Cheng Wang

Food-derived extracellular vesicles (FDEVs) are a class of naturally occurring nanoscale bioactive carriers found in various edible plant and animal-derived foods. With their low immunogenicity, high biocompatibility, and innate targeting capabilities, FDEVs have emerged as promising candidates for disease prevention, health promotion, and food-based therapeutic delivery strategies. Growing evidence indicates that these vesicles play crucial roles in supporting multiple physiological functions relevant to human health. This review systematically integrates recent advances in FDEVs biogenesis mechanisms, isolation and purification techniques, and physicochemical and biological characterization, emphasizing validated mechanisms and preclinical evidence in anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, and hypoglycemic effects. Furthermore, we explore the potential of FDEVs as natural, safe, and efficient nanocarriers for functional foods and precision nutrition interventions. We also analyze key bottlenecks hindering their translation, including the lack of scalable separation processes and standardized quality control systems. Addressing these challenges is crucial for advancing FDEVs as next-generation functional food active ingredients, offering novel strategies to improve population health and develop targeted nutritional interventions.

Background: The sensory quality of melon (Cucumis melo L.) is determined by the complex interplay of metabolites within the fruit. However, the underlying metabolic mechanisms based on consumer sensory experience remain underexplored. Methods: Sensory evaluation was conducted on twelve melon cultivars, recording flesh color and quantitatively scoring acidity, sweetness, firmness, and aroma intensity. Based on the sensory results, eight cultivars were selected to establish two contrasting groups: sweet-type vs. acidic-type and orange-fleshed vs. green-fleshed. Untargeted metabolomics (UPLC-QTOF-MS) was then performed to analyze the samples, and differential metabolites were screened using OPLS-DA combined with univariate analysis. Results: Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the key distinction between sweet and acidic taste profiles was associated with the specific accumulation of citric acid within the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle in the acidic-type group. Regarding flesh color, the orange-fleshed group was enriched with carotenoid derivatives like β-citraurinene and the oxidized tocopherol product α-tocopherolquinone, whereas the green-fleshed group mainly accumulated phytol, a chlorophyll degradation product, along with more abundant terpenoids. Conclusions: By integrating sensory phenotyping with metabolomic analysis, this study identified key differential metabolites and candidate pathways associated with taste and color in melon, providing metabolic insights and data resources for quality evaluation and regulation.

Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) is a functional food with both edible and medicinal properties. It is rich in various bioactive compounds and holds significant development value and application prospects in food nutrition, medicine, and health. This review systematically summarizes the research progress on the synthesis mechanism and pharmacological activities of phenolic compounds in jujube fruits, clarifies the composition of their main components, sorts out the research advances in extraction technologies of jujube phenolic compounds, and focuses on analyzing the content differences and distribution patterns across cultivars and tissue parts. On this basis, it examines the regulatory mechanisms of phenolic compound synthesis in depth, with a particular focus on elucidating the regulatory networks of genes and transcription factors involved in flavonoid biosynthesis. Meanwhile, this review comprehensively summarizes the pharmacological activities of phenolic compounds in jujube fruits, including antioxidant, anticancer, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and hypoglycemic effects. It also elucidates the molecular mechanisms underlying these bioactivities, such as regulating signaling pathways and scavenging free radicals. Finally, it analyzes the limitations of current research and proposes key directions for future development. This review provides theoretical support and a scientific basis for the in-depth development and utilization of jujube phenolic compounds as well as for the research and development of related functional foods and drugs.

Mycotoxin in grape and its products (wine, raisin) is a widely concerned issue of food safety, it closely associated with consumers’ health. In this study, an analytical strategy by combining second-order calibration method with excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence detection followed photo derivatization (PD) was explored for rapid and sensitive analysis of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEA) in grape, raisin and wine. Except simple solvent extraction by ethyl acetate and concentration by vacuum distillation, samples don’t need other complicated treatment steps any more. With the aid of predominant second-order advantages of alternative trilinear decomposition (ATLD) algorithm, ‘pure’ spectra and quantitative signals of targeted mycotoxins can be resolved from the heavily interfered EEM profile of sample even in the presence of spectral overlaps and unknown backgrounds. The recoveries of AFB₁, OTA and ZEA in four kinds of samples are in the range of 90% to 110%, the limits of detection (LODs) were low to 0.1 μg kg⁻¹, 0.5 μg kg⁻¹ and 0.8 μg kg⁻¹, respectively. This analytical strategy may be as an alternative method for improving mycotoxin analysis in complex food matrices and ensuring food safety in grape industry.

Alternaria alternata is a prevalent postharvest pathogen that generates diverse mycotoxins, notably alternariol (AOH) and alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), which are recurrent severe contaminants. Nitrogen sources modulate fungal growth, development, and secondary metabolism, including mycotoxin production. The GATA transcription factor AreA regulates nitrogen source utilization. However, little is known about its involvement in the regulation of nitrogen utilization in A. alternata. To examine the regulatory mechanism of AaAreA on AOH and AME biosynthesis in A. alternata, we analyzed the impact of diverse nitrogen sources on the fungal growth, conidiation and mycotoxin production. The use of a secondary nitrogen source (NaNO₃) enhanced mycelial elongation and sporulation more than the use of a primary source (NH₄Cl). NaNO₃ favored greater mycotoxin accumulation than did NH₄Cl. The regulatory roles of AaAreA were further clarified through gene knockout. The absence of AaAreA led to an overall reduction in growth in minimal media containing any nitrogen source except NH₄Cl. AaAreA positively regulates mycotoxin biosynthesis when both NH₄Cl and NaNO₃ are used as nitrogen sources. Subcellular localization analysis revealed abundant nuclear transport when NaNO₃ was the sole nitrogen source. The regulatory pathway of AaAreA was systematically revealed through comprehensive transcriptomic analyses. The deletion of AaAreA significantly impedes the transcription of mycotoxin biosynthetic genes, including aohR, pksI and omtI. The interaction between AaAreA and aohR, a pathway-specific transcription factor gene, demonstrated that AaAreA binds to the aohR promoter sequence (5’-GGCTATGGAAA-3’), activating its transcription. The expressed AohR regulates the expression of downstream synthase genes in the cluster, ultimately impacting mycotoxin production. This study provides valuable information to further understand how AreA regulates AOH and AME biosynthesis in A. alternata, thereby enabling the effective design of control measures for mycotoxin contamination.

Raisins, known for their delicious taste and high nutritional value, are among the most widely consumed dried fruits globally. The natural waxy layer on the surface of grapes impedes water migration, making pretreatment necessary before drying. This study evaluated the effects of various pretreatment methods on the nutritional and functional quality of seedless purple raisins. By using non-pretreated dry seedless purple raisins as a control, the impact of physical and chemical pretreatment methods on the nutritional and functional qualities of seedless purple raisins was assessed through the analysis of nutrient content, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activity. Our results demonstrate that physical pretreatment significantly increases the levels of vitamin C, fructose, glucose, total acid, total phenolics, total flavonoids, total anthocyanins, and antioxidant activity compared to chemical pretreatment and the control group. The correlation analysis revealed that phenolic substances were closely linked to antioxidant capacity. Additionally, phenolic compounds, including resveratrol, ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, ethyl coumarate, and cinnamic acid, were more abundant following physical pretreatment. The OPLS-DA model effectively differentiated the three groups of processed samples, showing that different pretreatments significantly affect the nutritional and functional quality of seedless purple raisins. These findings suggest that physical pretreatment offers considerable potential for improving the drying quality of seedless purple raisins.