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Starch granule oleogels were prepared and their rheological properties were precisely tuned using the capillary bridging phenomenon. The addition of a small amount of water to an oily suspension of starch granules can lead to starch granule bridging and network formation, transitioning it from a fluid-like to a gel-like state. Small-granule starches with high specific surface area and interfacial area exhibited a greater number of liquid bridges and stronger starch granules interactions, making them more prone to forming structurally stable oleogel systems. By increasing the content of water and starch granule, the starch oleogels exhibited three distinct structural states: pendular state (water ≤ 3.28 %, starch ≤ 17.85 %), pendular bridging network (water: 4.92 %, starch: 24.59 %), and capillary aggregates (water ≥ 6.56 %, starch > 24.59 %). Furthermore, the influence of starch granule surface lipids on the lubrication performance of the oleogel system was investigated. Surface roughness increased after extraction of surface lipids, and the friction coefficient also showed a significant increase. Overall, capillary suspension system can potentially be used to design novel fat food products, and our findings have established the correlation between starch granule surface properties and sensory perception in food, providing valuable insights for adjusting the oral processing characteristics of food. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conjugates of β-conglycinin and dextran were prepared by heating in solution under macromolecular crowding environment and dry-heating methods, and then fractionated by solubility at pH 4.8 and pH 6.5 and characterized. The results showed that the degree of glycation of the conjugates extracted from pH 4.8 were higher than the conjugates extracted from pH 6.5. Corresponding to the higher degree of glycation, it was supposed that the β-conglycinin of groups 4.8 of macromolecular crowding environment was completely surrounded by the dextran molecular while that of groups 6.5 were encircled partially with a lower degree of glycation. Compared to β-conglycinin, groups 4.8 demonstrated a decreasing surface hydrophobicity and sulfhydryl group content while groups 6.5 increased. The secondary structure of β-conglycinin soluble at pH 4.8 after conjugating under macromolecular crowding environment tended to stretch out and the highly ordered structure turn to random structures. The differences between the extraction of pH 4.8 and pH 6.5 conjugated by dry-heating methods were not as remarkable as the difference between the extraction conjugated by macromolecular crowding environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Gliadin-shielded AgNPs nanoparticles (Gliadin@AgNPs) were developed successfully. • Gliadin@AgNPs have potent, last-term, and broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. • Gliadin@AgNPs could eliminate 6.7-log MRSA at ultralow Ag content (0.125 ppm). • Gliadin@AgNPs were used to design antimicrobial protein porous materials for the first time. • Antimicrobial protein porous materials promoted HaCaT cell adhesion and proliferation. The accelerated rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains presents a significant challenge to both global health and the economy. Although silver-based materials have already been successfully developed in dealing with the infections of drug-resistant bacteria, there has been much controversy over the applications of them because the waste silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are potentially harmful to humanity and the environment. To address this issue, gliadin@AgNPs hybrid nanoparticles with ultralow minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were designed via growing AgNPs on amphiphilic gliadin molecule, followed by co-assembly-induced nanoencapsulation of AgNPs. The highly monodispersed gliadin nanoparticles (∼120 nm) infused with ultrasmall AgNPs (2–3 nm) were synthesized successfully. This strategy protected AgNPs from aggregation and fast oxidation, exerted programmed release profiles. In vitro antibacterial experiments demonstrate the hybrids could kill a broad-spectrum bacteria at an ultralow Ag equivalent, with MBCs of 0.0312 and 0.125 μg/mL for E. coli and MRSA, respectively. More importantly, its MBC against E. coli below the safety threshold established by the WHO for drinking water (0.1 ppm). Using the hybrid nanostructure as building blocks, we fabricated unprecedented protein-based antimicrobial porous materials for the first time through Pickering HIPEs templates, which was characterized by the formation of gliadin@AgNPs-decorated nanostructures on the pore wall of porous materials. They have a complex interlaced tubular porous structure with over 96 % porosity, presenting programmed release behavior of Ag+, and were able to inhibit the growth of tested bacteria at concentrations that did not affect the viability of HaCaT human cells, confirming that hierarchical nanomaterials possess valid antibacterial activity within the cellular viability concentration range. Particularly, the antimicrobial protein porous material promoted HaCaT cell adhesion and proliferation within its hierarchical nanostructure. This work provides new insights into the rational design of advanced gliadin@AgNPs as a potent antibacterial nanoplatform with a much smaller environmental impact and health concerns and a building block for constructing protein-based porous materials with outstanding antimicrobial performance and biocompatibility for emerging applications in catalysis, tissue engineering, and environmental engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work was aimed to evaluate the potential of the gel-like Pickering emulsions (50%, v/v, oil) stabilised by zein/tannic acid (TA) complex colloidal particles (ZTPE) as a new encapsulation system of lipophilic ingredients. Compared with sodium caseinate-stabilised emulsions (SCE) and bulk oil, the better protective effects of ZTPE on the chemical stability of curcumin were observed when they suffered from UV light, and the lipid oxidation rate remarkably reduced in ZTPE. Also, the zein particle layers loaded with TA around the oil droplets can provide protection against harsh gastric environment, facilitating to slow down the release of free fatty acids (FFA) and curcumin during in vitro simulated digestion. These findings show that ZTPE have a good potential to act as an efficient encapsulating agent to protect functional ingredients from degradation and control their release during digestion, which can further improve the bioavailability of bioactive ingredients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interparticle forces that govern the assembly of particles adsorbed at fluid interfaces determine the rheology and microstructure of particle laden interface. In this study, natural small molecule, tannic acid (TA), was used to modify particle-particle interactions and assembly behaviors of food grade hydrophobic protein particle (zein nanoparticle) at air-water interface. For bare zein particle (ZP), the rapid adsorption and high interparticle forces led to the low coverage and formation of large ZP aggregates at the interface. The hydrogen-bonding of TA weakened the particle hydrophobicity and thus interparticle forces at fluid interfaces. Therefore, the adsorption process and assembly rate of ZTP at the interface obviously reduced, which also provided enough time for ZTP to rearrange into orderly interfacial networks. Furthermore, the Lissajous plots of surface pressure versus deformation are used to understand the surface rheological response to large mechanical deformation in terms of interfacial microstructure. The rheological response of interface stabilized by ZTP showed strain hardening during extension and strain softening during compression. These findings indicate that the interfacial rheology and microstructure of zein particle-laden interface can be tuned by changing the TA content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we developed multilayer bacterial cellulose (BC)-zein films based on the strong BC film as the outer layers and the electrospun zein fibers as the inner layer, to improve the water resistance properties of hydrophilic BC films. The water resistance properties were evaluated by dynamic water absorption measurement and mung beans storage test. The obtained results showed that the incorporation of electrospun zein fibers made the relatively thin and flexible multilayer films become stiffer, while the zein interlayer did not markedly affect the thermal stability and surface properties of films. Compared to pure BC films, the BC-zein films exhibited significantly better water resistance properties, especially under longer zein deposition time (90 and 120 min). This improvement could be mainly due to the inherent hydrophobicity of zein protein. These findings provide the possibility of adopting a multilayer film strategy for the development of BC packaging films with enhanced water resistance properties by incorporating a high barrier interlayer of electrospun zein fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: A novel soy protein aggregate enriched with isoflavones (SPA-IS), a mixture of soy protein and isoflavones (Mix), isoflavones (IS), and the soy protein were obtained to investigate the preventive effects on osteoporosis induced by retinoic acid in Kunming mice. RESULTS: The serum osteocalcin levels in the Mix and SPA-IS groups decreased compared with the model group (mice showing retinoic acid-induced osteoporosis) (P < 0.05). The trabecular analysis results showed an increased preventive effect of the SPA-IS group over the Mix group, the IS group, and the soy protein group. The results of both left tibial maximum load and the 4th lumbar structural strength differ between the IS and the SPA-IS groups. CONCLUSION: The SPA-IS exhibited obvious oestrogenic activities on retinoic acid-induced osteoporosis in Kunming mice compared toMix, IS, and soy protein. The results suggest that there is a potential use for SPA-IS in the treatment of osteoporosis induced by intake of retinoic acid. The improvement of bone indicators might be attributed to the formation of aggregate particles and the improvement of IS solubility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hydrothermal cooking (HTC) combined with amylase pretreatment (AP) was used to improve protein extraction from heat-stabilized rice bran. The physicochemical and emulsifying properties of rice bran protein isolate (RPI) were evaluated. Depending on HTC temperature (120 and 150°C), HTC alone significantly increased extraction yield, while protein purity was decreased. In contrast, HTC combined with AP significantly improved both extraction yield and protein purity (about 45–50% and 72–74%, respectively). The AP avoided the co-precipitation of gelatinized starch during the acidic precipitation. Electrophoresis and size exclusion chromatography profiles indicated that HTC led to the dissociation of insoluble protein aggregates in rice bran, with subsequent increase of soluble aggregates in RPI, linked by non-covalent (e.g., hydrophobic interaction) and covalent bonds (disulfide bond). This result was evidenced by the increased disulfide bond contents and surface hydrophobicity of RPI. In addition, HTC-prepared RPI exhibited excellent emulsifying property. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Food-grade high internal phase Pickering emulsions (HIPPEs) unify the stability of Pickering emulsions and the advantages of detergent-based high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs), making them attractive as nutritional products. However, as oral delivery systems, HIPPEs are usually prepared in the form of o/w emulsions, which are suitable mainly for oleophilic active ingredients and may suffer from leakage during gastric digestion. To better protect and deliver hydrophilic cargo molecules, we developed a HIPPE-based w/o/w double emulsion system. Zein nanoparticles and soybean lecithin are found to have a synergistic effect in stabilization — using both natural emulsifiers together results in the formation of w/o/w double emulsions with improved stability, which is further confirmed by the interfacial tension and rheology of zein- and/or lecithin-laden oil-water interfaces. A combination of zein nanoparticles and lecithin achieves the fastest interfacial tension decrease, indicating an improved interfacial activity. Besides, lecithin contributes to the strong surface elasticity of the interfacial films, which makes the formed emulsions even stabler. Simulated digestion experiments suggest that the inner aqueous droplets can be strongly protected from gastric fluids. This edible HIPPE with double emulsion morphology provides new ideas for designing healthy foods for nutrients delivery. We describe the preparation of edible high internal phase Pickering emulsion with the double-emulsion morphology (water-in-oil-in-water type), which is stabilized with zein protein particles and soybean lecithin via a universal two-step emulsification process, which shows potential applications in nutrients delivery. Image 1 • All edible high internal phase Pickering emulsions with double emulsion morphology were prepared. • Zein protein particles and lecithin were proved to have synergetic effect on the stabilization of emulsions. • Interfacial rheology measurement revealed the importance of lecithin to the elasticity of the oil-water interface. • Double emulsion structure provided good protection for the interior aqueous droplets under the gastric environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]