{"title":"Effects of botanical-geographical origin and storage time on the composition of free and bound polymethoxyflavones in dried citrus peels","authors":"Difan Li, Xiangying Yu, Qiuxia Wei, Zexi Yin, Yahui Yu, Yuting Li, Jingkun Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146599","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146599","url":null,"abstract":"This study employed UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS to analyze free and bound polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) in dried citrus peels across five botanical-geographical origins and two-year storage period, with 53 PMFs detected, including 12 permethoxylated and 41 hydroxylated derivatives (OH-PMFs). Structural characterization revealed a demethylation metabolic network of PMFs, which was further confirmed by multi-origin correlation analysis. Origin significantly influenced PMF profiles: Fujian “Ponkan” and Chongqing “Dahongpao” were rich in tetra-/penta-methoxyflavones, nobiletin and their hydroxylated derivatives (both free and bound), whereas Hubei/Zhejiang “Tangerina” exhibited higher levels of other hexamethoxyflavones, heptamethoxyflavone and corresponding OH-PMFs (both free and bound). Guangdong “Chachi” showed moderate levels of most PMFs. Two-year storage studies unraveled dynamic interconversion between free (peaking at 2 years with the lowest content observed at 1 year) and bound (peaking at 1 year) PMFs. This study demonstrates that free and bound PMFs can serve as biomarkers for cultivar authentication and aging mechanism elucidation.","PeriodicalId":318,"journal":{"name":"Food Chemistry","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145209434","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Variable-intensity electrostatic fields inhibit specific spoilage organisms in fresh meat: Mechanisms and antimicrobial efficacy","authors":"Su Wang, Debao Wang, Xiangyuan Wen, Yuqian Xu, Dongmei Leng, Qingfeng Yang, Chengli Hou, Xin Li, Dequan Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146593","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146593","url":null,"abstract":"The inhibition of specific spoilage organisms in fresh meat is critical for extending shelf life. This study evaluated the antimicrobial effects of electrostatic fields intensities on specific spoilage organisms of <em>Serratia proteamaculans</em> VF12 (Gram-negative) and <em>Lactobacillus sakei</em> VMR17 (Gram-positive). The results demonstrated that both high-voltage (12 kV, corresponding to an electrostatic field intensity of 120 kV/m) and low-voltage (4 kV, electrostatic field intensity of 40 kV/m) electrostatic field treatments inhibited the growth of specific spoilage organisms compared to the control group. The high-voltage electrostatic field treatment induced structural damage to the cellular membranes of specific spoilage organisms, leading to increased permeability and loss of cell wall integrity. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy images demonstrated visible surface deformation and pore formation in treated cells, corroborating the irreversible damage to membrane integrity. These findings indicated that the inhibition efficacy of electrostatic fields on specific spoilage organisms by impairing cellular structures and functions.","PeriodicalId":318,"journal":{"name":"Food Chemistry","volume":"75 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145209435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Physicochemical characterization and enteroprotective activity of triple-helix Gleditsia seed polysaccharides prepared by the probiotic fermentation method","authors":"Lu Yuan, Qikai Liu, Yuxuan Liang, Jian Qiu, Hongtao Lei, Huitian Cai, Xiaoqun Wei","doi":"10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146597","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146597","url":null,"abstract":"To address the scarcity of natural plant-derived triple-helix polysaccharides, <em>Gleditsia</em> seed polysaccharides (GSPs) with intestinal benefits have been used as raw materials. Fermentation converts naturally disordered polysaccharide structures into triple helices. We applied the <em>Drosophila</em> intestinal inflammation model to assess polysaccharide activity. After 3-h fermentation with <em>Bacillus subtilis</em>, triple-helix GSPs were prepared. GSP-f exhibited a 31.83 % higher yield and a 1.66-fold improved solubility compared to GSP-u, with an optimized molecular weight (1.48 × 10<sup>5</sup> g/mol) and a 2: 1 mannose/galactose ratio. In <em>Drosophila models</em>, GSP-f showed 30.50 % enhanced intestinal epithelial protection, 13.17 % improved barrier repair, 19.97 % lifespan extension, and a 40.4 % elevated <em>Firmicutes/Proteobacteria</em> ratio compared with GSP-u. Correlation analysis revealed that the triple-helix structure was correlated with the <em>Firmicutes</em> abundance. Notably, GSP-f and GSP-f-2 exhibited equivalent bioactivity. The fermentation-produced triple-helix polysaccharides achieved optimal functionality without purification. These findings highlight the potential of probiotic fermentation for the efficient production of high-performance triple-helix polysaccharides.","PeriodicalId":318,"journal":{"name":"Food Chemistry","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145209442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Distinct viscosity and gel hardness obtained by ball-milled konjac flour: Insights into physicochemical properties, structure and gel properties","authors":"Ziyi Zhan, Jing Yan, Xiaohua Sun, Ya Wang, Chunhua Wu, Fusheng Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146602","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146602","url":null,"abstract":"Ball-milling, a sustainable mechanical processing technique, was employed to modify konjac flour to obtain distinct viscosity and gel hardness. Additionally, structural alterations were mechanistically linked to the distinct viscosity and gel hardness of four types of ball-milled flour. The results showed that the decline in viscosity was correlated with the reduction in molecular weight (M<sub>w</sub>) (<em>p</em> < 0.05). The enhancement of gel hardness was associated with particle size distribution (D<sub>90</sub>, <em>p</em> < 0.05). Optimal gel hardness (8.02-fold) after ball-milling resulted from synergistic effects of optimized dimensions (D<sub>90</sub> = 125.6 μm), combined with a high specific surface area (212.38 m<sup>2</sup>/g), low M<sub>w</sub> (8.57 × 10<sup>6</sup> g/mol) and preserved ordered structures with an unchanged crystallinity index (1.72). Notably, differential scanning calorimetry significantly improved thermo-stability of ball-milled flour. Ball-milling induced depolymerization through frictional, collisional, impact and shear forces, leading to mechanical fragmentation and particle size reduction with surface microcracks and pronounced agglomeration of fine particulates.","PeriodicalId":318,"journal":{"name":"Food Chemistry","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145203182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The influence of soaking pretreatment on the mouthfeel and crispiness of fried broad beans (Vicia faba L.) and its mechanism","authors":"Jiarui Chang, Fang Yang, Qixing Jiang, Wenshui Xia","doi":"10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146601","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146601","url":null,"abstract":"Consumers dislike fried broad beans with hard core due to inadequate crispiness, so an alternative approach with its mechanism is proposed in the present work. Results showed that the optimum soaking procedure was that 5 h in water followed by 3 h in 2 % NaHCO<sub>3</sub>. For water soaking process, water absorption, starch gelatinization and protein structure played antagonistic roles. As time lengthened, increased water uniformity and starch gelatinization (11.87 % to 92.36 %) induced structure swelling which was beneficial for later crispiness formation, but β-sheet dropped to 41.50 % which indicated the collapse of structure due to excessive soaking. NaHCO<sub>3</sub> enhanced crispiness through increased multilayer adsorbed water (17.03 % to 24.62 %) which occupied pores at room temperature and fled at fried temperature. It also promoted short-range order of starch (R<sub>1047/1022</sub> from 0.45 to 0.82) and the increase of β-sheet and α-helix in protein, contributing to a more stable internal network with uniform pore distribution.","PeriodicalId":318,"journal":{"name":"Food Chemistry","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145203417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Food ChemistryPub Date : 2025-10-01DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146581
Quanhong Lu, Jun Yang, Yunuo Zhou, Yuan Xu, Fawen Yin, Yanfu He, Hui Ye, Hesham El-Seedi, Longteng Zhang, Qian Li, Jun Cao, Chuan Li
{"title":"High internal phase Pickering emulsions stabilized by arginine-myosin microgel particles for 3D printing low salt surimi","authors":"Quanhong Lu, Jun Yang, Yunuo Zhou, Yuan Xu, Fawen Yin, Yanfu He, Hui Ye, Hesham El-Seedi, Longteng Zhang, Qian Li, Jun Cao, Chuan Li","doi":"10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146581","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146581","url":null,"abstract":"The study investigated the use of arginine-myosin microgel particles(Arg-MMP) to stabilize high internal phase Pickering emulsions (HIPPEs), and the feasibility of adding them to surimi as 3D printing ink. Adding Arg caused myosin to unfold during heating, primarily binding with Arg through hydrogen bonds resulting in a decrease in the zeta potential to −19.9 mV and in particle size to 102.77 nm. Moreover, the introduction of Arg led to an increase in hydrophobicity and sulfhydryl, thereby improving the amphiphilicity of myosin. The size of HIPPEs significantly decreased to 19.9 μm, and exhibited higher rheological properties. The 3D printing confirmed the rich-fat surimi ink had good performance. Processed foods often contain high levels of salt, which cause consumers to develop high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases. Thus, HIPPEs stabilized with Arg-MMP had excellent properties and were added to surimi, making it a low-salt, customizable 3D printing material.","PeriodicalId":318,"journal":{"name":"Food Chemistry","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145203237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Food ChemistryPub Date : 2025-10-01DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146603
Yi He, Po Chen, Lijuan Chen, Wei Wang, Jingtao Pang, Yilin Li, Na Gan, Di Wu
{"title":"Unveiling the binding landscape of cinnamaldehyde with digestive proteases:An exploration of specific interactions and conformational dynamics","authors":"Yi He, Po Chen, Lijuan Chen, Wei Wang, Jingtao Pang, Yilin Li, Na Gan, Di Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146603","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146603","url":null,"abstract":"Cinnamaldehyde (CMA) is a natural compound with health benefits that have demonstrated multiple biological effects in food and pharmacy. Here, the binding mechanism of CMA to trypsin and pepsin in vitro was systematically investigated by multispectral combined with computational simulations. Results showed that CMA with trypsin and pepsin was static quenching mechanism. Thermodynamic parameters, molecular docking and dynamics simulation analyses showed that hydrogen bonding and van der Waals force were the main interaction forces in the CMA-trypsin system, whereas the binding of the CMA-pepsin system was dominated by electrostatic force. The binding affinity of the CMA-pepsin was significantly higher than that of the CMA-trypsin at 310 K. Spectroscopy analyses confirmed the ability of CMA to induce conformational changes in both. The studies have revealed the binding mechanism of CMA to trypsin/pepsin and provided theoretical support at the molecular level for elucidating the potential biological effects of CMA in the digestive system.","PeriodicalId":318,"journal":{"name":"Food Chemistry","volume":"101 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145203185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transparent and stretchable SERS substrates via interfacial transfer self-assembly for in-situ trace thiram fungicide residues detection in fruits","authors":"Binbin Sun, Hongzhan Chen, Haitao Zhang, Wenjing Huo, Zhiliang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146598","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146598","url":null,"abstract":"In this work, a series of flexible-transparent polydimethylsiloxane@Ag nanoparticle (PDMS@AgNPs) SERS substrates were fabricated for highly sensitive in-situ detection of trace thiram fungicide residues on various fruit surfaces. By regulating interfacial transfer self-assembly, abundant SERS “hot spots” were generated on the PDMS@AgNPs surface, as confirmed by finite-difference time-domain simulations. Using 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) as a probe molecule, the substrates achieved a low detection limit of 10<sup>−8</sup> M and a high enhancement factor of 2.14 × 10<sup>6</sup>. Critically, the PDMS@AgNPs substrates exhibited excellent transparency and stretchability, enabling in-situ detection on irregular surfaces. The PDMS@AgNPs substrates were prominent platform to identify thiram residues on apples, pears, and grapes with the detection limits of 0.048 μg/cm<sup>2</sup>, 0.20 μg/cm<sup>2</sup>, and 0.24 μg/cm<sup>2</sup>, respectively. This strategy provided a convenient approach for in-situ pesticide residues detection on the surfaces of fruits and vegetables in the food safety field.","PeriodicalId":318,"journal":{"name":"Food Chemistry","volume":"101 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145203184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Food ChemistryPub Date : 2025-10-01DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146596
Chao Mao, Li Zhang, Shijing Zhang, Zhi Chang, Pengfei Ye, Tianshuo Yan, Yequn Wang, Xiangwei Chen, Hongfei Fu, Yunyang Wang, Ke Wang
{"title":"Effects of radio frequency explosion puffing on the texture of purple sweet potato chips and the physicochemical properties of the flour under different energy inputs and pressures","authors":"Chao Mao, Li Zhang, Shijing Zhang, Zhi Chang, Pengfei Ye, Tianshuo Yan, Yequn Wang, Xiangwei Chen, Hongfei Fu, Yunyang Wang, Ke Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146596","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146596","url":null,"abstract":"This study elucidated the mechanism through which radio frequency explosion puffing (RFEP) improved the texture of purple sweet potato chips by inducing multiscale structural changes. Higher energy inputs and pressures resulted in higher crispness, porosity, acceptability, and lower bulk density. RFEP disrupted hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, and ionic bonding within the flour, resulting in partial separation of starch and protein. This process decreased the short-range ordering and the LF–<em>β</em>–sheet and <em>β</em>–turn contents, despite the primary structure of proteins remaining intact. These changes led to a looser flour structure and a decrease in storage modulus. Notably, storage modulus, short–range ordering, LF–<em>β</em>–sheet, and <em>β</em>–turn parameters were significantly negatively correlated with crispness and porosity and positively correlated with bulk density. Taking the processing costs into account, the optimum puffing conditions were determined as a pressure of 0.2 MPa, a puffing temperature of 90 <sup>ο</sup>C and a holding time of 0 min.","PeriodicalId":318,"journal":{"name":"Food Chemistry","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145203186","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Regulatory mechanism and flavor perception of heat induced conformational changes in chicken myofibrillar proteins on the binding affinity with sanshool and capsaicin","authors":"Zhengkai Wang, Xuelian He, ShuWei Wang, Chuanqin Hu, Zhongmin Huang, Wen Fan, Yingli Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146594","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146594","url":null,"abstract":"The interaction mechanisms between sanshool and capsaicin with chicken myofibrillar proteins (MPs) under thermal-induced conditions (25–100 °C) have been systematically investigated. By analyzing the characteristics of MPs- sanshool/capsaicin -complex, heating process significantly altered MPs conformation, exposing internal hydrophobic groups and disulfide bonds, affecting binding properties. Flavor adsorption experiments demonstrated enhanced release of linalool and progressively strengthened adsorption of trans-2-decenal and trans-2,4-decadienal with rising temperatures. Molecular docking simulations indicated that sanshool and capsaicin spontaneously bind to TRPV1/TRPA1 sensory receptors through hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic forces, and van der Waals interactions. Sanshool binds to TRPV1 with energies of −6.42 and −6.06 kcal/mol, lower than capsaicin's −4.96 and −4.52 kcal/mol. This enhanced energy release potentiates neuronal tingling perception. Fluorescence analysis showed that the formation of the MPs-capsaicin complex is dominated by hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces, while the formation of the MPs-sanshool complex primarily relies on hydrophobic interactions and electrostatic forces.","PeriodicalId":318,"journal":{"name":"Food Chemistry","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145203183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}