Medicine food homology materials for promoting resilience against metabolic syndrome: Recent technology advances and challenges

Background

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) denotes a constellation of risk factors that contribute to the onset of chronic metabolic diseases. Echoing the global burden of MetS, there is increasing interest in using “food as medicine” interventions to prevent and/or treat MetS. An in-depth understanding of all processes involved in the production of medicine food homology (MFH)-based products allows better design of these products to enhance human resilience against MetS.

Scope and approach

This review focuses on the novel processing technologies of plant-based MFH materials for enriching the metabolic health-promoting constituents and enhancing the therapeutic efficacy in MetS. In particular, we provide an overview of recent advances and challenges in the extraction, purification, and controlled delivery of MFH products and their bioactive constituents. We also propose feasible approaches to improve the quality control and standardization procedures of MFH products across the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Key findings and conclusions

Plant-based MFH materials can mitigate multiple aspects of MetS due to their unique and abundant bioactive constituents. Innovative and eco-friendly processing methods become increasingly popular for preparing MFH products enriched with bioactive compounds. Quality control strategies, such as targeted compound analysis, metabolomic fingerprinting and quality marker tracking, are crucial for ensuring the quality and safety of MFH products. Future trends in MFH product R&D emphasize intelligent manufacturing and precision nutrition. Overall, this review provides valuable perspectives on the potential application of MFH materials in managing MetS, and highlights the need to upcycle traditional MFH materials through sustainable material sourcing, efficient delivery and standardized green production.