Hydrophilic co-assembly of wheat gluten proteins and wheat bran cellulose improving the bioavailability of curcumin.

Low-cost wheat by-products have been modified to become an effective delivery system for curcumin. Wheat bran cellulose (WBC) and wheat gluten proteins (WPs) were co-assembled by a pH cycle and addition of sodium tripolyphosphate (STP). Fluorescence spectroscopy and zeta-potential evidenced that the embedding of WBC into the WPs favored the formation composites a relative unfolding state. Modifying the nanocomposite with STP lowered the Dh and PDI of the co-assembled structure. The nanocomplexes had a typical core-shell structure according to TEM characterization, where proteins aggregate to form a hydrophobic core and the hydrophilic WBC and STP crosslinked to form the shell. To improve the bioavailability of curcumin, it was encapsulated in WWBCs composites by participating in their structural co-assembly. In vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion experiments showed that the curcumin encapsulated in WWBCs possessed gastrointestinal slow and controlled release function, with a final release of curcumin of 77.8 ± 2.3 %.

Modification of wheat bran insoluble dietary fiber with carboxymethylation, complex enzymatic hydrolysis and ultrafine comminution.

To improve the industrial application of wheat bran insoluble dietary fiber (W-IDF), three modification methods (carboxymethylation, complex enzymatic hydrolysis, and ultrafine comminution) were compared on the basis of structural, physicochemical, functional, and antioxidant properties of W-IDF. FT-IR, DSC and SEM analysis showed that modifications contributed to alteration in morphology and arrangement of chemical bonds in W-IDF. Carboxymethylation effectively improved the water retention (WRC), water swelling (WSC), and glucose adsorption capacities (GAC); complex enzymatic hydrolysis greatly improved the oil retention (ORC), GAC, and nitrite ion adsorption capacities (NIAC). Although ultrafine comminution reduced the WRC and ORC, while positively influenced the GAC and NIAC. Moreover, total phenol content, total antioxidant capacity, DPPH radical scavenging capacity, Fe2+ chelating capacity and total reducing power were improved in modified W-IDF. Our results confirmed that carboxymethylation can improve the nutritive quality and sensory properties of W-IDF (nutritive ingredient) in food products.

A possible water-soluble inducer for synthesis of cellulase in Aspergillus niger.

The synthesis of cellulase in filamentous fungi can be triggered by several inducers. In this study, a bamboo-shoot shell pretreated with Pleurotus ostreatus could promote the formation of cellulases in Aspergillus niger. Further identification, including UPLC-TOF-MS, ultrafiltration, and FT-IR, denoted that the soluble inducer was not a traditional disaccharide but a type of modified lignin polymer. This revelation may result in incipient strategies to ameliorate cellulase productivity.