Top-down design of high-performance V-based MBene anode for Li/Na-ion batteries.

Two-dimensional (2D) MBenes have enormous potential in energy applications. Vanadium metal, with its versatile and tunable electronic states, can further enhance the electrochemical performance of MBenes. However, most MBenes are composed of a few atomic layers as the metal boron (MB) block, e.g., M2B2, which might lead to instability and poor mechanical response. Herein, we designed and predicted 2D V4B6 associated with different terminations (T = Cl, O, S) using a top-down method and global search for parental V4AB6. Among the A element candidates, the P-glued MAB phase exhibited high stability and easy synthesizability. Moreover, 2D V4B6 was feasibly formed and easily exfoliated owing to its weak V-P bonding. Most of the surface functionalization could improve both the mechanical and electrochemical properties of the V4B6 monolayer. In particular, 2D V4B6S2 exhibited a high potential as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with high theoretical capacity (297 mA h g-1), low diffusion barrier (0.166 eV), and low open circuit voltage (0.136 V), outperforming a majority of MXenes and transition metal sulfide layers. This work offers a new strategy for designing desirable 2D layers from parental materials, and tuning their properties via composition and surface functionalization, which could shed light on the development of other 2D metal-ion anodes.

Berberine interacts with gut microbiota and its potential therapy for polycystic ovary syndrome.

Berberine (BBR) is an isoquinoline alkaloid extracted from Chinese medicinal plants showing a tight correlation with gut microbiota. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent reproductive and endocrine disorder syndrome among women of childbearing age. Dysbiosis, the imbalance of intestinal microorganisms, is a potential factor that takes part in the pathogenesis of PCOS. Recent evidence indicates that berberine offers promise for treating PCOS. Here, we review the recent research on the interaction between berberine and intestinal microorganisms, including the changes in the structure of gut bacteria, the intestinal metabolites after BBR treatment, and the effect of gut microbiota on the bioavailability of BBR. We also discuss the therapeutic effect of BBR on PCOS in terms of gut microbiota and its potential mechanisms.

Cytoglobin promotes sensitivity to ferroptosis by regulating p53-YAP1 axis in colon cancer cells.

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent mode of non-apoptotic cell death characterized by accumulation of lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS). As a regulator of ROS, cytoglobin (CYGB) plays an important role in oxygen homeostasis and acts as a tumour suppressor. However, the mechanism by which CYGB regulates cell death is largely unknown. Here, we show that CYGB overexpression increased ROS accumulation and disrupted mitochondrial function as determined by the oxygen consumption rate and membrane potential. Importantly, ferroptotic features with accumulated lipid ROS and malondialdehyde were observed in CYGB-overexpressing colorectal cancer cells. Moreover, CYGB significantly increased the sensitivity of cancer cells to RSL3- and erastin-induced ferroptotic cell death. Mechanically, both YAP1 and p53 were significantly increased based on the RNA sequencing. The knock-down of YAP1 alleviated production of lipid ROS and sensitivity to ferroptosis in CYGB overexpressed cells. Furthermore, YAP1 was identified to be inhibited by p53 knock-down. Finally, high expression level of CYGB had the close correlation with key genes YAP1 and ACSL4 in ferroptosis pathway in colon cancer based on analysis from TCGA data. Collectively, our results demonstrated a novel tumour suppressor role of CYGB through p53-YAP1 axis in regulating ferroptosis and suggested a potential therapeutic approach for colon cancer.

Interesterified blend-based and physical blend-based special fats: storage stability under fluctuating temperatures.

BACKGROUND: Temperatures that special fat faces in a real environment fluctuate, thus, understanding the property changes of special fats under fluctuating temperatures will be helpful in guiding how to keep its high quality in the production and application process. Therefore, a comparative study was carried out on the storage stability of physical blend-based and interesterified blend-based special fats (PBSFs and IBSFs) and their oxidative stability, crystallization and physical properties were studied under fluctuating temperatures. RESULTS: The peroxide values of IBSFs and PBSFs were less than 10.0 mmol kg-1 after 4 weeks of storage, and IBSFs had better oxidative stability. There was little change in the solid fat content, and the hardness decreased when IBSFs and PBSFs were stored for 4 weeks. X-ray diffraction results indicated that PBSFs had only ß-crystal, but IBSFs had ß- and ß'-crystal after storage. Moreover, in IBSFs, the transformation from ß'- to ß-form in PS:RO-IBSF was more obvious than that in PS:SO-IBSF (PS, palm stearin; SO, soybean oil; RO, rapeseed oil) after 4 weeks of storage, and the good integrity of crystalline network in fast-frozen special fats during fluctuating temperature storage followed the order: IBSF > PBSF, PS:RO-PBSF > PS:SO-PBSF. CONCLUSION: The results suggest IBSF can better maintain its quality during fluctuating temperature storage than PBSF. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

The structural properties and antigenicity of soybean glycinin by glycation with xylose.

BACKGROUND: Soybean glycinin is considered a major allergenic protein, and glycation is widely used to reduce the allergenic potential of present allergens. Glycation of soybean glycinin with xylose at 55 °C for different lengths of time was investigated. The extent of Maillard reaction was reflected through the content changing of free amino groups, color analysis and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Alteration in the structural properties of glycinin was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and antigenicity was evaluated by indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The changes in the color of glycinin-xylose samples and the reduction of free amino group content in proteins indicated that the Maillard reaction occurred. The degree of glycation increased in glycated samples with the increase in reaction time. Glycation induced the changes in the secondary structure of glycinin and the ordered structure of proteins increased during the glycation reaction. The antigenicity of glycinin was reduced with the increase in reaction time. After glycation for 12 h, the antigenicity of glycinin declined about 18% compared with native glycinin. CONCLUSION: The application of glycation may be an efficient method to reduce the antigenicity of soybean glycinin. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Demulsification of Emulsion Using Heptanoic Acid during Aqueous Enzymatic Extraction and the Characterization of Peanut Oil and Proteins Extracted.

Peanut oil body emulsion occurs during the process of aqueous enzymatic extraction (AEE). The free oil is difficult to release and extract because its structure is stable and not easily destroyed. Demulsification can release free oil in an oil body emulsion, so various fatty acids were selected for the demulsification. Changes in the amount of heptanoic acid added, solid-liquid ratio, reaction temperature, and reaction time were adopted to investigate demulsification, and the technological conditions of demulsification were optimized. While the optimal conditions were the addition of 1.26% of heptanoic acid, solid-liquid ratio of 1:3.25, reaction temperature of 72.7 °C, and reaction time of 55 min, the maximum free oil yield was (95.84 ± 0.19)%. The analysis of the fatty acid composition and physicochemical characterization of peanut oils extracted using four methods were studied during the AEE process. Compared with the amount of oil extracted via other methods, the unsaturated fatty acids of oils extracted from demulsification with heptanoic acid contained 78.81%, which was significantly higher than the other three methods. The results of physicochemical characterization indicated that the oil obtained by demulsification with heptanoic acid had a higher quality. According to the analysis of the amino acid composition, the protein obtained using AEE was similar to that of commercial peanut protein powder (CPPP). However, the essential amino acid content of proteins extracted via AEE was significantly higher than that of CPPP. The capacity of water (oil) holding, emulsifying activity, and foaming properties of protein obtained via AEE were better than those for CPPP. Overall, heptanoic acid demulsification is a potential demulsification method, thus, this work provides a new idea for the industrial application of simultaneous separation of oil and proteins via AEE.

Correlationship between self-assembly behavior and emulsion stabilization of pea protein-high methoxyl pectin complexes treated with ultrasound at pH 2.0.

This study investigated the effects of ultrasound on the self-assembly behavior of pea protein (PP)-high methoxyl pectin (HMP) complexes at pH 2.0 through transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and intrinsic fluorescence analysis. The emulsion stabilization mechanism of PP-HMP treated with ultrasound (PP-HMP-US) was also elucidated. The results indicated that ultrasound increased the emulsifying activity index (EAI) and emulsifying stability index (ESI) of PP-HMP. Moreover, PP-HMP-US-based emulsions formed small, dispersed oil drops, which were stable during storage. PP-HMP- and PP-HMP-US-based emulsions did not demonstrate any creaming. The TEM results revealed that ultrasound can regulate the self-assembly behavior of PP and HMP to form spherical particles with a core-shell structure. This structure possessed low turbidity, a small particle size, and high absolute zeta potential values. The FTIR and intrinsic fluorescence spectra demonstrated that ultrasound increased the α-helix and ß-sheet contents and exposed the tryptophan groups to more hydrophilic environments. Ultrasound also promoted the PP-HMP self-assembly through electrostatic interaction and improved its oil-water interfacial behavior, as indicated by the EAI and ESI values of PP-HMP-US-based emulsions. The current results provide a reference for the development of an innovative emulsifier prepared by ultrasound-treated protein-pectin complexes at low pH.

Effect of soy protein hydrolysates incorporation on dough rheology, protein characteristic, noodle quality, and their correlations.

Soy protein hydrolysates (SPHs) have bioactive and nutritional functions that can be used as fortifier of noodles. The objective of this study is to explore the effect of SPHs on dough rheology and noodle quality. Two kinds of SPHs, with a hydrolysis degree of 4.43% (SPH4) and 7.47% (SPH7), were added to wheat flour at a ratio of 5:95 to make dough and noodles. The addition of SPHs decreased the gluten yield, gluten index, peak viscosity, final viscosity, and setback of flour paste. Dough stability decreased, but the extensibility increased because of the addition of SPHs. SPHs decreased the high molecular weight glutenin subunits and SDS-unextractable polymeric protein proportion, and the results of scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy also showed that the gluten network in SPH7 dough was more discontinuous than that in SPH4, suggesting a stronger negative effect of SPH7 on the formation of the gluten network compared to that of SPH4. The incorporation of SPHs decreased the hardness and springiness of cooked noodles but increased their cooking loss, protein loss, and water absorption. The correlation analysis showed that high molecular weight subunits and SDS-unextractable polymeric protein in SPH-fortified dough were positively correlated with the hardness, adhesiveness, springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness, resilience, force, and distance at break of noodles, and these texture properties of noodles were positively correlated with pasting, gluten, and farinographical properties of SPH-fortified flour. These results suggested that SPHs could improve some qualities of noodles, such as smoothness and cooking yield, and resist pasted starch aging. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Soy protein hydrolysates have many bioactive functions. This study demonstrated the feasibility of incorporating soy protein hydrolysates into wheat flour to prepare noodles. The addition of soy protein hydrolysates gives noodles smoother mouthfeel and increases the cooking yield. The addition of soy protein hydrolysates decreases the setback value of flour paste, suggesting that soy protein hydrolysates may help to resist starch aging, which is favorable for starch-containing foods such as precooked noodles. Thus, soy protein hydrolysates possess potential applications in noodle products.

Wheat bran arabinoxylan and bovine serum albumin conjugates: Enzymatic synthesis, characterization, and applications in O/W emulsions.

Wheat bran arabinoxylan-bovine serum albumin (WBAX-BSA) conjugates were prepared via enzymatic synthesis using horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and H2O2 as catalysts. The conjugates were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), high-performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The feasibility of its application in stable emulsions was also assessed. UV-vis results revealed that phenolic acid in WBAX and aromatic amino acids in BSA were implicated in the enzymatic synthesis of the WBAX-BSA conjugate with the optimal WBAX:BSA mass ratio of 3:2. HPSEC results confirmed the intermolecular interactions between WBAX and BSA and the molecular weight of WBAX-BSA (2673 ± 16 kg/mol) was higher than that of control groups. Compared with the WBAX/BSA physical complexes, the WBAX-BSA conjugates had higher apparent viscosity (0.08-0.24 Pa.s), denser structure, larger particle sizes (33.5 ± 5.7 nm), and improving emulsifying properties in oil in water (O/W) emulsion system under different environmental stresses. The preparation of the enzymatic conjugates not only provides novel O/W emulsion systems but also improves processed food manufacturing processes that require efficient emulsification.

Development of Nectin4/FAP-targeted CAR-T cells secreting IL-7, CCL19, and IL-12 for malignant solid tumors.

Background: Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy has made significant advances for hematological malignancies but encounters obstacles in the treatment of solid tumors mainly due to tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment. Methods: Immunohistochemistry analysis was performed to examine the cellular expression of nectin cell adhesion molecule-4 (Nectin4) and fibroblast activation protein (FAP) in a variety of malignant solid tumors. Then, we engineered the fourth-generation Nectin4-targeted CAR-T (Nectin4-7.19 CAR-T) and FAP-targeted CAR-T (FAP-12 CAR-T) cells to evaluate their safety and efficacy in vitro and in vivo. Results: In our study, we firstly demonstrated the aberrant overexpression of Nectin4 on both primary and metastatic solid tumors and FAP on cancer-associated fibroblasts. Then, we found that our fourth-generation Nectin4-7.19 CAR-T cells expressed IL-7 and CCL19 efficiently and exhibited superior proliferation, migration, and cytotoxicity compared to the second-generation Nectin4 CAR-T cells, while FAP-12 CAR-T cells exerted their ability of targeting both murine and human FAP effectively in vitro. In a fully immune-competent mouse model of metastatic colorectal cancer, lymphodepletion pretreated mice achieved complete remission with human Nectin4-targeted murine CAR-T (Nectin4 mCAR-T) cells. In the NSG mouse model of lung metastases, Nectin4-7.19 CAR-T cells eradicated metastatic tumors and prolonged survival in combination with FAP-12 CAR-T cells. Conclusions: These findings showed that Nectin4-7.19 CAR-T cells had potential therapeutic efficacy and exerted a synergistic role with FAP-12 CAR-T cells, further demonstrating that Nectin4 and FAP were able to serve as promising targets for safe and effective CAR-T therapy of malignant solid tumors.

Functional and structural properties of soy 11S globulin: Influence of reverse micelle extraction.

The effect of the reverse micelle extraction method (RMEM) on the physicochemical properties of soy 11S globulin was studied and compared with that of the traditional alkali solution-acid precipitation method (ASAPM). The results showed that the ß-sheet structure content of soy 11S globulin obtained by RMEM was lower, while the ß-turn structure content was higher compared with that obtained by ASAPM. Furthermore, the protein unfolding degree and surface hydrophobicity were lower than those observed using ASAPM. Therefore, RMEM better maintained the natural molecular structure of soy 11S globulin. The thermodynamic and rheological properties of soy 11S globulin obtained by these two methods were further compared, showing that the highest denaturation temperature and transition heat of soy 11S globulin extracted using ASAPM were different from those obtained using RMEM. Furthermore, soy 11S globulin extracted by RMEM showed stronger heat resistance and a higher denaturation temperature than that extracted by ASAPM. The final storage modulus and frequency sweep results showed that the gel formed by soy 11S globulin obtained using RMEM had high storage modulus and loss modulus. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: In this study, the effects of two different extraction methods on structural and functional properties of soy 11S globulin, such as thermodynamics and rheology, were investigated. We can know the 11S globulin extracted using the reverse micelle environment was more heat-resistant and heat-induced gel quality of 11S globulin was improved by the reverse micelle environment. These results will provide theoretical basis that would help determine the potential applications of soy 11S globulin in the food system.

Effect of soybean oil content on textural, rheological, and microstructural properties of WBAXs-SPI emulsion-filled gels.

This study aimed to prepare wheat bran arabinoxylans-soy protein isolate (WBAXs-SPI) emulsion-filled gels with different oil contents and investigate their rheological, textural, water-holding capacity (WHC), and microstructural properties. The rheological analysis results showed that the maximum correlation interaction occurs when the soybean oil concentration was 10%, and the elastic modulus (G') reaches the highest value of 13,562 Pa. Interestingly, the WHC and texture change trend of WBAXs-SPI emulsion-filled gel were consistent with rheology. Meanwhile, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) observation indicated that the emulsion-filled gels formed an interpenetrating polysaccharide-protein complex network system. Therefore, the filling emulsion performance could be adjusted by changing the concentration of oil droplets as the active filler. This provides the possibility of developing new food materials encapsulating fat-soluble substances with a low oil rate and more stable structure.

Identification of the linear immunodominant epitopes in the ß subunit of ß-conglycinin and preparation of epitope antibodies.

ß-conglycinin is one of the major allergens in soybean protein. The purpose of this study was to predict and to identify the major linear epitopes of the ß subunit of ß-conglycinin. Potential linear epitopes were predicted and confirmed by three immunoinformatics tools combined with the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB). Ten potential epitope peptides were synthesized by Fmoc (9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl) solid phase peptide synthesis and were validated by the indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) using sera from soybean allergic patients. Polyclonal antibodies, which were prepared by immunizing rabbits with synthesized peptides, were used to confirm their binding ability with ß-conglycinin through western blot and dot blot assays. The results showed that 10 peptides were screened as the main epitopes for the ß subunit of ß-conglycinin. All 10 peptides (P1-P10) presented IgG binding activity, and P2 and P6 were also validated as IgE binding peptides. Moreover, the results of dot blot showed that P5 and P8 might be located inside the protein molecule. Western blot indicated that most of polyclonal antibodies were bound effectively to the ß subunit of ß-conglycinin. In addition, few polyclonal antibodies exhibited an immune cross-reaction with the α and α' subunits.

Combination of Alcalase 2.4 L and CaCl2 for aqueous extraction of peanut oil.

The combined application of CaCl2 and Alcalase 2.4 L to the aqueous extraction process of peanuts was evaluated as a method to destabilize the oil body (OB) emulsion and improve the oil yield. After adding 5 mM CaCl2 , the oil yield was reached to 92.0% which was similar with that obtained using Alcalase 2.4 L alone, and the required enzyme loading was decreased by approximately 60 times. In addition, the demulsification mechanism during aqueous extraction process was also investigated. Particle size and zeta-potential measurements indicated that the stability of the peanut OB emulsion dramatically decreased when CaCl2 was added. Under these conditions, the demulsification of Alcalase 2.4 L performed was more efficiently. SDS-PAGE results showed that adding CaCl2 changed the subunit structure of the peanut OB interface proteins and promoted the cross-linking among the arachin Ara h3 isoforms, resulting in unstable emulsions.

WCE polyp detection based on novel feature descriptor with normalized variance locality-constrained linear coding.

PURPOSE: Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) has become an effective facility to detect digestive tract diseases. To further improve the accuracy and efficiency of computer-aided diagnosis system in the detection of intestine polyps, a novel algorithm is proposed for WCE polyp detection in this paper. METHODS: First, by considering the rich color information of endoscopic images, a novel local color texture feature called histogram of local color difference (LCDH) is proposed for describing endoscopic images. A codebook acquisition method which is based upon positive samples is also proposed, generating more balanced visual words with the LCDH features. Furthermore, based on locality-constrained linear coding (LLC) algorithm, a normalized variance regular term is introduced as NVLLC algorithm, which considers the dispersion degree between k nearest visual words and features in the approximate coding phase. The final image representations are obtained from using the spatial matching pyramid model. Finally, the support vector machine is employed to classify the polyp images. RESULTS: The WCE dataset including 500 polyp and 500 normal images is adopted for evaluating the proposed method. Experimental results indicate that the classification accuracy, sensitivity and specificity have reached 96.00%, 95.80% and 96.20%, which performances better than traditional ways. CONCLUSION: A novel method for WCE polyp detection is developed using LCDH feature descriptor and NVLLC coding scheme, which achieves a promising performance and can be implemented in clinical-assisted diagnosis of intestinal diseases.

The Mechanism of Extraction of Peanut Protein and Oil Bodies by Enzymatic Hydrolysis of the Cell Wall.

Degradation of the peanut cell wall is a critical step in the aqueous enzymatic extraction process to extract proteins and oil bodies. Viscozyme® L, a compound cell wall degrading enzyme, has been applied as an alternative to protease in the process of aqueous enzymatic extraction, but the mechanism of cell wall enzymolysis remains unclear. The present study aims to investigate the changes in cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin content of the peanut cell wall hydrolyzed by Viscozyme® L. The degree to which the main components of the peanut cell wall, such as trans-1, 2-cyclohexanediamine-N,N,N',N'-acetic acid-soluble pectin (CDTA-soluble pectin), Na2CO3-soluble pectin, cellulose, and hemicellulose, are degraded is closely related to the extraction of oil bodies and peanut protein at different solid-liquid ratio of powered peanut seed in distilled water, enzyme concentration, enzyme hydrolysis temperature, and enzyme hydrolysis time. The key sites of Viscozyme® L activity on cell wall polysaccharides were explored by comparing the changes in chemical bonds under different extraction conditions using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) absorption bands and principal component analysis (PCA). Viscozyme® L acted on the C-O stretching, C-C stretching, and CH2 symmetrical bending of cellulose, the C-O stretching and O-C-O asymmetrical bending of hemicellulose, and the C-O stretching and C-C stretching of pectin.

Storage stability studies on interesterified blend-based fast-frozen special fats for oxidative stability, crystallization characteristics and physical properties.

The storage stability of two kinds of interesterified blend-based fast-frozen special fats (PS:SO-IBSF, PS:RO-IBSF) with varied triacylglycerols (TAGs) compositions under different temperatures for 4 weeks was investigated. Rancimat and peroxide values experiments indicated that both IBSFs display good oxidation stability throughout a 4-week storage. As for the physical properties of both IBSFs, the solid fat content and hardness decreased with the increase of storage temperature, and IBSFs still exhibited a viscoelastic solid-like behavior. X-ray diffraction results showed that crystal transformation from ß'- to ß-form was more serious when stored at 25 °C. The more content of ECN 50-type TAGs in PS:RO-IBSF is helpful to reduce its crystal transformation from ß'-to ß-form compared to PS:SO-IBSF. On the other hand, storage at 4 °C was beneficial for both IBSFs to keep their crystal network integrity, and the PS:RO-IBSF maintained better quality under the same storage conditions.

CMA1 is potent prognostic marker and associates with immune infiltration in gastric cancer.

Background: Chymase 1 (CMA1), a gene known to be expressed in mast cells (MCs), is largely linked to immunity. However, the relationship between CMA1 and prognosis of multiple tumours and tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) remains elusive.Methods: The differential expressions of CMA1 in different tumours and their corresponding normal tissues were evaluated via exploring Tumour Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) and Oncomine database; the correlation within expression level of CMA1 and outcome of cancer patients was evaluated via Kaplan-Meier plotter and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database; the correlation between CMA1 and tumour immune cell infiltration was further investigated by TIMER; additionally, the correlation between CMA1 and gene signature pattern of immune infiltration were checked using TIMER and GEPIA.Results: There were significant differences in CMA1 expression levels between gastric cancer (GC) tissues and adjacent normal tissues. The high expression of CMA1 was closed related to poor overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with GC (OS HR = 1.50, p = .00015; PFS HR = 1.33, p = .016). Especially, in GC patients at N1, N2 and N3 stages, high CMA1 expression was correlated with poor OS and PFS, but not with NO (p = .15, .09). The expression of CMA1 was positively associated with the levels of infiltrated CD4+, CD8+ T cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DCs) in GC. Whereas, CMA1 expression was considerably associated with various immune markers.Conclusion: CMA1 is a key gene whose expression level is significantly correlated with GC prognosis and infiltration levels of CD8+, CD4+ T cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and DCs in GC. In addition, the expression of CMA1 may be involved in regulating tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs), dendritic cells, exhausted T cells and regulatory T cells in GC. It suggests that CMA1 could be utilized as a prognostic marker and a sign of immune infiltration in GC.

Effect of interesterified blend-based fast-frozen special fat on the physical properties and microstructure of frozen dough.

To better understand the effect of interesterified blend-based fast-frozen special fat (IBSF) on the quality of frozen dough, the physical properties and microstructure of frozen dough were investigated. The presence of IBSF in the frozen dough increased the gelatinization enthalpy (from 0.16 to 0.26 J/g) and decreased the degree of retrogradation (from 81.3% to 53.8%). The frozen dough added with IBSF also exhibited enhanced extensibility and greater flexibility. Data of DSC and Low-field NMR demonstrated that addition of IBSF significantly reduced the freezable water content and mobility of free water. SEM analysis showed that the starch granules were arranged in the gluten network of frozen dough. Compared with the corresponding physical blend-based special fat and commercial special fat, IBSF not only exhibited favorable influence on the quality of frozen dough, but didn't have trans-fatty acid. These results suggest that IBSF is promising in the preparation of prefrozen fast food.

Mechanistic insight into the relationship between triacylglycerol and crystallization of lipase-catalyzed interesterified blend of palm stearin and vegetable oil.

To give a deep insight into the relationship between triacylglycerol and crystallization of interesterified fat, the blends of palm stearin and various vegetable oil were catalyzed by two different immobilized lipases in this study. After interesterification, the blends had wider plastic range indicated by the SFC results and more ß' crystal. The improved physicochemical characteristics of interesterified blends were attributed to their changed TAG profiles. The statistical analysis showed that the interesterified blends were more likely to form ß' crystal with the increase of SU2-type TAG content and the decrease of SSS-type TAG content (p < 0.01). In addition, the decrease of ECN 42- and ECN 48-type TAGs and the increase of ECN 50-type TAGs also significantly enhanced the formation of ß' crystal (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the sn-1,3-specific Lipozyme TL IM-catalyzed interesterified blends were favorable for the formation of ß' crystal than the non-specific Novozym 435-catalyzed interesterified blends.