Chinese Adults' Willingness to Pay for Mandatory Nutrients Reporting on Nutrition Facts Table.

The Chinese food industry has opposed the mandatory inclusion of increased nutrients in the Nutrition Facts Table (NFT), thus impeding its improvement. This poses a challenge to the endeavors aiming to assist consumers in cultivating healthy dietary habits that incorporate reduced saturated fatty acids and added sugars while ensuring the adequate intake of essential micronutrients. This study conducted a choice experiment to investigate Chinese consumers' preference for updated labeling schemes among 630 adults that were randomly selected from Central, North, East, South, Northwest, Southwest, and Northeast China. It revealed that respondents were willing to pay the highest premium for the most mandatory nutrients (22.575% of the food price per unit). Respondents preferred the NFT with the most mandatory nutrients if they met the following population characteristics: female; non-overweight or obese; without a college degree; possessed an annual household disposable income between 50,000 and 99,999 CNY; from North China; lived in rural areas and often cooked for family; cared about food nutrition. Two combinations of NFT information received the highest preference: (1) the NFT detailing the most mandatory nutrients and their content values and nutrient reference values (NRV%); (2) the NFT containing the most nutrients and the nutrients in 100 g/mL or a serving. The first and second combinations attracted a premium of 14.884% and 31.833% of the food price per unit, respectively.

Humic acids alleviate dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis by positively modulating gut microbiota.

Humic acids (HAs) are natural polymers with diverse functional groups that have been documented and utilized in traditional Chinese medicine. Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis has been used as a model to study inflammatory bowel disease. In this research, we investigate the effect of HAs on ameliorating DSS-induced colitis in mice. Our aim here was to investigate if HAs could be a remedy against colitis and the mechanisms involved. The results show that HAs facilitated a regain of body weight and restoration of intestinal morphology after DSS-induced colitis. HAs treatment alters the community of gut microbiota with more Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Changes in bacterial community result in lower amounts of lipopolysaccharides in mouse sera, as well as lower levels of inflammatory cytokines through the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-NF-κB pathway. HAs also promoted the expression of tight junction proteins, which protect the intestinal barrier from DSS damage. Cell experiments show that HAs display an inhibitory effect on DSS growth as well. These results suggest that HAs can alleviate colitis by regulating intestinal microbiota, reducing inflammation, maintaining mucosal barriers, and inhibiting pathogen growth. Thus, HAs offer great potential for the prevention and treatment of colitis.

Influence of different thermal treatment methods on the processing qualities of sesame seeds and cold-pressed oil.

This study investigated the impact of multiple thermal treatments (explosion-puffing, microwave, and roasting) on the processing qualities of sesame seeds and cold-pressed oil. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed fissures and cavities of sesame seed surface upon thermal treatments. The microwave treatment promoted the maximum conversion of sesamolin into sesamol in the sesame oil. Compared with other treatments, explosion-puffing treatment resulted in most significant increases in the multiple beneficial phytochemicals, as well as in vitro antioxidant properties determined by 2,2-dipheny1-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and oxidative stability index (OSI). Additionally, thermal treatment processing caused varying degrees of damage of crude protein, total amino acids (TAA) and protein structure (tertiary and second structure). In which, explosion-puffing achieved minimal reduction in the first two indicators. Collectively, explosion-puffing might be a preferable thermal treatment method for industrial sesame processing with improved quality specifications.

Study on the Use of Cooking Oil in Chinese Dishes.

The purpose of this study was to research the amount of cooking oil used in mainstream Chinese cuisine, as well as the features of cooking oil used in different types of dishes. The results provide reference data for the assessment of edible oil intake for eating out. A total of 302 common Chinese dishes were chosen and prepared following standard procedures. The cooking oils used in these dishes were analyzed in terms of the cooking process, food material combination, types of primary food materials, type of cooking oil, and the purpose of the cooking oil. The results showed that the mean amount of cooking oil used per 100 g of food material was 8.1 g. There were no significant differences in the amount of cooking oil used in the eight major styles of Chinese cuisine. The average amount of cooking oil used in hot dishes (10.0 g) was higher than that used in cold dishes. The amount of cooking oil in pure meat, mixed meat-vegetable, and pure vegetable dishes was up to 10.9 g, 9.3 g, and 4.6 g, respectively. The findings of the present study could be used in future dietary surveys to determine the average oil consumption associated with different dishes. In addition, the results provide reference data for oil intake assessments in nutrition surveys or nutritional recipes.