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Background Rising health awareness has driven tremendous public interest among food manufacturers and academicians in identifying and developing novel functional foods. Studies on the health-promoting benefits of soy products and their quality improvement measures have become the hotspot across the globe. However, there is limited information summarizing the existing soy products and their improved quality attributes associated with different technical strategies. Scope and approach New processing strategies (physical, chemical, and biological) applied in the modification of various soy products are summarized and their pre- and post-modified quality attributes are systematically reviewed. The current review also highlights the role of fermentation in enhancing the nutritional, sensory, and health-promoting features of soy products. Key findings and conclusions Traditionally processed soy products exhibit intrinsic quality defects such as beany flavor, high anti-nutrients content, complex structure, and low bioavailability of soy protein and isoflavones. New processing strategies including blending with extra ingredients, non-thermal treatment, dietary fiber modifications, acid treatment, germination and tailored fermentation could render these soy products with improved nutritional and sensory characteristics, especially, fermentation has been reported to provide soy products with enhanced health-promoting features such as anti-diabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects as well as improving the cardiovascular and bone health. The information accumulated in this review may provide up-to-date evidence supporting diversified soy products as a class of important functional foods.

Background Since time immemorial, natural active compounds including essential oils (EOs) and their components have been used due to their flavor and fragrance. Out of 3000 known varieties, 300 are commercially utilized for the food and pharmaceutical industries. Scope and approach In recent years, studies on EOs have enormously increased owing to their remarkable biological activities and health benefits. As a result, their pharmacological attributes have played an immense role to identify natural and safe alternative therapeutics to extend their industrial applications. Key findings and conclusions: This review covers the sources and composition of EOs, recent progress in their extraction methods, factors affecting their quality and yield, their most important activities, such as antioxidant and antimicrobial activities as well as their mechanisms of action. Besides, the importance of EOs in food, biomedicine, and agricultural industries is also highlighted. For the food industrial applications, we mainly aimed at the incorporation of EOs as such or as nanoemulsions into active or smart packaging with a particular emphasis on the food preservation and shelf-life extension of food products.

Asparanin A (AA), a natural compound present in vegetables and medicinal herbs like Asparagus officinalis L., has been investigated extensively for its pharmacological attributes. So far, the effect of AA on endometrial cancer (EC) cell migration and invasion has not been explored. Herein, we elucidated the anti-metastasis mechanism of AA on Ishikawa cells based on miRNA-seq and mRNA-seq integrated analyses. AA treatment led to altered miRNAs expression in Ishikawa cells and inhibited the cell wound healing, cell migration and invasion. Gene Ontology and KEGG enrichment analyses showed that the target genes of different expression miRNAs were significantly enriched in Ras, Rap1 and MAPK signaling pathways. Further verification of these changes via qRT-PCR and Western blot assays in vitro and in vivo demonstrated that AA could suppress human EC cell migration and invasion through Ras/ERK/MAPK pathway. Furthermore, top two miRNAs (miR-6236-p5 and miR-12136_R+8) and top three target genes (KITLG, PDGFD, and NRAS) were identified as functional hub miRNAs and genes through miRNA-target gene network analysis. Our data presented a holistic approach to comprehend the anti-metastatic role of AA in EC after in vitro and in vivo analyses.

In this study, we evaluated the effect of addition of non-volatile compounds (sodium sulfite, tartaric acid, tannin, and glucose) on the rheological properties, release of aroma compounds, and color of the red wine. While determining the rheological properties of the supplemented samples, non-Newtonian fluidic and shear-thinning behavior of samples was noticed. The viscosity of these samples was found in negative correlation with the dose of addition of various non-volatile substances. The aroma profile of red wine after additions showed the change in the release of the nine key aroma compounds. Among them ethyl hexanoate, phenylethyl alcohol, octanoic acid, diethyl succinate, and ethyl octanoate were profoundly increased. Further, the color of red wines was improved in the presence of tartaric acid and tannin. Overall, supplementation of various substances during storage period of three different wines could enormously affect the sensory characteristics in a dose dependent manner. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s10068-018-0492-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Lately, plant derived proteins have been used extensively to produce Maillard reaction products (MRPs) for the preparation of various functional food products. We evaluated the effects of cysteine (Cys), methionine (Met), and thiamine (Thi) on the color and flavor development of MRPs derived from sesame seed meal. Compared with the MRPs of sesame seed hydrolysate (SSH), Cys-MRPs had the strongest antioxidant activity and fluorescence intensity, showing the stronger taste and overall acceptability. These MRPs contained the highest sulfur compounds which resulted into stronger meat flavor. Moreover, the content of free amino acids in Met-MRPs was the highest. Compared with MRPs of SSH alone, MRPs with different sulfur content had better flavor characteristics and physicochemical properties, which entail their usage in different food ingredients.

With an aim to prepare the functional chocolate, corn oil was used as the base oil and β-sitosterol was combined with oryzanol/stearic acid/lecithin to prepare respective oleogels (GO, SO, and LO). Oleogels (12%) were prepared by adding compound oleogelators at different ratios [GO-2:3, SO-1:4, and LO-4:1 (w/w)] in corn oil. The microstructure, interaction, thermodynamic, crystalline, and rheological behavior of formulated oleogels were studied by microscopic observation, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and rotational rheometer, respectively. The results showed that GO had the strongest gel forming ability and the densest gel crystallization network. Moreover, chocolate prepared with GO (cocoa butter and oleogels-1:1) had the similar texture, crystal structure, rheological, and sensory properties to that of dark chocolate. This study provides the possibility for the wider application of oleogel prepared with lower saturated and trans-fatty acids in the chocolate industry.

Noodles were prepared using wheat flour supplemented with 1%, 3%, and 5% grape seed power (GSP). The farinograph properties of wheat flour, the textural properties of the dough, and thermal properties of the gluten were determined. The microstructure was analyzed by scanning electron and atomic force microscopy, and the effects of the addition of GSP on the physicochemical and structural properties (free sulfhydryl content, surface hydrophobic region, and secondary structure) of wheat gluten protein were analyzed. 1% GSP promoted the aggregation of gluten proteins by promoting hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding, thus enhanced the noodle quality. Whereas, 3% and 5% GSP addition disrupted the disulfide bonds between gluten protein molecules and formed macromolecular aggregates linked to gluten proteins through non-covalent bonds and hydrophobic interactions, which prevented the formation of the gluten protein reticulation structure. Our study emphasized the interaction between wheat proteins and GSP in noodle making dough.

Due to highly nutritious and well-known prebiotic nature, okara (soy by-product) can improve the physiological benefits of probiotic consumption by enhancing the physicochemical stability and bioavailability of bacteria and metabolites, partially in food matrices and then in gastrointestinal tract. Initially, vitamin B2 producing probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum UFG10 was immobilized with 4% okara for soy milk fermentation. SEM micrographs showed firm adherence of UFG10 to okara surface depicting efficient immobilization. Soy milk fermented with okara immobilized UFG10 showed enhanced β-glucosidase activity, stimulating the biotransformation of isoflavones from glucosides (daidzin, from 27.78 to 9.84 μg/mL; genistin, from 32.58 to 8.33 μg/mL) to aglycones (daidzein, from 0.19 to 30.84 μg/mL; genistein, from 1.42 to 33.10 μg/mL) and higher B2 production (1.53 μg/mL, 12 h) confirmed by HPLC. Okara addition and B2 enrichment could yield relatively higher antioxidant strength than control soy milk. PLSR correlation revealed the effects of okara and B2 on the functional properties of soy milk. After okara immobilization, soy milk showed higher soy protein digestibility after in vitro digestion for 225 min, higher aggregation, and lower protein molecular chains, qualitatively confirmed with Atomic force microscope. Okara immobilized bacterial cells exhibited relatively greater resistance up to 55.1% (p

We explored the effect of carboxymethylated wheat bran dietary fibers (DFs) on mice with type 2 diabetes (T2D) (induced by HFD combined with STZ) and their possible hypoglycemic mechanism. After feeding the diabetic mice with modified DFs for four weeks, the DFs had lipid lowering and anti-hyperglycemic effect, via increasing the levels of insulin, GLP-1, PYY, and SCFAs in diabetic mice, and improving the histopathology of liver and pancreas. qRT-PCR results showed that the intake of DFs up-regulated the expression levels of G6Pase and Prkce, and down regulated the expression levels of Glut2 and InsR in the liver of diabetic mice. It is suggested that DFs may play a role by inhibiting 1,2-DAG-PKCe pathway, improving insulin receptor activity and insulin signal transduction. 16 S rDNA high-throughput sequencing results showed that the DFs significantly improved the relative abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila, increased the diversity of gut microbiota and reduced the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes, thus promoting the hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effect on diabetic mice. Our study can foster the further understanding of the gut modulatory biomarkers and related metabolites, and may extend the basis for DFs as a potential dietary intervention to prevent or treat the T2D.

The present study emphasized on the anti-cancerous effects of dioscin and its underlying molecular mechanism in human endometrial cancer Ishikawa cells. Dioscin significantly suppressed the proliferation of Ishikawa cells at IC50 of 2.37 μM. Besides, dioscin could inhibit the proliferation of Ishikawa cells by blocking the G0/G1 cell cycle through up-regulation of p16, p21, and p27 and down-regulation of cycle-cellular protein (Cyclin A/D/E) and cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK2/4/6). Also, it promoted apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway, including the regulation of Bcl family proteins, the increase of ROS levels, the activation of caspases (Caspase 9/3), and the decrease of mitochondrial membrane permeability. Whereas dioscin also effectively activated the marker genes and proteins (Fas, TNF-R1, and Caspase 8) related to the death receptor-mediated pathway which confirmed the involvement of both the pathways for dioscin-induced apoptosis. The current results demonstrated that dioscin possessed potential health benefits with respect to endometrial cancer prevention and treatment.

Endometrial cancer (EC) associated with endogenous hormone metabolism, obesity, diabetes, and inappropriate dietary habits has shown a rising trend in recent years. Various therapeutics methods including dietary approaches (vital phytochemicals) offer healthy and nontoxic strategies against cancer. To date, 6-shogaol as one of the antitumor phytochemicals remains unexplored against human endometrial cancer cells. In our study, 6-shogaol obtained from Zingiber officinale rhizomes separated and purified by HPLC, LC-MS/MS, and NMR respectively could inhibit Ishikawa cell proliferation at IC50 (24.91 μM) with the arrested cell cycle in the G2/M phase. Moreover, it promoted apoptosis, as a result, triggered ROS production, then activated key ER response biomarkers in Ishikawa cell associated with mitochondria, and ultimately regulated related genes and proteins in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, 6-shogaol can be used as a promising natural compound endowed with potential benefits for cancer treatment and/or prevention at large and EC in particular.

The effects of cysteine, initial pH, and thermal treatment on the color and flavor derived from Maillard reaction of flaxseed protein hydrolysates were investigated. Browning and color of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) were inhibited at higher cysteine concentration and lower initial pH. Higher cysteine or initial pH suppressed the cross-linking of 128–1,000 Da peptides and accelerated the degradation of peptides with a higher molecular weight (MW) (>1,000 Da). The higher temperature and longer reaction time resulted into a marked increase in flavor formation in the Maillard reaction model. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) revealed that volatile compounds, MW distribution, and amino acids of MRPs had a significant influence on MRPs sensory characteristics. The generation of umami, mouthfulness, and continuity was observed at relatively lower temperatures and longer heating time. The sulfur- and nitrogen-containing compounds from the low MW peptides (

Photodynamic treatment (PDT) is an innovative technology with non-thermal and environmentally sound merits, but the evaluation on the storage qualities of fresh produce was scarce. In this study, the effects of curcumin-based PDT on the quality of fresh-cut ‘Fuji’ apple slices during storage at 4 °C were investigated. The impacts on the survival of Escherichia coli, color and weight loss were examined under different curcumin concentrations, illumination time or incubation time. Curcumin-based photodynamic inactivation of E. coli on the surface of apple slices reached 0.95 log. Curcumin-based PDT was proven to prevent browning and weight loss. Additionally, PDT significantly reduced the activity of polyphenol oxidase and peroxidases to 48% and 51%, respectively. Moreover, there were few negative changes in total phenolic, ascorbic acid content and anti-oxidant activity of the treated apples. These results indicated that curcumin-based PDT was a viable and promising non-thermal technology to preserve the quality of fresh produce.

To control the oxidation in chicken fat by immobilized lipoxygenase (LOX), Maillard reaction products (MRPs) with chicken flavor were prepared and analyzed for flavor mechanism. >50% activity of immobilized LOX was retained after repeated use for five times or five weeks. The oxidized chicken fats were prepared by thermal, free LOX, and immobilized LOX treatments. After addition of chicken fats, Maillard reaction produced more aliphatic aldehydes and alcohols (126.0–839.5 ng/g and 493.5–2332.4 ng/g, respectively) which resulted in noticeable enhanced reaction, but the content of sulfur compounds such as thiols and thiophenes decreased significantly (870.8–1233.9 ng/g and 1125.0–2880.3 ng/g, respectively), and the structure of sulfur compounds could easily form alkyl side chains. However, there was no significant difference in sensory and flavors between oxidized chicken after treatments, which may be related to oxidized degree. The mechanism was proposed or aromatic effects of oxidized chicken fat on flaxseed derived MRPs.

In present study, the acute, genetic, and sub-chronic toxicities of flaxseed derived Maillard reaction products (MRPs) were investigated. Acute toxicity results showed that the 50% lethal dose (LD50) of MRPs in rats was >15.0 g/kg body weight (BW); whereas, the 50% effective dose (ED50) of MRPs was 12.3 g/kg BW. Ames test demonstrated that the back-mutation colonies for MRPs addition of 5,000 μg/dish was positive, which displayed certain mutagenicity. There were no significant differences in micronucleus rate and sperm deformity rate among different dose groups. The sub-chronic toxicity confirmed that less than 0.75 gMRPs/kg BW intake did not affect weight, food intake, mortality, gross pathology, histology, hematology, and serum biochemistry. The obtained results can provide an imperative reference on the safety of a meat flavoring agents.