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[Display omitted] • Atmospheric pressure plasma jet enhanced the functionalities of chickpea protein. • Protein digestibility was significantly increased after 30 s plasma treatment. • The α-helical structures were transformed into random coils and β-sheet structures. • The smaller flake-like microstructures of protein facilitated its functionalities. Chickpea protein (CPI) is a promising dietary protein and potential substitute for soy protein in food product development due to its high protein content and low allergenicity. However, CPI possesses denser tertiary and quaternary structures and contains certain amount of anti-nutritional factors, both of which constrain its functional properties and digestibility. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJ) as a non-thermal method for enhancing the functional characteristics and digestibility of CPI. In this study, the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species generated by the APPJ treatment led to protein oxidation and increased carbonyl and di-tyrosine contents. At the same time, the secondary, tertiary and microstructural structures of CPI were changed. The solubility, water holding capacity, fat absorption capacity, emulsifying capacity and foaming capacity of CPI were significantly improved after 30 s APPJ treatment, and a higher storage modulus in rheology was observed. Additionally, it was observed that the in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) of APPJ-treated CPI increased significantly from 44.85 ± 0.6 % to 50.2 ± 0.59 % following in vitro simulated gastric and intestinal digestion, marking a noteworthy improvement of 11.93 %. These findings indicate that APPJ processing can enhance the functional and digestive properties of CPI through structural modification and expand its potential applications within the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the major causes of renal damage. Shenyan Fangshuai Recipe (SFR), a modified prescription of traditional medicine in China, showed potent effects in alleviating edema, proteinuria, and hematuria of CKD in clinical practices. In this study, we aimed to investigate scientific evidence-based efficacy as well as metabolic regulations of SFR in CKD treatment. Materials and Methods. The effect of SFR on CKD was observed in a rat model which is established with oral administration of adenine-ethambutol mixture for 21 days. Further, metabolites in serum were detected and identified with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS). Metabolomics study was performed using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software. Results. With H&E staining and Masson's trichrome, the results showed that chronic kidney damage is significantly rescued with SFR treatment and recovered to an approximately normal condition. Along with 44 differential metabolites discovered, the regulation of SFR on CKD was enriched in glycine biosynthesis I, mitochondrial L-carnitine shuttle pathway, phosphatidylethanolamine biosynthesis III, sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling, L-serine degradation, folate transformations I, noradrenaline and adrenaline degradation, salvage pathways of pyrimidine ribonucleotides, cysteine biosynthesis III (Mammalia), glycine betaine degradation, and cysteine biosynthesis/homocysteine degradation. Further, TGFβ-1 and MMP-9 were observed playing roles in this regulatory process by performing immunohistochemical staining. Conclusion. SFR exerts potent effects of alleviating glomerular sclerosis and interstitial fibrosis in the kidney, mainly via integrated regulations on metabolism and production of homocysteine, L-carnitine, and epinephrine, as well as the expression of TGFβ-1. This study provides evidence for SFR's protective effects on CKD and reveals the metabolic mechanism behind these benefits for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An interface-free integrative graphitic carbon network film (IGCN) was prepared. • Lattice defects and large layer distance of IGCN formed by Ar/S/H plasma etching. • The ED-IGCN exhibits high rate durable cyclability with obvious discharge plateau. • The pseudo-capacitive mechanism and contributed a lot to the fast K-storage kinetics. In the K-storage process, graphitic carbon exhibits unique practical plateau potential but suffers terrible rate and cycle performance, because its perfect long-range ordered carbon structure, small lattice space and high contact/interface resistance are still bottlenecks to limit the kinetics and structural stability. Herein, we prepare a novel interface-free integrative graphitic carbon network film on a large scale, and enlarged its lattice distance and reasonably introduce defects (ED-IGCN) to boost kinetics and cyclability via a plasma-enhanced etching/S-doping process. Typically, the ED-IGCN entails ultra-thin hollow graphitic units (diameter ∼ 10 nm, shell wall ∼ 1 nm) interconnected by sp2 hybrid covalent bonds, providing an interface-free highly conductive network. Additionally, the defective long-range ordered carbon arrangement and enlarged lattice distance ensured numerous open channels and shortened pathways with low diffusion barrier for boosting the fast (de)potassiation kinetics. When applied in PIB, the ED-IGCN anodes delivered a high reversible capacity of 408 mAh g−1 at 20 mA g−1, and ultra-high rate and long-term cyclability without expensing its unique discharge plateau. The capacity maintained up to 91.1 mA h g−1 after 10,000 cycles at 5 A g−1 with a capacity retention of ∼ 60% (∼51% after 11,000 cycles), which is not inferior to that of any graphitic carbon reported previously. We separated the diffusive capacity, and pseudo-/double-layer capacitive contributions, and verified that the plasma treating process enhanced the capacitive K-storage mechanism which give great contribution to the fast kinetics. A full-cell based on potassium Prussian blue (KPB) cathode and ED-IGCN anode delivered an initial reversible capacity of 177 mAh g−1 at 1000 mA g−1, and retained ∼ 70% after 50 cycles, further demonstrating the ultra-high rate capability of ED-IGCN in practical application. The results provide new insights into the design and structure regulations of graphitic carbon for fast-charging batteries with stable working voltages and an understanding of the diffusion acceleration mechanism in graphitic carbon materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]