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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease with significant financial costs and negative impacts on quality of life. Psychotic symptoms, i.e., the presence of delusions and/or hallucinations, is a frequent complication of AD. About 50% of AD patients will develop psychotic symptoms (AD with Psychosis, or AD + P) and these patients will experience an even more rapid cognitive decline than AD patients without psychosis (AD-P). In a previous analysis on medication records of 776 AD patients, we had shown that use of Vitamin D was associated with delayed time to psychosis in AD patients and Vitamin D was used more by AD-P than AD + P patients. To explore the potential molecular mechanism behind our findings, we applied systems pharmacology approaches to investigate the crosstalk between AD and psychosis. Specifically, we built protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks with proteins encoded by AD- and psychosis-related genes and Vitamin D-perturbed genes. Using network analysis we identified several high-impact genes, including NOTCH4, COMT, CACNA1C and DRD3 which are related to calcium homeostasis. The new findings highlight the key role of calcium-related signaling pathways in AD + P development and may provide a new direction and facilitate hypothesis generation for future drug development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Extracting research of domain criteria (RDoC) from high-risk populations like those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is crucial for positive mental health improvements and policy enhancements. The intricacies of collecting, integrating, and effectively leveraging clinical notes for this purpose introduce complexities. Methods: In our study, we created a natural language processing (NLP) workflow to analyze electronic medical record (EMR) data and identify and extract research of domain criteria using a pre-trained transformer-based natural language model, all-mpnet-base-v2. We subsequently built dictionaries from 100,000 clinical notes and analyzed 5.67 million clinical notes from 38,807 PTSD patients from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Subsequently, we showcased the significance of our approach by extracting and visualizing RDoC information in two use cases: (i) across multiple patient populations and (ii) throughout various disease trajectories. Results: The sentence transformer model demonstrated high F1 macro scores across all RDoC domains, achieving the highest performance with a cosine similarity threshold value of 0.3. This ensured an F1 score of at least 80% across all RDoC domains. The study revealed consistent reductions in all six RDoC domains among PTSD patients after psychotherapy. We found that 60.6% of PTSD women have at least one abnormal instance of the six RDoC domains as compared to PTSD men (51.3%), with 45.1% of PTSD women with higher levels of sensorimotor disturbances compared to men (41.3%). We also found that 57.3% of PTSD patients have at least one abnormal instance of the six RDoC domains based on our records. Also, veterans had the higher abnormalities of negative and positive valence systems (60% and 51.9% of veterans respectively) compared to non-veterans (59.1% and 49.2% respectively). The domains following first diagnoses of PTSD were associated with heightened cue reactivity to trauma, suicide, alcohol, and substance consumption. Conclusions: The findings provide initial insights into RDoC functioning in different populations and disease trajectories. Natural language processing proves valuable for capturing real-time, context dependent RDoC instances from extensive clinical notes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Gemination is a useful way to pretreat the brown rice. • Cellulase-thermostable α-amylase-drum drying powder contains the abundant nutrition content. • Exogenous enzyme could decrease the anti-nutritional substances of germinated brown rice. Abstract The effects of different processing methods were investigated, including on the fluidity, solubility, nutrient composition, digestibility, color and aroma constituent of instant brown rice powder. It showed that, except for flavonoids, different processing methods significantly influenced the indexes of the instant brown rice flour (p < 0.05). Germination could deteriorate the fluidity and solubility of brown rice powder and reduce the digestibility of protein, and starch. Exogenous enzyme treatment improved the fluidity and solubility of the brown rice powder as well as the digestion rate of protein and starch. The synergistic treatment of germination and exogenous enzymes significantly increased the digestibility of starch, but it deteriorated the fluidity, the rate of agglomeration and dispersion time. Comparing with DGBRE, DBRE produced a better quality instant brown rice powder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prediction of high-risk events amongst patients with mental disorders is critical for personalized interventions. We developed DeepBiomarker2 by leveraging deep learning and natural language processing to analyze lab tests, medication use, diagnosis, social determinants of health (SDoH) parameters, and psychotherapy for outcome prediction. To increase the model's interpretability, we further refined our contribution analysis to identify key features by scaling with a factor from a reference feature. We applied DeepBiomarker2 to analyze the EMR data of 38,807 patients from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to determine their risk of developing alcohol and substance use disorder (ASUD). DeepBiomarker2 predicted whether a PTSD patient would have a diagnosis of ASUD within the following 3 months with an average c-statistic (receiver operating characteristic AUC) of 0.93 and average F1 score, precision, and recall of 0.880, 0.895, and 0.866 in the test sets, respectively. Our study found that the medications clindamycin, enalapril, penicillin, valacyclovir, Xarelto/rivaroxaban, moxifloxacin, and atropine and the SDoH parameters access to psychotherapy, living in zip codes with a high normalized vegetative index, Gini index, and low-income segregation may have potential to reduce the risk of ASUDs in PTSD. In conclusion, the integration of SDoH information, coupled with the refined feature contribution analysis, empowers DeepBiomarker2 to accurately predict ASUD risk. Moreover, the model can further identify potential indicators of increased risk along with medications with beneficial effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oat samples of different varieties were collected from various habitats for the determination of avenacoside, β-glucan and fatty contents. The variation coefficients of the three components were 12.13%, 20.79% and 22.46%, respectively. Thus, those three indicators cannot represent the information of all samples, and are not suitable for evaluating the quality of oat raw materials and products. Fatty acid profiles were analyzed using gas chromatography combined with principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis. Fourteen leather oat varieties were distinguished through a PCA scores scatterplot. Forty-six naked oat varieties were selected by cluster analysis and eleven characteristic peaks in these naked oats were identified. Finally, accurate fatty acid standard fingerprints of naked oats were constructed. The results of methodological indicated high precision, reproducibility and stability, in line with fingerprint testing requirements. This study fills the knowledge gap for naked oat fingerprint information, expands the grain fatty acid database, and lays the foundations of a grain nutritional liposome identification technology system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around 50% of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) may experience psychotic symptoms after onset, resulting in a subtype of AD known as psychosis in AD (AD + P). This subtype is characterized by more rapid cognitive decline compared to AD patients without psychosis. Therefore, there is a great need to identify risk factors for the development of AD + P and explore potential treatment options. In this study, we enhanced our deep learning model, DeepBiomarker, to predict the onset of psychosis in AD utilizing data from electronic medical records (EMRs). The model demonstrated superior predictive capacity with an AUC (area under curve) of 0.907, significantly surpassing conventional risk prediction models. Utilizing a perturbation-based method, we identified key features from multiple medications, comorbidities, and abnormal laboratory tests, which notably influenced the prediction outcomes. Our findings demonstrated substantial agreement with existing studies, underscoring the vital role of metabolic syndrome, inflammation, and liver function pathways in AD + P. Importantly, the DeepBiomarker model not only offers a precise prediction of AD + P onset but also provides mechanistic understanding, potentially informing the development of innovative treatments. With additional validation, this approach could significantly contribute to early detection and prevention strategies for AD + P, thereby improving patient outcomes and quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying patients with high risk of suicide is critical for suicide prevention. We examined lab tests together with medication use and diagnosis from electronic medical records (EMR) data for prediction of suicide-related events (SREs; suicidal ideations, attempts and deaths) in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients, a population with a high risk of suicide. We developed DeepBiomarker, a deep-learning model through augmenting the data, including lab tests, and integrating contribution analysis for key factor identification. We applied DeepBiomarker to analyze EMR data of 38,807 PTSD patients from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Our model predicted whether a patient would have an SRE within the following 3 months with an area under curve score of 0.930. Through contribution analysis, we identified important lab tests for suicide prediction. These identified factors imply that the regulation of the immune system, respiratory system, cardiovascular system, and gut microbiome were involved in shaping the pathophysiological pathways promoting depression and suicidal risks in PTSD patients. Our results showed that abnormal lab tests combined with medication use and diagnosis could facilitate predicting SRE risk. Moreover, this may imply beneficial effects for suicide prevention by treating comorbidities associated with these biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A gene expression signature (GES) is a group of genes that shows a unique expression profile as a result of perturbations by drugs, genetic modification or diseases on the transcriptional machinery. The comparisons between GES profiles have been used to investigate the relationships between drugs, their targets and diseases with quite a few successful cases reported. Especially in the study of GES-guided drugs–disease associations, researchers believe that if a GES induced by a drug is opposite to a GES induced by a disease, the drug may have potential as a treatment of that disease. In this study, we data-mined the crowd extracted expression of differential signatures (CREEDS) database to evaluate the similarity between GES profiles from drugs and their indicated diseases. Our study aims to explore the application domains of GES-guided drug–disease associations through the analysis of the similarity of GES profiles on known pairs of drug–disease associations, thereby identifying subgroups of drugs/diseases that are suitable for GES-guided drug repositioning approaches. Our results supported our hypothesis that the GES-guided drug–disease association method is better suited for some subgroups or pathways such as drugs and diseases associated with the immune system, diseases of the nervous system, non-chemotherapy drugs or the mTOR signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying co-occurring mental disorders and elevated risk is vital for optimization of healthcare processes. In this study, we will use DeepBiomarker2, an updated version of our deep learning model to predict the adverse events among patients with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD), a high-risk population. We analyzed electronic medical records of 5565 patients from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to predict adverse events (opioid use disorder, suicide related events, depression, and death) within 3 months at any encounter after the diagnosis of PTSD+AUD by using DeepBiomarker2. We integrated multimodal information including: lab tests, medications, co-morbidities, individual and neighborhood level social determinants of health (SDoH), psychotherapy and veteran data. DeepBiomarker2 achieved an area under the receiver operator curve (AUROC) of 0.94 on the prediction of adverse events among those PTSD+AUD patients. Medications such as vilazodone, dronabinol, tenofovir, suvorexant, modafinil, and lamivudine showed potential for risk reduction. SDoH parameters such as cognitive behavioral therapy and trauma focused psychotherapy lowered risk while active veteran status, income segregation, limited access to parks and greenery, low Gini index, limited English-speaking capacity, and younger patients increased risk. Our improved version of DeepBiomarker2 demonstrated its capability of predicting multiple adverse event risk with high accuracy and identifying potential risk and beneficial factors. [Display omitted] • Multimodal deep learning for outcome prediction. • Identified drugs for PTSD+AUD care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitory peptides are attracting increasing attention, owing to their potential role in glycemic regulation by preventing the inactivation of incretins. However, few reviews have summarized the current understanding of DPP-IV inhibitory peptides and their knowledge gaps. This paper reviews the production, identification and structure-activity relationships (SAR) of DPP-IV inhibitory peptides. Importantly, their bioavailability and hypoglycemic effects are critically discussed. Unlike the traditional method to identifying peptides after separation step by step, the bioinformatics approach identifies peptides via virtual screening that is more convenient and efficient. In addition, the bioinformatics approach was also used to investigate the SAR of peptides. Peptides with proline (Pro) or alanine (Ala) residue at the second position of N-terminal are exhibit strong DPP-IV inhibitory activity. Besides, the bioavailability of DPP-IV inhibitory peptides is related to their gastrointestinal stability and cellular permeability, and in vivo studies showed that the glucose homeostasis has been improved by these peptides. Especially, the intestinal transport of DPP-IV inhibitory peptides and cell biological assays used to evaluate their potential role in glycemic regulation are innovatively summarized. For further successful development of DPP-IV inhibitory peptides in glycemic regulation, future study should elucidate their SAR and in vivo hypoglycemic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Short and long chains were orderly adsorbed on the oil-water interface to form droplets. • The oil droplets covered layer by layer had small size and emulsifying stability. • Nanoemulsions had high stability against pH, temperature and ionic strength. Abstract Oil-in-water (o/w) nanoemulsion has great superiority over any other material in the delivery of active substances with low solubility. Whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) is a type of potential emulsifier used to fabricate o/w emulsion because of its rapid adsorption capacity. To further improve the stability of droplets stabilized by WPH, sodium caseinate (SC) and gum Arabic (GA) were combined with WPH to form a short-media-long chain covering layer, which resulted in spontaneously-ordered adsorption on the surface of the droplets. The results showed that the oil droplets were fine and stable, which could be attributed to the rapid adsorption of short chains and the adsorption of SC and GA in sequence. In addition, their stability was enhanced with an increase of the GA ratio, when the GA concentration was 2.0%wt, the emulsion always maintained homogeneity after 30 d of storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Glucose and energy metabolism disorders are the main reasons induced type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity. Besides providing energy, dietary nutrients could regulate glucose homeostasis and food intake via intestinal nutrient sensing induced gut hormone secretion. However, reviews regarding intestinal protein sensing are very limited, and no accurate information is available on their underlying mechanisms. Through intestinal protein sensing, dietary proteins regulate glucose homeostasis and food intake by secreting gut hormones, such as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), cholecystokinin (CCK), peptide YY (PYY) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP). After activating the sensory receptors, such as calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), peptide transporter-1 (PepT1), and taste 1 receptors (T1Rs), protein digests induced Ca2+ influx and thus triggered gut hormone release. Additionally, research models used to study intestinal protein sensing have been emphasized, especially several innovative models with excellent physiological relevance, such as co-culture cell models, intestinal organoids, and gut-on-a-chips. Lastly, protein-based dietary strategies that stimulate gut hormone secretion and inhibit gut hormone degradation are proposed for regulating glucose homeostasis and food intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is a major site of lipid oxidation, and the lipid oxidation products are related to an increased risk of various chronic diseases. In this study, the inhibition capacity of bound‐polyphenol rich insoluble dietary fiber (BP‐IDF) from highland barley (HB) to lipid oxidation was evaluated during simulated GI digestion. RESULTS: We found that the level of lipid hydroperoxides (LOOH) and aldehydes were significantly inhibited when highland barley bound‐polyphenol rich insoluble dietary fiber (HBBP‐IDF) co‐digestion with cooked pork. The lipid oxidation products were more effectively scavenged during simulated gastric digestion, with inhibition of 77.4% for LOOH, 52.3% for malondialdehyde, 46.5% for 4‐hydroxy‐2‐hexenal and 48.7% for 4‐hydroxy‐2‐nonenel, respectively. The fiber‐bound polyphenols are the principal scavengers of lipid oxidation products. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that HBBP‐IDF could be used as a functional ingredient able to scavenge lipid oxidation products across the GI tract. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stabilized by solid particles, Pickering foams have a much longer stability than traditional foams and have continued to gain interest in different applications in the last two decades. Protein-based particles with the typical amphiphilic structure are particularly suitable for developing Pickering foams due to their natural origin, low cost, excellent nutritional values, and potential health benefits. This review summarizes Pickering foams stabilized by protein particles and their complex particles conjugate with several biopolymers. Then, the main mechanisms controlling the foam stability are discussed to understand the complex behavior of Pickering foams better. Finally, the main applications and challenges of protein-stabilized Pickering foams are highlighted. To date, animal and plant proteins and their complexes with other biopolymers have been shown to stabilize Pickering foams effectively. The stabilization mechanism of Pickering foam includes irreversible adsorption and formation of a tightly-packed interfacial layer by adsorbed protein-based particles for preventing bubble shrinkage and gas diffusion, and accumulation at the Plateau borders or formation of gel-like network in the continuous phase by non-adsorbed protein-based particles for reducing drainage, as well as depletion stabilization. Each type of protein-based particle may exert excellent advantages in different applications. This review will provide theoretical guidance for efficiently developing innovative protein-stabilized Pickering foams for future applications in functional aerated foods. [Display omitted] • Reviews Pickering foams stabilized by different protein particles. • Highlights different type of protein complex used for stabilizing Pickering foams. • Elucidates underlying stabilization mechanisms for Pickering foams. • Discusses main applications and challenges of protein-stabilized Pickering foams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Wax‐based oleogels showed better performance as a substitute for shortening in cookies, but the relationship between the structure and physical properties of wax oleogels and cookies quality has not been elucidated, which limit its further application. In this regard, the effect of structure and physical properties of wax oleogels on the quality of cookies was investigated, and the characteristic indexes for evaluating the quality of novel cookies prepared with wax oleogels were determined. RESULTS: The results showed that oleogels with 5–9% proportion of rice bran wax (RBX) and candelilla wax (CDW) produced soft cookies with porous structure, desired spread and color. Compared with shortening, wax oleogels with lower solid fat content (SFC, 4.5–11%, 25 °C) and higher β′ crystals (2795.7–11 671.3) produced cookies with similar hardness to that of shortening. Besides, the hardness of wax oleogel‐based cookies depends more on the amount of crystals than crystal size. In the results, SFC, β′ crystals, viscosity and elastic modulus (G′) were determined to be the characteristic evaluation indexes for the quality of cookies prepared with wax oleogels. Cookies with wax oleogels with higher SFC, β′ crystal, viscosity and G′ are softer. CONCLUSION: The quality of novel cookies prepared with wax oleogels can be controlled by the SFC and β′ crystal of wax oleogels. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional biological processes combined with chemical precipitation methods can effectively reduce phosphate concentration in wastewater. However, discharge standards required additional advanced treatment technologies, and the removal of low phosphorus concentration is complicated and expensive. This study proposes application of a simple and recyclable adsorbent to remove low-concentration phosphorus from water. The removal efficiency of phosphorus from low-strength synthetic wastewater was investigated and the adsorption mechanism was analyzed. When the initial phosphorus concentration was 2.0 mg/L, the phosphorus adsorption capacity of Ca-GAT increased to 0.891 mg/g from 0.074 mg/g for GAT at 298 K and pH of 7. Phosphorus adsorption on Ca-GAT performs well when the solution pH is in the range of 5–10, and it is not conducive to the adsorption reaction when the solution pH exceeds 11. The competing anions (such as NO 3 −, SO 4 2−, HCO 3 − and F−) existed, Ca-GAT still performed better in removing phosphorus. Then, the saturated absorbents could be effectively regenerated with a 0.5 mos/L NaOH solution, while desorption efficiency was reduced from 97.11% to 33.06% after fifth regeneration cycle. Finally, Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis demonstrated that the Ca2+ content on the Ca-GAT surface played an important role in capturing phosphate ions from wastewater. Phosphorus was mainly removed via the formation of Ca-phosphorus precipitation. To some extent, ligand exchanges of CO 3 2− and OH- with HPO 4 2− and H 2 PO 4 − were also beneficial for phosphorus removal. The present work shows that attapulgite has sustainable and beneficial potential in the removal of low-strength phosphorous in wastewater, and the phosphorus loaded adsorbent can be used in the agriculture as slow-release fertilizer. [Display omitted] • Ca-GAT was prepared and exhibited a high phosphorus removal efficiency. • Its maximum phosphorus adsorption capacity was twelve times that of GAT. • Ligand exchange and precipitation were the main mechanisms of phosphorus removal. • Ca-GAT has the potential to be used for phosphorus removal from low-strength wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Several researchers have reported that the texture of fries is affected by the fatty acid composition of oil, although the mechanism of this effect is not clear. In this regard, fries were fried in refined rapeseed oil and fully hydrogenated rapeseed oil with diverse proportions (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%) and were analyzed based on the content of moisture and oil, texture, thermal properties, crystalline properties and microstructure. RESULTS: The outcomes presented that fries fried in fully hydrogenated oil had less oil absorption and moisture loss than those fried in refined oil. The results from the texture analyzer, differential scanning calorimetry and X‐ray diffraction showed that hardness, enthalpy and relative crystallinity increased with an increase in the proportion of fully hydrogenated oil. However, the peaks of starch–lipid complexes were hardly observed during frying. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy results displayed that some physically trapped fat was observed in fries fried in mixed hydrogenated oil. Stereomicroscope images showed that the crust thickness of the fries increased slightly with an increase in the proportion of fully hydrogenated oil. CONCLUSION: Overall, the upsurge in crust thickness and oil crystals was responsible for an increase in the hardness of the fries. This indicated that the texture of fries can be manipulated by altering the fatty acid composition of the oil. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Brevibacillus thermoruber secreted extracellular Mnp, Lac, and Lip. • Brevibacillus thermoruber degraded 81.97% of lignin after 7 d. • The biodegradation of lignin was mainly via the β-ketoadipate pathway at 37 °C. • At 55 °C, the lignin degradation product was mainly benzoic acid. • The abundance of degradation products varied with temperature and degradation time. With increased interest in the biodegradation of lignin, there is a pressing need to evaluate the feasibility of using microorganisms for lignin degradation. A novel Bacillus strain was separated from compost and identified as Brevibacillus thermoruber. B. thermoruber showed excellent performance in lignin degradation and degraded 81.97% of lignin after 7 d, which was similar to the lignin degradation rate of fungi. The biodegradation of lignin G and H monomers mainly proceeded via the β -ketoadipate pathway at 37 °C. At 55 °C, the degradation product of lignin S monomer was mainly a benzoic acid substance, indicating that the lignin was degraded via the benzoic acid pathway. The degradation products of lignin are important precursors for humus formation in compost. The results of this study provide new insights into the biodegradation pathway of lignin in different stages of composting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around 800,000 people worldwide die from suicide every year and it's the 10th leading cause of death in the US. It is of great value to build a mathematic model that can accurately predict suicide especially in high-risk populations. Several different ML-based models were trained and evaluated using features obtained from electronic medical records (EMRs). The contribution of each feature was calculated to determine how it impacted the model predictions. The best-performing model was selected for analysis and decomposition. Random forest showed the best performance with true positive rates (TPR) and positive predictive values (PPV) of greater than 80%. The use of Aripiprazole, Levomilnacipran, Sertraline, Tramadol, Fentanyl, or Fluoxetine, a diagnosis of autistic disorder, schizophrenic disorder, or substance use disorder at the time of a diagnosis of both PTSD and bipolar disorder, were strong indicators for no SREs within one year. The use of Trazodone and Citalopram at baseline predicted the onset of SREs within one year. Additional features with potential protective or hazardous effects for SREs were identified by the model. We constructed an ML-based model that was successful in identifying patients in a subpopulation at high-risk for SREs within a year of diagnosis of both PTSD and bipolar disorder. The model also provides feature decompositions to guide mechanism studies. The validation of this model with additional EMR datasets will be of great value in resource allocation and clinical decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consumption of sorghum grain could prevent some chronic diseases, mainly due to the abundant levels of polyphenol. In this study, condensed tannins from sorghum grain were separated into six fractions (F1, F2, F3, F4, P1 and P2). The mean degree of polymerization (mDP) and structural composition of each fraction isolated by thiolysis were analyzed by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), ultra-performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). The total polyphenol content of these fractions was determined, and their antioxidant capacity was measured with chemical-based and cellular-based assays. The results showed that the mDP could significantly influence the total phenolic content (p < 0.05), and the F1 fraction had the highest values. In addition, the lower mDP fractions exhibited the higher antioxidant activities than other fractions, measured by both the chemical and cellular-based assays. Well-controlled animal or human clinical studies will be required to more accurately evaluate the potential health effects of condensed tannins fractions. Image 1 • Sorghum bran is rich in condensed tannins with potent antioxidant activity. • Structures of condensed tannins were characterized using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. • Condensed tannins exhibited remarkable chemical and cellular antioxidant activity. • TP content and mDP were in strong relation with chemical and cellular antioxidant activities, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the work is to explore the relationship between the instrument and sensory data and to select the type of probes suitable for determining the texture of French fries. Ten commercial French fries were assessed using different probe types and perceived sensations through descriptive analysis. The eight sensory attributes developed by trained panelists can distinguish samples well. Simultaneously, the result of instrument data analysis revealed that the variation coefficient of three‐point bending was the largest, which indicates that the measurement accuracy was lower. The compression test showed significant correlation with most of the sensory attributes (r =.64–.90), while the cut test with a Volodkevich Bite Jaws probe does not correlate with all sensory attributes (r =.03–.49). Among these instrumental methods, compression, blade with guillotine probe, and puncture test are recommended for texture measuring of French fries. These results will provide a time‐saving and efficient method for determining the texture of French fries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pasting behavior of rice starch and its relationship with cooking properties of rice have been extensively studied. However, the viscosity changes of rice starch and flour under conventional cooking mode and high temperature and high pressure (HTHP) mode remain unknown. In this study, three typical rice starches and seven rice flours of different types and varieties were used to evaluate the effect of cooking modes on their pasting behaviors. A detailed discussion about the relationships among chemical composition, thermal properties, and crystallinity were conducted to explain the different pasting behaviors of the rice samples. The pasting behavior of rice starch was found to be similar with rice flour under standard and conventional heating modes, while remarkably different when treated at different HTHP levels, especially for sticky rice flour. The morphological changes of rice samples at 95 °C and 120 °C confirmed that high temperature long time heating caused extending of molecules, which exhibited layered structure at 120 °C. The rice flour samples showed different morphologies after heating at different modes due to varied amylose content and crystallinity, which contributed to different pasting behavior. These results provide useful information for developing strategies to control rice cooking and improve eating quality. Unlabelled Image • Pasting properties of rice starch and flour under different heating modes are valued. • Both heating time and temperature can effect viscosity and morphology of rice samples. • The peaks become narrow and sharp at long time heating compare with conventional mode. • The change trends between rice starch and flour at different pressure are very different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the potential of virgin grape seed oil (VGSO) to improve insulin resistance and energy metabolism disorder in mice fed a high‐fat diet. The results show that respiratory exchange rate and energy consumption in mice can be increased by the administration of VGSO. Insulin resistance is significantly alleviated by VGSO, which can be attributed to its protective effect on hexokinase and α‐glucosidase activities and improvement in leptin resistance. The effect of refined grape seed oil (RGSO), RGSO reinforced with polyphenol, RGSO reinforced with unsaponifiables, and RGSO reinforced with polyphenol and unsaponifiables on oral glucose tolerance, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index are determined and compared. The results suggest that polyphenol may be the most critical factor for regulating insulin resistance. Specific linear and polynomial equations are provided to explain the correlation between insulin resistance, energy metabolism, and hyperlipidemia. Practical Applications: The effects of virgin grape seed oil (VGSO) on insulin resistance and energy metabolism disorder in mice fed a high‐fat diet were investigated. In addition, the key component in VGSO for regulating insulin resistance was preliminarily investigated. Furthermore, the correlations among fasting blood glucose, triglyceride/cholesterol concentration, and respiratory exchange rate/energy consumption/activity level were investigated. This research will provide a theoretical basis for the development of functional edible oil for high blood lipid, cholesterol, and diabetes patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The leaching laws of starch and protein under actual cooking conditions are explored. • The leakage at initial cooking stage is mainly composed by small molecule materials. • The molecular weight distributions show the changes of leached soilds during cooking. • The surface layer and the formed cracks are the main leaching paths for components. Leaching and re-absorption of leached solids and changes in kernel structure are of prime importance for the quality of cooked rice. This paper describes the contents and structural changes of both starch and protein in leached solids and rice kernels. Under actual cooking conditions, the leached solids increased with heating temperature and then decreased at specific temperatures relating gelatinization. Starch content of leached solids increased with the heating temperature, especially after gelatinization. As proteins are mainly distributed on the surface of the kernel, their release increased between 30 and 50 °C but then decreased with increasing leaching of starch at high temperatures. The molecular weight distribution of leached solids at different temperatures is significantly different, while it is similar in rice kernels. At 30–50 °C, the amylose contents in the leached solids were slightly higher than those in rice kernel, while the contents were similar at high temperatures. The transformation of the kernel structure during heating confirmed that the kernel surface and the formed cracks are the main path for leaching; the rearranged structures of the surface and cracks influence the final texture of cooked rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arabinoxylans (AXs) are important constituents of hemicelluloses in the endosperm and outer layers of cereal grains, including corn, wheat, rye, barley, oat and rice. The enzymatic hydrolysis of AXs yields arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides. Recently, structure–activity correlations between AX fine structural features and antioxidative activities, prebiotic potentials and immunomodulatory properties have been introduced. This review summarizes recent findings on the structural features of AXs from various cereal origins subjected to different extraction methods. The correlations between fine structural features (molecular mass, bound ferulic acid and arabinosyl substitutional positions) and the AXs' biological activities (antioxidative activities, prebiotic potentials and immunomodulatory properties) are introduced. The prospects for future research on these topics are also discussed. AXs exhibit very different characteristics, which are dependent on the cereal's origin and the extraction method. The three biological activities of AXs and arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides were closely correlated with their fine structural features. The bound ferulic acid mainly contributes to the antioxidant capacities of AXs. Arabinosyl substitutional position in the xylan backbone can target to alter the microbial population in the gut. The low molecular mass and arabinose substitution at the O-3 position mainly contribute to immunological properties. • The structure of arabinoxylans (AXs) from various cereals were summarized. • The antioxidative, prebiotic, and immunomodulatory activities of AXs were detailed. • The correlations between AXs' structure and biological activities were introduced. • The enormous development potentials and prospects of AXs were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Soaking temperature affects the structure and thermal changes of rice during cooking. • The moduli were varied in each cooking stages affecting the final texture of rice. • The enzyme activity in rice was increased with soaking temperature till 80 °C. Abstract The quality of cooked rice and its influence factors have always been the focus of researches. However, the formative mechanisms of its eating quality and structural changes of rice during cooking have seldom been evaluated. In this study, sectional real-time cooking was performed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic viscoelasticity analysis to monitor the phase transitions and mechanical changes of kernels, which exhibited different characteristics in different stages. Both glass transition and pasting behavior were captured, and showed more viscoelasticity of cooked rice at higher soaking temperatures. Meanwhile, the enzyme activity of rice during soaking was successfully measured by a rapid viscosity analyzer (RVA). Along with the differences of morphologies and crystalline structure at different soaking conditions, the findings of DSC and rheometer were further verified. This study provides effective methods to evaluate changes in rice during cooking and explains the mechanism of differences formed by the soaking temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insight into the architecture and the interaction between components in fully mature rice are difficult to study but are important to its processing technology and quality control as it is mainly consumed as the whole kernel. In this study, different microscopy techniques were combined to explain the differences of rheological and thermal properties between rice kernel and its flour even though they had the same compositions. The area and positions of the endothermic peaks of starch, flour, and kernel were different. The uneven distribution of starch granules and part of the protein bodies were observed by a scanning electron microscope. The regional distribution and spatial structure of starch granules and cell walls showed the restriction effect of kernel structure of rice. The clear fluorescence by a confocal laser scanning microscope showed that the protein bodies and cell walls formed barriers in rice to delay the hydration and limit the expansion of starches. Overall, the structural form of rice is closely related to its physicochemical properties. • Both melting and gelatinization occur when starches are heated in limited water. • The influence of spatial structure on starch properties is significant. • Combine SEM, LM, and CLSM can fully detect the spatial structure of the rice kernel. • The uneven structure of rice kernel relates to its mechanical and cooking properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aimed to clarify the oil absorption behavior and microstructural changes of fresh and pre-frozen potato strips during frying, and to discuss the effects of freeze pretreatment on the oil absorption behavior of potato strips. We investigated the oil distribution; the microstructure changes in the crust, core, and potato strip surface; and the crystal pattern changes in the potato starch during frying by using magnetic resonance imaging, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. We monitored the profile histories of the moisture, oil and potato strip temperature, and oil uptake during frying and cooling. Results showed that during frying, the diversification of oil content in potato and oil infiltration path was closely related to the microstructure, moisture content, and temperature changes of potato strips and the interaction between starch and oil components. Moreover, freeze pretreatment significantly decreased the moisture content (P <.05) and increased oil content (P <.05) of potato strips and affected oil infiltration, microstructural changes, and starch crystallinity (P <.05) during frying. This paper may help in the further understanding of the oil absorption behavior of potato strips during frying and cooling, and may provide ideas for effective oil control measures. Unlabelled Image • Freezing affected oil uptake, microstructure, and the XRD pattern of samples during frying. • The oil absorption behavior of pre-frozen potato strips was investigated. • Starch crystal pattern and crystallinity were affected by freezing and frying. • The oil uptake behavior was related to microstructure changes, heat, and mass transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Non-targeted metabolic details in VBTL and its juice samples were studied. • Metabolic profiling was detected by UPLC–QToF–MS analysis. • Some discriminatory metabolites were revealed by multivariate data analysis. • Some metabolites were identified as the precursors of iridoid-derived pigment. Abstract Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. leaves (VBTL) are used to juicing and dye rice to produce ' Wu mi ', which displays a deep blue color. However, little information is known about the formation mechanism of the pigments. In this research, non-targeted metabolic profiling of VBTL and VBTL juice samples at different growth stages was studied for searching the pigment precursors through UPLC–QToF–MS and multivariate data analysis. The results showed the L* and b* values of ' Wu mi ' produced by spring leaves (stages of 2WAB, 4WAB and 6WAB) were significantly lower than other growth stages. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) of the VBTL and VBTL juice samples showed distinct classifications. Further variable importance in projection (VIP) plot in PLS-DA model demonstrated the discriminatory potential biomarkers between VBTL and VBTL juice samples. Some of the identified biomarkers were tentatively identified as the precursor compounds of the iridoid-derived pigments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Soaking is an important factor determining the final quality of cooked rice. Although the water content, distribution, and properties of cooked rice have been studied, the structuring role and migration path of water during soaking remain unresolved. In this study, the mobility and combinative state of molecular chains of starch and protein in soaked rice were investigated using proton nuclear magnetic resonance. The proton populations with different T 2 reflected molecular mobility and interactions of water, starch, protein, and non-starch polysaccharides, which were affected by water content and hydration. The spaces between granules and cell walls and cracks were explored by scanning electron microscopy as these are the main channels to penetrate. However, the distribution and morphology of these channels showed significant differences at different temperatures, causing different penetrate paths. With the time and temperature increasing, water increasingly penetrated through inhomogeneous cell walls and then along different channels into the inner areas of grains, and the instrumental texture and rheological measurements showed significant structural changes and phase transition in the grains. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Migration paths of water were different according to soaking temperature and time. • Mobility and structure of polymers were related to temperature and status of water. • Space among granules, cell walls and cracks were main channels for water penetration. • The glass transition during soaking was determined by texture and rheology analysis. • Phase transition rate relates to polymer hydration by water penetrated through cracks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The interaction between PSs and starch improved the pasting viscosity. • PSs reduced free sulfhydryl content and strengthened the gluten network. • Noodle qualities were related to starch gelatinization and dough stability. • PSs could be used to improve the qualities of noodles. Abstract The effects of five phosphate salts (PS) on the pasting properties of flour, mixing properties of dough and qualities of cooked noodles were investigated. Rapid Visco Analysis showed that all types of PS increased the peak and final viscosities of wheat flour. Trisodium phosphate (TSP) significantly increased pasting temperature with increasing concentration. The Farinograph characteristics indicated that TSP markedly increased stability time and progressively decreased the degree of softening of the dough. The cooking yield of the TSP, sodium pyrophosphate (TSPP) and disodium phosphate (DSP) groups clearly increased, and the cooking loss was reduced by adding 0.3% sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), 0.1% TSPP or 0.1% TSP. Texture profile analysis revealed that the hardness of cooked noodles from STPP and TSP groups slightly decreased, while that of TSPP and DSP groups decreased significantly. Overall, PS improved the qualities of noodles mainly by promoting starch gelatinization and strengthening the gluten network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β -Glucans are polysaccharides constructed of glucose monomers linked by β -glucosidic bonds, which mainly exist in cereals (barley and oat), yeast and mushrooms. Some physiological functionalities of β -glucans have been confirmed, consequently, their development and utilization in the biomedical, pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries have received increasing interest. Foods and dietary supplements containing β -glucans are very popular. This review summarizes recent findings regarding the physiological functionalities of β -glucans and details the action mechanisms of β -glucans upon the present knowledge. The prospects for future research on these topics are also discussed. β -Glucans are effective in many aspects of human health, including cancer prevention, reducing glycemia and serum cholesterol, anti-inflammation, as well as improving immunity. The modification of β -glucans contributes to better solubility, viscosity and gelation, which can change the bioactivities of β -glucans. The action mechanisms of β -glucans and their derivatives are considered to be mainly mediated by some cytokines and hormones in subjects. Human health is supported by various mechanism researches. Although certain action mechanisms remain unclear, the clarification of how β-glucans exhibit biological effects is beneficial for our understanding of complicated biochemical reaction in living organisms. • The origins, extraction, characteristics and modification of β -glucans were reviewed. • The physiological functionalities and mechanisms of β -glucans were presented. • Possible links among different bioactive mechanisms of β -glucans were detailed. • β -glucans' enormous development potentials and prospects were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Selected strains were used as mono-culture or co-culture for sourdoughs. • Texture and acidity of sourdough breads were strain-dependent. • The starter strains and their interactions influenced the porosity of bread crumb. • The MC4 sourdough could replace spontaneous sourdough for improving bread qualities. Abstract The use of selected Saccharomyces cerevisiae PS7314, Lactobacillus rossiae NOS7307, Lactobacillus brevis NOS7311, and Lactobacillus plantarum NOS7315 as mono-culture or co-culture for production of sourdoughs, their breads showed different physical and organoleptic properties. The pH of breads fermented with sourdoughs incubated with mono-culture or co-culture all decreased. An opposite trend was found for TTA. The use of single lactobacillus for the dough fermentation decreased the specific volume of bread, which was 4.15–19.10% lower than that of control bread (CB). However, the synergetic fermentation helped the improvement of bread quality. Compared to CB, the mixed culture 4 sourdough remarkably decreased the hardness by 52.08%, increased the specific volume by 5.29%, improved porosity of final product by 24.90%, and gave a preferable sensory characteristic to bread. Thus, the MC4 could be recommended for replacing spontaneous sourdough for improving the quality of bread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study aimed to develop a noodle with slow digestibility by adding pullulanase-treated wheat flour (PF). PF was prepared from normal wheat flour (NF) by pullulanase treatment, then its characteristics were compared with NF. Varying proportions (0%, 3%, 6%, 9%, 12% and 15%) of PF were substituted for NF to produce white salted noodles (WSN). The rheological, digestive, cooking, color and textural properties of WSN were evaluated. This showed that the amylose content of PF (83 wt%, total starch) was 62% higher than that of NF. After pullulanase treatment, the pasting temperature increased from 62.7 to 75.0 °C and the crystal structure of the starch changed from a mixture of A- and V-types to one of B- and V-types. Microstructure graphs showed that the structure of PF was more compact than that of NF. PF substitution produced noodles of acceptable quality with increased water absorption, cooking loss, L* value, hardness, and resilience and decreased cooking yield compared with the control (100% NF). In vitro digestibility tests showed that k (the kinetic constant) for cooked WSN decreased from 0.405 to 0.168 as substitution levels of PF increased from 0% to 15%, indicating that PF still exhibited slow digestibility after cooking. Highlights • Wheat flour (NF) was treated by pullulanase to decrease its digestibility and then used in white salted noodles (WSN) making; • In vitro digestibility tests showed that kinetic constant for cooked WSN decreased from 0.405 to 0.168 at different substitution levels of pullulanase treated wheat flour (PF). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: BACKGROUND: 5‐Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is regarded as a thermal process contaminant in foods. Six flavan‐3‐ol fractions were isolated or semisynthesized from sorghum, cranberry and grape seed. Their unit compositions, interflavan linkages and degree of polymerization were characterized. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of flavan‐3‐ols on the formation of HMF in chemical reaction models and fried potato chips. RESULTS: Results showed that all flavan‐3‐ols significantly mitigated the HMF formation at concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 µg mL−1 in the chemical model system, and the inhibition was positively related to dose. Using the food model, HMF content was reduced by about 50% when potato chips were soaked in an optimal concentration of 0.1 mg mL−1 flavan‐3‐ol solutions before frying. Based on the same mass concentration, B‐type flavan‐3‐ols mitigated more HMF than A‐type, and oligomeric proanthocyanidins had stronger inhibitory activity than polymers. At suitable addition levels (0.01–0.1 mg mL−1), the browning of auto‐oxidized flavan‐3‐ols under high temperature compensated the anti‐browning effect along with the supression of the Maillard reaction; therefore, the color of fried potato chips was not affected. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that flavan‐3‐ols could be effective additives for reducing HMF levels in fried potato chips without changing sensory properties. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carrot ( Daucus carota ) antifreeze protein (CaAFP) is reported to have strong ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI) activity and great potential in frozen dough. However, the low yield and high cost of extracting CaAFP from natural sources limit its wide applications. To overcome the paucity of CaAFP, in this study, recombinant carrot antifreeze protein (rCaAFP) was expressed and produced in Pichia pastoris GS115, and the cryoprotective effects of rCaAFP on frozen dough properties and bread quality were investigated. The rCaAFP production reached 379.47 mg/L in a 7 L fermentor, and the rCaAFP exhibited high thermal hysteresis activity (1.96 °C at 10 mg/mL) and strong IRI activity. The addition of rCaAFP to frozen dough lessened the increment of freezable water content during freeze-thawed cycles, weakened the damage of freeze-thawed cycles to fermentation capacity and microstructure of frozen dough, and consequently improved the specific volume and texture properties of bread. The rCaAFP produced by Pichia pastoris GS115 was proven to be an effective cryoprotectant for frozen dough. This study provides a feasible method for the production of recombinant plant antifreeze proteins. The availability of gram quantities of rCaAFP contributes to accelerating further application studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccinium bracteatum leaves (VBTL) are traditionally used in China to dye rice grains, which assume a deep blue color, named ‘Wu mi’. Information on the mechanism of pigment formation is limited. In this study, CIELAB color space parameters were used to represent the color of ‘Wu mi’. Precursor compounds of pigments formed during the dyeing process were identified by UPLC Q-TOF MS analysis. The changes in co-factors for pigment formation in VBTL were measured at different growth stages. The L ∗ and b ∗ values of dyed rice increased as the leaves aged, whereas a ∗ values showed irregular changes. Six compounds were tentatively identified as pigment precursors by UPLC Q-TOF MS analysis. The pH and β-glucosidase activity at different growth stages of VBTL were indicated to be crucial co-factors for pigment formation. A tentative hypothesis is presented that iridoid glycosides are hydrolyzed by acids and β-glucosidases to form a dialdehyde structure that binds covalently with amino residues of lysine side chains in rice protein molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skeletal muscles plays a crucial role in metabolism and exercise. Fuctional β-glucan is polysaccharide that is found in the cell walls of cereal, which is known to reduce cholesterol and lipid, prevent diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. In an attempt to identify β-glucan that could promote skeletal muscle function, we analyzed the proliferation, differentiation, metabolism and anti-fibrotic properties of β-glucan in C2C12 muscle cells. Treatment of β-glucan in C2C12 myoblasts led to increased proliferation and differentiation. Besides that, we found that C2C12 myotubes treated with β-glucan displayed a fast-to-slow muscle fiber conversion and improved oxidative metabolism. Further study revealed that β-glucan treatment could prevent myotubes from becoming myofibroblasts. Together, our study suggests that functional β-glucan might have a therapeutic potential to improve skeletal muscle function, which might contribute to the development of β-glucan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The deterioration of gluten network caused by ice formation or recrystallization in frozen dough is one of the major factors causing the quality loss of bakery products. In this study, the effects of recombinant carrot antifreeze protein (rCaAFP) from Pichia pastoris GS115 on the physicochemical properties of hydrated gluten, including sodium dodecyl sulphate solubility, glutenin macropolymer (GMP) depolymerization, disulfide bonds content, secondary structure, rheological properties, and microstructure, were investigated during freeze-thawed cycles. The rCaAFP alleviated GMP depolymerization, weakened the damage of freeze-thawed cycles to disulfide bonds, secondary structure, and microstructure of hydrated gluten, and protected the rheological properties of hydrated gluten during freeze-thawed cycles. These results clearly demonstrate the utility of rCaAFP as a potent cryoprotectant in the preservation of hydrated gluten during frozen storage. This study may gain more insights into the deterioration process of wheat gluten during frozen storage and provide a theoretical basis for better preservation of frozen dough by rCaAFP from the perspectives of structure and functionality of gluten protein. Highlights • Recombinant carrot antifreeze protein (rCaAFP) inhibited gluten deterioration. • The rCaAFP alleviated glutenin macropolymer depolymerization. • The rCaAFP protected secondary structure of gluten during freeze-thawed cycles. • The rCaAFP improved rheological properties of hydrated gluten. • The rCaAFP protected hydrated gluten network during freeze-thawed cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The processing and quality properties of rice are significantly influenced by its variety and region of origin. However, discriminating between varieties and geographic regions is an urgent but difficult and time-consuming endeavor in China. In this study, an effective and reliable identification method was established by combining Raman spectroscopy (RS) with multivariate data analysis methods. Numerous RS spectra were collected, and the sensitive fundamental vibrations of less polar groups and bonds in rice were analyzed. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used for preliminary identification. Subsequently, different modeling methods were compared and seemed to reliably identify rice types, varieties, and region of origin, with accuracies of between 80 and 100%. As a result, a soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) model was shown to be the superior model for rice identification. The SIMCA model can deliver high precision detection of adulterated rice (i.e., rice of high quality blended with rice of inferior quality), and this study lays the foundations for an advanced rice quality identification technology system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proanthocyanidins with different structures were prepared from three condensed tannin-rich plant materials and then characterized using HPLC–ESI-MS coupled with thiolysis and MALDI-TOF MS. Their effects on acrylamide formation in asparagine-glucose models and fried potato crisps were determined. Results showed that all proanthocyanidins significantly and dose dependently mitigated acrylamide formation at concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 µg/mL in chemical model system. Using the food model, acrylamide formation were inhibited when potato crisps were soaked in 0.01–1 mg/mL proanthocyanidin solutions for 15 min at room temperature before frying. Proanthocyanidins reduced up to 44.2% of the acrylamide level as concentration was increased to 0.1 mg/mL, whereas higher concentration resulted in a decrease of inhibition. B-type proanthocyanidins had stronger inhibitory activity than A-type. Unit composition and DP had nearly no effect on their inhibitory activity based on same mass. This study showed that proanthocyanidins with various structures were promising additives to mitigate harmful acrylamide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid visco analyser (RVA) method has been widely used to investigate starch viscosity and to quality control starch based cereals. Different rice types vary significantly in composition, which is reflected by their different pasting properties. However, the RVA has a reduced sensitivity when it is used to identify types. This study combined RVA profiles with multivariate data analysis methods to obtain more information from the RVA profiles. A total of 152 rice profiles were collected and analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminate analysis (PLSDA). The results showed that there were two rice subspecies group types that could be distinguished. In order to optimize the established model, all the data were subjected to a regression analysis and the initial stage was identified as the point when viscosity differences between the groups had the highest regression coefficients. The discrimination accuracy improved when the extracted viscosity data was used. For further verify the applicability of the models, 60 of unknown samples were examined, and the classification accuracy was 100%. All the findings confirmed that this study offers a practical and reliable way to predict rice types, providing a foundation for further studies on origin discrimination and age prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorghum grain is rich in phenolic compounds with various health benefits. Chinese steamed bread (CSB) is a traditional fermented food, and is widely consumed in China and many other countries. Different concentrations of wholegrain white sorghum flour (WSF) or red sorghum flour (RSF) were incorporated into CSB formulation. Steaming significantly reduced the content of total phenolic compounds in the bread dough. The content of total phenolic compounds of 30% red sorghum flour Chinese steamed bread (RCSB) was higher than that of 30% white sorghum flour Chinese steamed bread (WCSB), followed by the control (100% WSF). Individual flavonoids were only present in RCSB. Chemical-based and cell-based assays indicated the antioxidant activity of CSB was significantly increased after adding sorghum flour, with the 30% RCSB being the highest. Sensory evaluation studies and well-controlled human clinical studies are now required to substantiate the potential health benefits of these new sorghum products to consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The effects of water‐unextractable arabinoxylans (WUAX) on the physicochemical properties of the dough and the final qualities of traditional Chinese youtiao were investigated. The farinographic properties of youtiao dough were slightly affected by extra WUAX, except that the water absorption increased from 56.77% to 64.93%. The extensographic properties varied complexly at different proofing time. The SEM micrographs of dough showed that the uniform starch granule structure could not be formed in youtiao dough with 4% extra WUAX. The specific volume of youtiao with 4% WUAX was only 3.68 cm3 g−1, which was 27.45% lower than that of control. The moisture content increased from 27.17% to 31.74%, and the hardness was almost four times higher than that of control. Most importantly, the total oil content of youtiao with 4% WUAX was only 12.29%, which was 37.31% lesser than the control. These results suggest that WUAX can be used in youtiao production to provide a low‐fat option with improved nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of spontaneous sourdoughs started with pear and orange fermentations on the quality attributes of white pan breads, focusing on acidification capacity, fermentation properties, free amino acids (FAA) concentration and bread properties. This work successfully developed that adding sourdough could improve the technological and nutritional properties of the bread, and that different substrates for sourdough led to differences in the bread characteristics. Breads made from sourdough exhibited lower pH (4.66–4.87) and greater acidity (3.95–4.46 mL) than the control breads. It was possible to decrease the gas production by adding sourdough, however, the gas retention ability enhanced evidently. The retention coefficients for pear and navel orange sourdoughs were 87.2% and 90.4%, respectively. Sourdough fermentation supported an appropriate acidic environment for improving the metabolic activity of some endogenous enzymes, resulting in increased specific volume and concentrations of FAAs. The 15 yeasts and 26 LAB isolates from the pear sourdough, the 21 yeasts and 18 LAB isolates from the navel orange sourdough were identified using 16S rRNA gene and 26S rRNA gene sequencing. All LAB isolates were identified as 3 species: Lactobacillus brevis , Lactobacillus plantarum , and Lactobacillus rossiae and all the yeasts as Saccharomyces cerevisiae . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of rice bran fibre ( RBF) on the properties of rice pasta by extrusion processing. As the level of RBF increased, the content of total dietary fibre ( TDF), insoluble dietary fibre ( IDF) and soluble dietary fibre ( SDF) increased, respectively. The difference in the content of Δ IDF between before and after extrusion decreased from 1.01% to 0.69% and that of Δ SDF decreased from 1.06% to 0.55%. Depending on the increasing level of RBF, the water absorption index decreased and water solubility index increased, respectively. The crystallinity of newly formed crystals decreased from 21.43% to 18.66% as the level of RBF increased. Adding RBF darkened the colour of rice pasta and reduced its hardness and chewiness. The cooking loss (CL) increased significantly compared with the control (0% RBF). The results indicate that rice pasta with extra RBF (up to 15%) can provide an acceptable quality product with a satisfactory colour and CL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to find novel natural antioxidant peptides, the water hyacinth leaf protein was hydrolyzed by Protamex at optimum condition to prepared water hyacinth leaf protein hydrolysate (WHLPH). And antioxidant properties of WHLPH were evaluated dependent on several in vitro antioxidant systems, including superoxide anion radical-scavenging activity, ABTS cation radical-scavenging activity, reducing power, and metal chelating capacity. WHLPH showed 86.37% of superoxide anion radical-scavenging activity at 1.0 mg/mL, and 56.51% of ABTS cation radical-scavenging activity at 100 μg/mL. At 1.0 mg/mL, the reducing power of WHLPH was 0.92, and the metal chelating capacity was 68.54%. Subsequently, the WHLPH was subjected to consecutive isolation and purification by macroporous resin, gel filtration chromatography, and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, and two peptide fractions with higher radical-scavenging activity were acquired. Finally, the two peptide fractions were identified to be Phe-Phe-Glu and Leu-Phe, respectively, by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Considering the two peptides' amino acid composition, their antioxidant properties may be due to the hydrophobic and/or aromatic acid residues in their sequences. The results indicated that the isolated antioxidant peptides from WHLPH would find widespread application in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industry because of their high potency, safety, low cost and abundant source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of whole wheat flour (WWF) on pasting properties of instant fried noodle dry mix and quality of final product were investigated in this research. Refined wheat flour in the recipe for instant-fried noodle was replaced by WWF at different levels. The peak and final viscosities were significantly and negatively correlated to WWF substitution level. With increasing WWF level, the hardness, cohesiveness, adhesiveness, and resilience values of instant fried noodles decreased by 11.63, 16.23, 16.67, 20.00%, respectively. WWF darkened noodle's surface color and increased its oil content (26.63%). A porous and less uniformed structure of the WWF instant fried noodles was observed by a scanning electron microscope. Moreover, the WWF incorporation lowered peroxide values of the instant fried noodles during storage. In conclusion, even though the oil content increased, WWF was helpful to inhibit the oil oxidation and produce instant fried noodles with softer texture and less sticky surface. Practical applications Refined wheat flour in the recipe for instant-fried noodle was replaced by whole wheat flour (WWF), which is rich in dietary fibers, vitamins, and other bioactive compounds. The addition of WWF delayed the retrogradation tendency of starch in the dry mix. WWF-added instant noodles had softer texture, less sticky surface, and lower peroxide value. Based on the results of this study, the refined wheat flour in the recipe for instant-fried noodle could be partially replaced by WWF to make noodles with better texture profile and higher consumer acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the thermal, pasting and gel textural properties of japonica rice starch (JRS) and glutinous rice starch (GRS) fortified with Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. leaf pigment (VBTLP) were investigated. The results showed that VBTLP facilitated the gelatinization of JRS and GRS with earlier onsets of onset temperature (T o ), peak temperature (T p ), conclusion temperature (T c ), and lower values of gelatinization enthalpy (ΔH g ), and retrogradation enthalpy (ΔH r ), as the VBTLP level increased. For JRS, VBTLP increased the peak viscosity and breakdown, reduced the final viscosity and setback, but for GRS it increased the peak viscosity, final viscosity, breakdown and setback. VBTLP also reduced the hardness and adhesiveness of the JRS gel. The values of lightness (L ∗ ) for JRS and GRS with VBTLP decreased by 47.60 and 49.56%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that VBTLP caused looser matrices in dried JRS and GRS gels which had lower crystallinities compared with the control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to investigate the possible inhibition mechanism of red rice polyphenols (RRP) on pancreatic α-amylase (PA) activity. RRP showed strong inhibition against PA activity and the half-inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) value was 3.61 μg/mL. The fluorescence quenching of PA by RRP was a combination of static quenching and dynamic quenching. RRP could aggregate with PA and the physiochemical properties of the aggregates were closely related to the concentration of RRP. Kinetic analysis suggested that the inhibition mode of RRP on PA was reversible inhibition, which was a mixing of competitive inhibition and noncompetitive inhibition. Molecular docking speculated that RRP could form hydrogen bonds with PA by binding to the catalytic active sites (ASP197, GLU233 and ASP300) and the microenvironments of TRP58 and TRP59 were altered, thus inhibiting PA activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]