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Yellow mustard gum (YMG) is a value-added ingredient derived from yellow mustard seed by-products. It exhibits shear-thinning flow behavior and excellent emulsifying and stabilizing abilities in both oil/water and water/oil systems. These properties remain relatively stable under various pH, temperature, and solute conditions. However, the current extraction technology, involving hot water soaking and ethanol precipitation, limits its commercial production and application. This thesis aimed to explore and demonstrate the commercial potential of YMG by investigating its synergistic gelation blend with κ-carrageenan. Rheology, calorimetry (DSC), and microscopy (Cryo-SEM) were employed to study YMG and its synergistic blends. A scale-up production protocol was developed, utilizing minimal processing steps and no organic solvents. The pilot-scale YMG product exhibited similar chemical composition and rheological properties to the purified YMG obtained through a previous lab-scale method. Moreover, this YMG product effectively encapsulated essential oil blends and provided long-term stability in an oil-in-water system. Synergistic interactions between YMG and κ-carrageenan were observed, differentiating them from the synergistic interaction of YMG with locust bean gum (LBG). YMG-κ-carrageenan (YMG-C) gels demonstrated strong and elastic properties, whereas YMG-LBG gels exhibited adhesive and paste-like behavior. Gelation of YMG-C was induced by cooling, similar to κ-carrageenan, while YMG-LBG gels remained stable throughout the gelation process, forming and stabilizing quickly after heating and mixing. The synergism between YMG and κ-carrageenan stemmed from the compatibility of the two gums, resulting in the formation of a single-phase cooperative gel when κ-carrageenan dominated the system (YMG:κ-carrageenan 3 to 7). The synergistic blend led to stronger gel strength primarily due to polymer interactions between the two gums. YMG did not affect the coil-to-helix transition of κ-carrageenan but participated in its helix aggregation during gel setting. These findings provide valuable insights to support the commercial production and application of YMG as a clean-label natural gum. Diverse Field Crops Cluster; Mustard 21 2024-05-03

Plastics materials used for food packaging are recalcitrant, leading to a growing global environmental problem, which arouses the attention of environmental protection departments in many countries. Therefore, to meet the increasing demand for sustainable and environment-friendly consumer products, it is necessary for the food industry to develop natural antibacterial materials for food preservation. This review summarizes the common biodegradable natural antimicrobial agents and their applications in food preservation; as well as an overview of five commonly used biodegradable protein-based polymers, such as zein, soy protein isolate, gelatin and whey protein, with special emphasis on the advantages of protein-based biopolymers and their applications in food packaging industry.

The Multidrug and Toxic Compound Extrusion (MATE) protein belongs to a secondary transporter gene family, which plays a primary role in transporting many kinds of substrates such as organic compounds, secondary metabolites, and phytohormones. MATE protein members exist in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. However, evolution and comprehensive analysis of the MATE genes has not been performed in Rosaceae species. In the present study, a total of 404 MATEs genes were identified from six Rosaceae genomes (Prunus avium, Pyrus bretschneideri, Prunus persica, Fragaria vesca, Prunus mume, and Malus domestica) and classified into eight main subfamilies (I-VII) based on structural and phylogenetic analysis. Microcollinearity analysis showed that whole-genome duplication events might play a vital role in the expansion of the MATE genes family. The Ka/Ks analysis, chromosomal localization, subcellular localization, and molecular characteristics (length, weight, and pI) were performed using various bioinformatics tools. Furthermore, different subfamilies have different introns-exons structures, cis-acting elements, and conserved motifs analysis, indicating functional divergence in the MATE family. Subsequently, RNA-seq analysis and real-time qRT-PCR were conducted during Chinese pear fruit development. Moreover, PbMATE genes were significantly expressed under hormonal treatments of MeJA (methyl jasmonate), SA (salicylic acid), and ABA (abscisic acid). Overall, our results provide helpful insights into the functions, expansion complexity, and evolutions of the MATE genes in Chinese pear and five Rosaceae species.

Resveratrol (RES) loaded Zein‐SHA (low‐molecular‐weight sodium hyaluronate) nanoparticles with average diameter of about 152.13 nm and polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.122, which can be used to encapsulate, protect and deliver resveratrol. By measuring ABTS free radical scavenging ability and iron (III) reducing power, it was determined that encapsulated resveratrol has higher in vitro antioxidant activity than free resveratrol. When tested with murine breast cancer cells 4T1, the encapsulated resveratrol also showed higher antiproliferative activity than free resveratrol, with IC50 values of 14.73 and 17.84 μg/ml, respectively. The colloidal form of resveratrol developed in this research may be particularly suitable for functional foods and beverages, as well as dietary supplements and pharmaceutical products., Resveratrol nanoparticles with zein as carrier were successfully prepared. RES nanoparticles have better in vitro antioxidant activity and antitumor effect than free resveratrol. RES could be a natural compound for development of nutraceutical and cosmeceutical products.

This report describes the synthesis of a series of sodium complexes bearing cavity-like conformations formed with the aid of sterically hindered phenoxide and 15-crown-5 ether ligands. All the complexes are well-characterized via NMR spectroscopy analysis, and through single crystal X-ray studies and DFT calculations it is found that the size of the cavity is very similar to that of macrolactone monomers. During subsequent studies of the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of macrolactones, the present sodium complexes demonstrate high catalytic efficiencies in the ROP of pentadecalactone and ethylene brassylate, affording the corresponding polyester products in high yields. Moreover, due to chain propagation being confined within the cavity, transesterification can be suppressed because of mutual steric repulsion between the ligands and polymer chains, which further allows polymerization to proceed in a well-controlled manner. Owing to such uniqueness, block copolymerization between macrolactones and other cyclic esters can be also successfully achieved.