Recycling of wheat gluten wastewater: Recovery of arabinoxylan and application of its film in cherry and strawberry preservation.

This study investigated the effect of an edible water-extractable arabinoxylan (WEAX) coating on the postharvest preservation of strawberries and cherries. The WEAX film was prepared using carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) film as a control, with thorough characterization of its film properties. Subsequently, strawberry and cherry fruits were submerged in a solution containing edible film-forming materials and left to be stored at room temperature, followed by the analysis of their physicochemical parameters to assess their preservation efficacy. The results show that the WEAX film exhibited enhanced flexibility, superior water vapor permeability, thermal stability, and surface morphology. Furthermore, the implementation of WEAX film effectively mitigated weight loss, decay, color degradation, softening process, ascorbic acid decline, anthocyanin accumulation, and an increase in malondialdehyde content in fruits. Thus, the incorporation of WEAX coating demonstrates its capability in prolonging the shelf life of fruits post-harvest, underscoring its potential in fruit preservation practices.

Effects of Ultrasonic Treatment on Physical Stability of Lily Juice: Rheological Behavior, Particle Size, and Microstructure.

The aim of this study was to investigate the rheological properties, particle size distribution, color change, and stability of lily juice under different ultrasonic treatment conditions (152 W, 304 W, 456 W, 608 W, and 760 W). The results showed that the lily juice exhibited non-Newtonian shear thinning behavior, and the viscosity decreased with the increase in ultrasonic power. Under ultrasonic treatment conditions, there was no significant change in the pH value and zeta potential value of the samples. The content of cloudy value and total soluble solids (TSS) increased gradually. However, both the sedimentation components and centrifugal sedimentation rate showed a downward trend and an asymptotic behavior. In addition, high-power ultrasound changed the color index (L* value decreased, a* value increased), tissue structure, and particle distribution of the sample, and small particles increased significantly. To sum up, ultrasonic treatment has great potential in improving the physical properties and suspension stability of lily juice.

Study of the structural characterization, physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities of phosphorylated long-chain inulin with different degrees of substitution.

In this study, phosphorylated derivatives of long-chain inulin with different substitution degrees were prepared. The synthesized samples were named PFXL-1, PFXL-2, PFXL-3, and PFXL-4 according to their degree of substitution (from low to high). The structures of FXL and PFXL were characterized by infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and the results indicated the successful introduction of phosphate groups. FXL and PFXL were composed of two types of sugar, fructose and glucose, with a molar ratio of 0.977:0.023. The SEM results showed that phosphorylation changed the morphology of FXL from an irregular mass to small spherical aggregates. The XRD pattern showed that the crystallinity was reduced by the introduction of phosphate groups. The Mw of FXL was 2649 g/mol, and the Mw of PFXL-4 increased the most (2965 g/mol). Additionally, PFXL was more stable and uniform, and the absolute value of the PFXL potential reached 7.83 mV. Phosphorylation decreased the weight loss rate of FXL and improved the viscoelastic properties and antioxidant activity of FXL. This study presents a method for the modification of FXL, demonstrating that phosphorylation can enhance its physicochemical properties and physiological activity and suggesting its potential as a functional food and quality modifier.

Effect of Arabinoxylan from Wastewater Generated during Vital Wheat Gluten Production on Liver Metabolism in Type 2 Diabetic Mice.

Arabinoxylan (AX) is a dietary fiber that has been proven to have a significant antidiabetic effect. Liver metabolic disorders frequently coincide with the development of type 2 diabetes, but research on the hepatoprotective effects of AX in type 2 diabetic mice is lacking. As AX is abundant in the wastewater produced during vital wheat gluten protein production, this study used it as a raw material to evaluate its protective effect on liver function. The study employed an AX intervention in type 2 diabetic mice induced by a high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin and collected serum and liver tissue samples after 4 weeks. Serum and liver function indicators were measured using an automatic biochemistry analysis apparatus, and liver fat accumulation was observed using oil red O staining. Nontargeted metabolomics analysis of liver tissues was conducted using UHPLC-MS/MS. The results showed that AX significantly improved liver function indicators and histopathological damage, and regulated liver metabolic disorders by improving the differential metabolites of pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, as well as purine metabolism. This study demonstrated that AX may exert a significant hepatoprotective effect by regulating metabolic disorders.

Polysaccharides from red kidney bean alleviating hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in type 2 diabetic rats via gut microbiota and lipid metabolic modulation.

Crude polysaccharides extracted from red kidney bean (RK) display significant antidiabetic activity in type 2 diabetic mice, but the underlying mechanism and the core functional component has not been elucidated. In this study, the antidiabetic effect and mechanism of RK are investigated by serum metabolomics and high-throughput sequencing. In addition, the key component was identified by evaluating the improvement on glucose and lipid homeostasis in type 2 diabetic rats. Our data indicated that RK relieved the symptoms of hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia in STZ-induced diabetic rats. RK not only improved the metabolic disturbance by regulating the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, but also modified gut microbiota composition by selectively enriching in key genera of Bacteroides, Phascolarctobacterium, Succinivibrio, Blautia. We further found the purified polysaccharides (RKP) were identified as the core biofunctional component in RK. Our present studies provide evidence that RKP are potential effective dietary supplement for type 2 diabetic individuals.

Hepatic metabolism-related effects of polysaccharides from red kidney bean and small black soybean on type 2 diabetes.

In our previous study, two crude polysaccharides from red kidney bean and small black soybean (RK, SB) have shown the alleviative effect on type 2 diabetic mice. Meanwhile, hepatic dysfunction usually accompanied with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and closely related to glucose and lipid homeostasis. Therefore, this time we further investigated the protective effect on hepatic dysfunction of RK and SB. Results found that both crude polysaccharides had the protective effects. In addition, investigation on purified polysaccharides identified that the polysaccharide was the biofunctional component basis in crude RK and SB. Subsequently, further research investigated the regulating mechanism of two pure polysaccharides (RKPH and SBPH) on hepatic metabolism and lipid metabolism. The results showed the improved different metabolites of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) by RKPH and SBPH to affect glycerophospholipid metabolism pathway might be involved in the improvement of the glucose, lipids homeostasis and liver function in T2DM.

A comparative study on nutritive peculiarities of 24 Chinese cowpea cultivars.

The nutritive peculiarities and original distribution of 24 Chinese cowpeas cultivars, achieved from Jiangxi, Jilin, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces in China, were evaluated. Their nutritional components were determined and nutrient characteristics were discussed. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to classify the cowpea samples based on their nutrient composition. The results discovered that the proximate composition varied among 24 cowpeas in protein (17.30-27.23%), fat (1.87-3.14%), high level of dietary fiber (29.49-38.54%) and resistant starch (3.18-31.33%). The total tocopherol varied from 74.20 to 187.07 µg/g. PCA results presented that the 24 cowpeas cultivars were automatically grouped with provinces of origin, indicating a relationship between nutrient composition and cultivating religion for cowpeas. The results of this study provide us the information on the nutrients characteristic of current cowpeas in China, and give a guideline on cowpea cultivating optimization and processing.

Comparative study on antidiabetic function of six legume crude polysaccharides.

The antidiabetic function of polysaccharides prepared from six legumes: soybean, white kidney bean, red kidney bean, small black soybean, field bean, lentil were studied. Six legume polysaccharides' antidiabetic function in high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced type II diabetic mice were compared. Their effects on body weight, fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycosylated serum protein (GSP), serum insulin levels (HOMA-IR), blood lipids (including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c)) were tested. Results showed that red kidney bean polysaccharides (RK) could alleviate the symptoms of emaciation, decreased the levels of FBG, GSP, TC, LDL-c and obviously reduced the concentration of TG and HOMA-IR (p < 0.05). RK exhibited greater antidiabetic potential in type II diabetic mice, compared with other legume polysaccharides. The chemical composition of six legume polysaccharides were determined. Composition analysis indicated that the six legume polysaccharides were obviously different in moisture, ash, neutral sugar, uronic acid, total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, amino acid composition and monosaccharide composition. Results indicated that the antidiabetic activities of RK might due to its higher content and specific structure of polysaccharide.

Comparative study on the chemical composition, anthocyanins, tocopherols and carotenoids of selected legumes.

Twenty-nine legumes were assessed for their nutritional and phytochemical compositions. Soybean and black soybean had the highest protein contents (34.05-42.65 g/100 g DW, dry weight of legumes), particularly being a rich source of lysine (1.78-2.23 g/100 g DW. Soybean and black soybean had the highest fat contents (14.13-22.19 g/100 g DW). Broad beans had the highest unsaturated fatty acids (83.57-89.01 g/100 g fatty acid), particularly rich in α-linolenic and linoleic acid. The highest and the lowest dietary fiber were found in red kidney beans (35.36 g/100 g DW) and mung beans (22.77 g/100 g DW), respectively. Except for soybean and white kidney bean, 6 major anthocyanins in the legumes samples were identified. The soybean contained the highest total tocopherols content (90.40-120.96 µg/g dry weight of beans), followed by black soybean (66.13-100.76 µg/g DW). The highest carotenoids were found in lentils (4.53-21.34 µg/g DW) and red kidney beans (8.29-20.95 µg/g DW).

Nutrients, phytochemicals and antioxidant activities of 26 kidney bean cultivars.

Detailed characterization in nutrients and phytochemicals with antioxidant activities of 26 kidney beans was performed. The kidney beans contained high levels of dietary fiber (29.32-46.77%), resistant starch (9.16-18.09%) and protein (22.06-32.63%) but low levels of lipid (1.05-2.83%) and sugars (1.55-9.07%). The monosaccharide composition of soluble fiber was dominated by arabinose, galactose, mannose and galacturonic acid. The ratio of essential amino acid to the total amino acid was ranged from 0.29 to 0.36. The predominant fatty acid was polyunsaturated fatty acids, accounting for 47.54-67.26% of total fatty acids. The total tocopherol content was in the range of 12.83-68.35 µg/g, predominantly γ-tocopherol, followed by δ-tocopherol. In addition, certain levels of total phenolics and flavonoids with respective values of 0.25-3.79 mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight and 0.19-7.05 mg rutin equivalent/g dry weight resulted in significant antioxidant activities. And a good correlation was observed between TPC and FRAP values (R2 = 0.8030). The results indicated that kidney beans are excellent sources of health-promoting compounds.