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Edible flowers are a potential source of bioactive ingredients and are also an area of scientific research. Particularly noteworthy are Cyani flos , which have a wide range of uses in herbal medicine. The below study aimed to investigate the influence of selected soluble fiber fractions on the selected properties of physical and biochemical powders obtained during spray drying a water extract of Cyani flos . The drying efficiency for the obtained powders was over 60%. The obtained powders were characterized by low moisture content (≤4.99%) and water activity (≤0.22). The increase in the addition of pectin by the amount of 2-8% in the wall material resulted in a decrease in hygroscopicity, water solubility, and protection of flavonoids and anthocyanins both before and after digestion in the tested powders in comparison to the sample with only inulin as a carrier. Additionally, it was noted that all samples were characterized by high bioaccessibility when determining antioxidant properties and xanthine oxidase inhibition.

Oleogels are of high interest as promising substitutes for trans fats in foods. An emulsion-templated method was used to trap olive oil in the chitosan crosslinked with vanillin matrix. Oil in water emulsions (50:50 w / w ) with different chitosan content (0.7 and 0.8% w / w ) with a constant vanillin/chitosan ratio (1.3) were air-dried at different temperatures (50, 60, 70, and 80 °C) and freeze-dried (-26 °C and 0.1 mbar) to produce oleogels. Only falling rate periods were determined during air-drying kinetics and were successfully modeled with empirical and diffusional models. At a drying temperature of 70 °C, the drying kinetics were the fastest. The viscoelasticity of oleogels showed that the elastic modulus significantly increased after drying at 60 and 70 °C, and those dried at 50 °C and freeze-dried were weaker. All oleogels showed high oil binding capacity (>91%), but the highest values (>97%) were obtained in oleogels with a threshold elastic modulus (50,000 Pa). The oleogels' color depended on the drying temperature and chitosan content (independent of the drying method). Significant differences were observed between air-dried and freeze-dried oleogels with respect to oxidative stability. Oxidation increased with the air-drying time regardless of chitosan content. The found results indicated that drying conditions must be carefully selected to produce oleogels with specific features.

Amino acids (AAs) have been used as excipients in protein formulations both in solid and liquid state products due to their stabilizing effect. However, the mechanisms by which they can stabilize a protein have not been fully elucidated yet. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of AAs with distinct physicochemical properties on the stability of a model protein (lysozyme, LZM) during the spray-drying process and subsequent storage. Molecular descriptor based multivariate data analysis was used to select distinct AAs from the group of 20 natural AAs. Then, LZM and the five selected AAs (1:1 wt ratio) were spray-dried (SD). The solid form, residual moisture content (RMC), hygroscopicity, morphology, secondary/tertiary structure and enzymatic activity of LZM were evaluated before and after storage under 40 °C/75 % RH for 30 days. Arginine (Arg), leucine (Leu), glycine (Gly), tryptophan (Trp), aspartic acid (Asp) were selected because of their distinct properties by using principal component analysis (PCA). The SD LZM powders containing Arg, Trp, or Asp were amorphous, while SD LZM powders containing Leu or Gly were crystalline. Recrystallization of Arg, Trp, Asp and polymorph transition of Gly were observed after the storage under accelerated conditions. The morphologies of the SD particles vary upon the different AAs formulated with LZM, implying different drying kinetics of the five model systems. A tertiary structural change of LZM was observed in the SD powder containing Arg, while a decrease in the enzymatic activity of LZM was observed in the powders containing Arg or Asp after the storage. This can be attributed to the extremely basic and acidic conditions that Arg and Asp create, respectively. This study suggests that when AAs are used as stabilizers instead of traditional disaccharides, not only do classic vitrification theory and water replacement theory play a role, but the microenvironmental pH conditions created by basic or acidic AAs in the starting solution or during the storage of solid matter are also crucial for the stability of SD protein products., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study investigated the impact of inulin (INL) on viability of L. plantarum D-2 (LPD2) by encapsulation through spray drying (SD) and its commercialization potential to alternative of conventional wall material maltodextrin (MD). LPD2, derived from sea tangle ( Saccharina japonica ) kimchi, is probiotics exhibiting significant attributes like cholesterol reduction, antioxidant properties, and resilience to acidic and bile environments. To enhance storage viability and stability of LPD2, encapsulation was applied by SD technology. The optimum encapsulation condition with MD was 10% MD concentration (MD10) and inlet temperature (96°C). The optimum concentration ratio of MD and INL was 7:3 (INL3) for alternative of MD with similar encapsulation yield and viability of LPD2. Viability of LPD2 with INL3 exhibited almost 8% higher than that with MD10 after 50 days storage at 25°C. Physicochemical characteristics of the encapsulated LPD2 (ELPD2) with MD10 and INL3 had no significant different between flowability and morphology. But, ELPD2 with INL3 had lower water solubility and higher water absorption resulting in extension of viability of LPD2 compared to that with MD10. The comprehensive study results showed that there was no significant difference in the encapsulation yield and physicochemical properties between ELPD2 with MD10 and INL3, except of water solubility index (WSI) and water absorption index (WAI). INL have the potential to substitute of MD as a commercial wall material with prebiotic functionality to enhance the viability of LPD2 by encapsulation.

A bioactive Pleurotus eryngii aqueous extract powder (SPAE) was obtained by spray drying and its performance in terms of physicochemical properties, in vitro digestion, inflammatory factors, and modulation of the intestinal microbiota was explored. The results indicated that the SPAE exhibited a more uniform particle size distribution than P. eryngii polysaccharide (PEP). Meanwhile, a typical absorption peak observed at 843 cm -1 in the SPAE FTIR spectra indicated the existence of α-glycosidic bonds. SPAE exhibited higher antioxidant abilities and superior resistance to digestion in vitro. In addition, SPAE supplementation to mice significantly reduced the release of factors that promote inflammation, enhanced the secretion of anti-inflammatory factors, and sustained maximum production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Additionally, it significantly enhanced the relative abundance of SCFAs-producing Akkermansia and reduced the abundance of Ruminococcus and Clostridiides in intestines of mice. These results show the potential of SPAE as a novel material with prebiotic effects for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Probiotics are susceptible to diverse conditions during processing, storage, and digestion. Here, shellac (SC), sodium alginate (SA), coconut oil (CO), soybean oil (SO), and trehalose (AL) were used to prepare microcapsules aiming to improve the survival of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KLDS1.0318 during freeze-drying, storage process, and gastrointestinal digestion. The results showed that for SA/AL/SC/CO and SA/AL/SC/SO, the survival loss decreased by 51.2 % and 51.0 % after a freeze-drying process compared with microcapsules embedded by SA; the viable bacteria count loss decreased by 4.36 and 4.24 log CFU/mL compared with free cell (CON) during storage for 28 d under 33%RH at 25 °C, respectively; while for simulating digestion in vitro, the survival loss decreased by 3.05 and 2.70 log CFU/mL, 0.63 and 0.55 log CFU/mL after digestion at simulated gastric fluid for 120 min and small intestine fluid for 180 min, respectively (P < 0.05). After microcapsules were added to fermented dairy stored at 4 °C for 21 d, the viable bacteria count of SA/AL/SC/CO and SA/AL/SC/SO significantly increased by 2.10 and 1.70 log CFU/mL compared with CON, respectively (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the current study indicated that shellac-based probiotic microcapsules have superior potential to protect and deliver probiotics in food systems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

With interest in camel milk growing due to its nutrients and biologically active compounds, research into methods of processing and drying it is crucial. In recent decades, extensive studies have explored its chemical composition and health benefits with a focus on drying techniques and their effects on its properties. This review systematically summarizes the available literature on camel milk drying processes and their effects on its chemical composition with a view to shortening the drying time. To achieve this goal, we meticulously reviewed numerous studies published between 2014 and 2024 to identify optimal drying methods that maximize the preservation of camel milk's nutrient components and bioactive compounds. Our analysis revealed significant findings: freeze drying preserves nutrients better than spray drying, but is less efficient. Spray drying, while faster, tends to compromise some nutritional values. Conclusively, optimizing drying parameters can improve production efficiency and nutrient retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To elucidate the effects of energy input modes on energy efficiency and berry quality in continuous microwave drying, four energy input modes with variational working ways of magnetrons were investigated by using numerical simulation and bench experiments in a continuous microwave dryer. Energy efficiency was divided into absorption and conversion efficiency to study the change rule of drying process, and the retention rate of anthocyanins of berry's representative nutrition ingredient was studied considering both of the temperature and its uniformity. Results indicate that the energy input modes affect the absorption efficiency by changing the distribution uniformity of electric field of material layer, and the conversion efficiency by altering the matching degree between the energy allocation and drying characteristics of berry, which are both determined by the ways of working magnetrons of different energy input modes. The conversion efficiency has a greater influence on the final energy efficiency, so the energy input mode should be paid attention to the provision of microwave energy by selecting proper way of working magnetrons according to the drying characteristics. The effect of temperature uniformity on anthocyanin degradation is more obvious with average temperature increasing gradually, where better uniformity of electric field strength should be provided to guarantee the quality of dried berry by adjusting the energy input mode. The research results provide significant insights to optimize the energy input mode of taking into account both the energy efficiency and dried quality of material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was precisely because LiNi 0. 5 Mn 1. 5 O4 cathode material had many advantages, including high voltage, high power, no pollution, low cost, etc., that it became a research hotspot for lithium-ion cathode materials. Although LiNi 0. 5 Mn 1. 5 O4 has a three-dimensional Li + diffusion channel, there are still some problems that lead to capacity decay and reduced cycling stability, limiting its commercial application. In this paper, the LiNi 0. 5 Mn 1. 5 O4 cathode material was prepared by the freezing precipitation method. We studied the effects of different drying methods, such as blast drying, water bath drying and freeze-drying on the structure, morphology and electrochemical properties of LiNi 0. 5 Mn 1. 5 O4 cathode materials. The study found that the LiNi 0. 5 Mn 1. 5 O4 cathode material prepared by the precipitation-freeze-drying method had a complete crystal form, a stable structure and no LixNi 1 − x O impurity peak. The SEM image showed that the particles were smaller and had a smooth surface. The initial discharge-specific capacity at 0.1 C was 105.2 mAh⋅g − 1 . After 50 cycles, its specific discharge capacity was 99.4 mAh⋅g − 1 and the capacity retention rate was 94.5%. Compared with LiNi 0. 5 Mn 1. 5 O4 materials prepared by other methods, it had better electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Hot air coupled with ultrasound and infrared irradiation were used for the drying of curdlan. The drying mechanism and quality change of curdlan were explored under the multi-physical fields, so as to developing the green drying technology of curdlan. Methods: Forced convective hot air alone, ultrasound-coupled forced convective hot air, infrared irradiation alone, and infrared-coupled forced convective hot air were used to dry curdlan. A mass transfer model considering temeprature change was constructed and the quality of the dried curdlan was comprehensively assessed. Results: Under the studied forced convective hot air drying conditions, it took around 40 min to dry the curdlan, and the required drying time was reduced to 36, 26 and 22 min for ultrasound-coupled hot air drying, infrared irradiation alone drying, and infrared-coupled hot air drying, respectively. The moisture transfer model coupled with the temperature change was able to accurately predict the change of the moisture content throughout drying. Under infrared drying coupled with convective hot air, the range of moisture effective diffusivity inside curdlan was 9.79×10−9 to 9.81×10−9 m2/s, and the surface mass transfer coefficient was 4.69×10−2 kg water/(m2·s), which were higher than those of the other treatment groups, followed by those under infrared irradiation alone drying, ultrasonic-coupled hot air drying, and hot air drying alone. Moreover, the gel strength, glucose content, the distribution of chemical functional groups on surface, crystal structure and thermal stability of curdlan samples dried by different methods were all similar. Conclusion: Taking all these results into consideration, infrared drying was regarded as an efficient method for drying curdlan compared to hot air drying and ultrasound-coupled hot air drying.