be among the most important mediators of material and information exchange within or between individuals. In recent decades, exosomes have attracted increasing attention from researchers. In this review, the structure, methods of separation and identification, and cell origination of exosomes are described in detail. The potential applications of exosomes, such as anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, tissue damage repair and regeneration, antioxidant function, drug delivery, and cancer therapy, are summarized. Food-derived exosomes from animals, plants and microorganisms have become a research hotspot. Exosomes carrying biomacromolecules are important mediators of signal transduction and regulation between cells from the same individual and between individuals of the same or different species. It is widely considered a promising intermediate for food nutrition and chronic disease prevention.

Wheat bran is an important source of dietary fiber in whole wheat products, yet the high content of insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) drastically impairs dough rheology and bread quality. In this study, solid-state fermentation was applied to wheat bran using ten tea-derived starters. All starters promoted IDF degradation and induced a transient increase in soluble dietary fiber. Among them, QD and FY showed superior modification efficiency, remarkably reducing the crystallinity of cellulose. Consequently, the dough prepared with fermented bran exhibited reduced viscoelastic stiffness and improved flow behavior, while the corresponding breads showed increased specific volume and reduced crumb hardness. Microbiome analysis of QD and FY showed that fermentation markedly reduced bacterial and fungal diversity, selectively enriching the genera of Bacillus and Aspergillus with cellulolytic and xylanolytic potential. Overall, this study provided new insights for modifying wheat bran composition and structure, thereby improving the processing quality of whole wheat bread.

Compound–target interaction (CTI) prediction plays a critical role in drug discovery and the functional study of food-derived bioactive compounds. However, traditional experimental methods for CTI identification are limited by high costs, long cycle times, and high false-positive rates, highlighting an urgent need for more efficient approaches. Machine learning (ML) has become a revolutionary tool to address these challenges. In this review, we focus on recent developments in ML-based CTI prediction. We first systematically outline the commonly used public databases and feature extraction methods for both compounds (molecular fingerprints) and proteins (sequence-derived features), followed by elaborating on four types of ML approaches, including classical supervised learning, matrix factorization, graph topology-based inference, and deep neural network frameworks. In particular, this review explores the emerging application of these computational approaches in identifying targets of food-derived bioactive compounds, underscoring its significant potential to advance functional food research. Moreover, we analyze key challenges, such as limited model interpretability, high data dependency, and insufficient multi-source information integration, and put forth future prospects to improve the prediction of food-derived CTIs, thereby facilitating their application in functional food research.

This study investigated the effects of rice bran extract (RBE) on the quality and digestibility of Chinese steamed buns (CSBs). RBE decreased the starch pasting properties, weakened the starch gel network structure, and reduced the storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″). With the increase in RBE addition in CSBs, lightness difference (ΔL*) decreased, total color difference (ΔE*) increased, and the color of CSBs shifted from light to dark orange-red. Additionally, RBE increased the specific volume and enlarged the pore size of the CSBs. When 15% RBE was added, the CSBs had the lowest hardness and the highest springiness, indicating optimal quality. Notably, the addition of RBE significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the estimated glycemic index (eGI) from 90.916 ± 0.530 to 82.282 ± 0.399 at a 20% concentration, which represents a 9.5% reduction. This study provides a reference for the development of low-glycemic-index (GI) foods.

Alp1, a potent fibrinolytic enzyme from Cordyceps militaris CM03, was characterized and identified as an S8 family alkaline serine protease. Molecular simulations revealed that the pro-peptide enhances mature peptide flexibility, which is crucial for functional folding and catalytic accessibility. Furthermore, heterologous expression confirmed its role as an essential intramolecular chaperone. Alp1 exhibits optimal activity at 60 °C and pH 7–11, yielding an activity of 1779 U/mL. This activity is enhanced by Ca²⁺ and Mn²⁺, but inhibited by specific metal ions (Fe³⁺, Fe²⁺, Cu²⁺) and protease inhibitors (PMSF, TPCK). Alp1 directly degrades fibrin and all three fibrinogen chains (α, β, γ). In vitro and in vivo (rat thrombosis model) assays demonstrated its potent thrombolytic and anticoagulant properties, outperforming urokinase and matching streptokinase efficacy. Thus, Alp1 warrants further investigation as a potential candidate for next-generation thrombolytic applications and functional food development.