Qing-Hui Wang

In this study, a sea buckthorn–wolfberry compound coffee (SWCC) solid beverage was formulated and evaluated based on sensory scores, dispersibility, and water solubility. The optimal formulation consisted of 9% sea buckthorn powder, 16% wolfberry powder, 65% coffee powder, 8% sugar, 1.25% microcrystalline cellulose, 0.5% sodium bicarbonate, and 0.25% tricalcium phosphate. The SWCC contained 18.75 ± 0.43 mg RE/g total flavonoids and 4.60 ± 0.04 mg GAE/g total phenols, demonstrating superior in vitro antioxidant activity compared to the raw sea buckthorn or wolfberry powders, with a 90.21 ± 0.15% DPPH radical scavenging rate, 90.56 ± 0.35% ABTS radical scavenging rate, and 6.64 ± 0.03 mg Trolox/g ferric-reducing power. In vivo experiments showed that specific doses (1.25–5.00 g/kg·BW/day) of SWCC exhibited significant physical fatigue-relieving and antioxidant effects, significantly extending loaded swimming time, reducing BLA accumulation, increasing LG reserves, enhancing SOD activity, and lowering MDA levels in serum. Overall, our findings offer both theoretical and practical insights for utilizing medicinal and edible resources in functional food development, meeting the growing demand for healthy and diverse food options, and contributing significantly to the advancement of public nutrition and the healthy food industry.

In current work, the effects of drying temperature (60, 65, 70, and 75 °C), vacuum pressure duration (VPD; 6, 9, 12, and 15 min), and ambient pressure duration (APD; 2, 3, and 4 min) on drying kinetics and quality attributes of kiwifruit slices during pulsed vacuum drying (PVD) were explored. An artificial neural network (ANN) model combined with a comprehensive method was applied to evaluate the optimal drying condition. Results showed that drying parameters significantly affected the drying kinetics, color, and vitamin C content of kiwifruit slices except for rehydration ratio. The shortest drying time, i.e., 432 min, was obtained at a drying temperature of 75 °C, VPD of 12 min, and APD of 3 min. The lowest total color change (ΔE) occurred to dried products at 65 °C, VPD of 12 min, and APD of 4 min. The vitamin C content of dried product decreased with the increase of APD. The optimal condition predicted by ANN was 65 °C, VPD of 12 min, and APD of 2 min, which obtained the highest comprehensive score of dried kiwifruit slice. The relative error percentage between the predicted and experimental compressive score at optimal condition was 2.92%.