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Interactions between proteins and polysaccharides could improve protein functional properties. Most studies focus on the formation of complex coacervates at pHs < pI. Much less attention has been given to the interactions at pHs > pI, especially when the mixtures are heated. The objective of this study was to investigate the emulsification properties of heated whey protein isolate (WPI) and pectin complexes formed at near neutral pHs. Heated soluble complexes (Cpxs) were formed by heating mixed WPI (3 wt% protein) and pectin (0 to 0.60 wt%) at pH 6.0, 6.5, or 7.0 at 85 °C for 30 min. Emulsions (5 wt% oil, 0.5 wt% protein, and pH 5.5) were characterized by measuring droplet size, zeta potential, rheological properties, and creaming stability. The results showed that, regardless of heating pH, Cpxs formed more stable emulsions with significantly smaller droplet sizes, higher negative charges, and less shear-thinning behavior in comparison to emulsions stabilized by heated WPI (p < 0.05). At fixed pectin concentrations, the emulsions stabilized by Cpx formed at pH 7.0 were the most stable. Increasing pectin concentrations led to a decrease in mean droplet sizes and an increase in negative charge. Maximum stability was achieved with the emulsion stabilized by Cpx formed with 0.60 wt% pectin at pH 7.0. The formation of Cpxs under proper conditions will allow for the utilization of WPI in a wider range of applications and fulfill the consumer need for clean label food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food taste-modulating peptides mainly interact with salt taste receptor ENaC, TRPV1 or TMC4, umami receptor T1R1/T1R3, sweet receptor T1R2/T1R3, bitter receptor T2R and kokumi receptor CaSR to induce PLCβ2/IP3 or cAMP/PKA pathway to achieve taste transduction. Computer aided analysis techniques such as molecular docking, dynamic simulation, virtual screening and deep learning can efficiently, accurately and widely identify and develop novel taste-modulating peptides, which can effectively promote the high-quality development of nutrition and health food industry. This paper aims to present the latest research progress in the field of taste-modulating peptides, including the human taste perception mechanism, the taste mechanism of food taste-modulating peptides, as well as computer aided analysis techniques. This provides ideas for cost reduction, efficiency enhancement, and subsequent in-depth research in the era of Big Compute and development of new taste-modulating peptide products in the field of food taste-modulating peptides development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by an imbalance between M1 and M2 polarized synovial macrophages. Quercetin has shown protective effects against OA by altering M1/M2‐polarized macrophages, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, rat chondrocytes were treated with 10 ng/mL of IL‐1β. To create M1‐polarized macrophages in vitro, rat bone marrow‐derived macrophages (rBMDMs) were treated with 100 ng/mL LPS. To mimic OA conditions observed in vivo, a co‐culture system of chondrocytes and macrophages was established. ATP release assays, immunofluorescence assays, Fluo‐4 AM staining, Transwell assays, ELISA assays, and flow cytometry were performed. Male adult Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats were used to create an OA model. Histological analyses, including H&E, and safranin O‐fast green staining were performed. Our data showed a quercetin‐mediated suppression of calcium ion influx and ATP release, with concurrent downregulation of TRPV1 and P2X7 in the chondrocytes treated with IL‐1β. Activation of TRPV1 abolished the quercetin‐mediated effects on calcium ion influx and ATP release in chondrocytes treated with IL‐1β. In the co‐culture system, overexpression of P2X7 in macrophages attenuated the quercetin‐mediated effects on M1 polarization, migration, and inflammation. Either P2X7 or NLRP3 knockdown attenuated IL‐1β‐induced M1/M2 polarization, migration, and inflammation. Moreover, overexpression of TRPV1 reduced the quercetin‐mediated suppressive effects on OA by promoting M1/M2‐polarized macrophages in vivo. Collectively, our data showed that quercetin‐induced suppression of TRPV1 leads to a delay in OA progression by shifting the macrophage polarization from M1 to M2 subtypes via modulation of the P2X7/NLRP3 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a Y-type compound ( 67dMeOTPA-FQ ) and a T-type compound ( 58dMeOTPA-FQ ) based on furo[2,3- b ]quinoxaline were synthesized. The theory calculation shows the S 1 and T 1 of both compounds own a charge-transfer feature while their T 2 states have a local excitation feature. The calculated k RISC(T2-S1) is one to 2 orders of magnitude larger than k RISC(T1-S1) . Thus, the nonadiabatic spin-vibronic mechanism involved in the T 2 state is suggested to be responsible for the thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) feature. Meanwhile, when 2-methyl-9,10-bis(naphthalen-2-yl)anthracene is selected as host, the maximum luminance of the device based on 67dMeOTPA-FQ is up to 104215 cd·m -2 , and the external quantum efficiency (EQE) keeps in the 8.2-8.0% range with the luminance changed from 55.0 cd·m -2 to 90000 cd·m -2 , only 2.4% efficiency roll-off. As for 58dMeOTPA-FQ , a slightly lower EQE of 7.1-6.7% with the luminance range of 1-40000 cd·m -2 was achieved for orange-red emission. Both the reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) and triplet-triplet annihilation mechanisms are supposed to concurrently contribute to the utilization of triplet excitons and suppress the notorious efficiency roll-off observed in TADF-based devices.