BACKGROUND:Diabetes mellitus affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and remains a leading cause of multi-organ morbidity. Eriodictyol (Eri), a natural flavonoid enriched in edible plants and other citrus fruits, exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and glucose-lowering properties in vitro. However, its systemic efficacy against diabetic hyperglycemia and tissue injury in vivo has not been systematically examined. RESULTS:Dietary supplementation with Eri (100 mg kg-1 day-1 for 6 weeks) attenuated body-weight loss, polydipsia, and organ hypertrophy in low-dose streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Treatment improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, lowered fasting glucose and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and ameliorated islet injury while restoring the insulin/glucagon balance. Eri upregulated glucose transporters (Glut2, Glut4) and suppressed insulin-signaling inhibitors (Ptpn1, Pten, Socs3). In the liver, it shifted metabolism from gluconeogenesis (G6pc, Pck1) toward glycolysis (Gck, Pklr) and glycogen synthesis. In skeletal muscle, Eri rescued locomotor impairment, reduced histopathology, increased glycogen content, and restored mitochondrial biogenesis genes (Sirt1, Tfam, Ppargc1a). Systemically, Eri lowered pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), hepatorenal markers, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatinine (CRE), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and lactic acid. Furthermore, Eri suppressed inflammatory genes (Tnf, Il1b, Nos2), activated antioxidant genes (Nfe2l2, Hmox1, Nqo1), and restored glutathione (GSH) content and antioxidant enzymes, including catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), while reducing lipid peroxidation (MDA) in both the liver and muscle. CONCLUSION:Dietary Eri supplementation ameliorates hyperglycemia and multi-organ injury in diabetic mice through coordinated regulation of insulin signaling, glucose metabolism, mitochondrial biogenesis, and inflammatory/antioxidant responses. These results support its development as a natural, food-derived hypoglycemic nutraceutical for diabetes management. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Maternal obesity poses a significant threat to the metabolic profiles of offspring. Microorganisms acquired from the mother early in life critically affect the host’s metabolic functions. Natural non-nutritive sweeteners, particularly stevioside (STV), play a crucial role in reducing obesity and affecting gut microbiota composition. Based on this, we hypothesized that maternal STV supplementation could improve the health of mothers and offspring by altering their gut microbiota. Our study found that maternal STV supplementation reduced obesity during pregnancy, decreased abnormal lipid accumulation in offspring mice caused by maternal obesity, and modified the gut microbiota of both dams and offspring, notably increasing the abundance of Lactobacillus apodemi (L. apodemi). Co-housing and fecal microbiota transplant experiments confirmed that gut microbiota mediated the effects of STV on metabolic disorders. Furthermore, treatment with L. apodemi alone replicated the beneficial effects of STV, which were associated with increased thermogenesis. In summary, maternal STV supplementation could alleviate lipid metabolic disorders in offspring by enhancing L. apodemi levels and promoting thermogenic activity, potentially involving changes in bile acid metabolism pathways.

Gut dysmotility is a prevalent gastrointestinal disorder characterized by disrupted defecation and often accompanied by depression and anxiety. Lycopene (LYC) is a type of carotenoid with strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the effects of LYC on gut dysmotility and related behavioral disorders remain elusive. Herein, we found that 100 mg kg-1 d-1 LYC notably improved the gut transit time and intestinal transit rate as well as concurrently alleviated depression- and anxiety-like behaviors in a diphenoxylate (Dip, 5 mg kg-1 d-1)-induced constipated mouse model. LYC pretreatment enhanced gut barrier integrity and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production as well as rebalanced gut microbiota homeostasis by enriching beneficial bacteria, including Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia. Furthermore, LYC restored enteric neuronal function, as evidenced by increased HuC/D and Tuj1 expression as well as balanced neurotransmitter levels. Brain transcriptomics results suggest that LYC regulates the cholinergic synapse pathway and increases acetylcholine (Ach) content in the brain, which is associated with the alleviation of neuroinflammation. In summary, this study offers insights into functional dietary component-based nutritional strategies that target gut dysmotility comorbid behavioral dysfunction.

Kiwi starch (KS) is the starch-based ingredient with good potential for developing low glycemic index (GI) staple food. This study evaluated the quality changes in composite flour, dough, and noodles induced by 10-30 % KS substitution levels. The results revealed that KS substitution could promote water absorption and pasting of composite flour system, while enhancing the viscoelasticity and microstructural denseness of the dough. Additionally, adding KS increased hardness (181.51-193.48 g), gumminess (128.60-138.19 g) and chewiness (117.64-131.16 g) of the noodles, and decreased springiness (0.94), resilience (0.27-0.30), breaking force (46.85-69.64 g) and tensile displacement (7.41-10.69 mm). Overall, in the experimental dose range, adding KS did not adversely affect the aroma, taste, and overall acceptability of noodles, but had a negative effect on the texture. Notably, KS substitution enriched the variety of noodles while decreasing the starch hydrolysis rate and expected glycemic index (eGI). After 30 % KS addition, the noodles were transformed from high GI (86.95) to medium GI food (69.46), with no significant difference in eGI against the noodles made from 30 % buckwheat starch (BS) (67.69), a low GI starch ingredient that has been successfully commercialised. In summary, our findings present a possibility for developing new low GI noodles.

Objective: This study aimed to develop a novel synbiotic composed of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LLY-606 and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) to improve lipid metabolism in obesity. Design: Through genome-wide analysis using COG and CAZy databases, we identified GOS as a specific growth substrate for Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LLY-606. The efficacy of this synbiotic (LP-GOS) was evaluated in both obese individuals and high-fat diet-induced obese mice. Results: LP-GOS supplementation reduced visceral fat and waist circumference in humans and attenuated obesity in mice. It also improved gut microbiota composition and increased serum arginine levels. Metabolomic and microbiota analyses suggested that enhanced arginine production plays a key role. This was further confirmed by arginine synthesis inhibition, antibiotic treatment, and CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockout of the Ass1 gene in Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LLY-606. These interventions demonstrated that LP-GOS improves lipid metabolism through arginine-mediated activation of the AMPK pathway. Conclusions: LP-GOS effectively alleviates obesity-associated lipid metabolism disorders by enhancing arginine production and activating the AMPK signaling pathway.

Due to its thermal stability, and high viscosity, proso millet starch has limited practical applications. Extrusion can alter the functional properties of starch by pre-gelatinization, but the specific effects of extrusion temperature on starch behavior are not clear. In this study, proso millet starch was modified using extrusion at varying temperatures (70 °C, 90 °C, 110 °C), and its structure as well as physicochemical properties were evaluated. As the extrusion temperature increased, the starch granules were gelatinized, and the particle size increased significantly. The relative crystallinity of extruded starch decreased and the short-range order was enhanced notably, but the starch still exhibited an A-type structure. Starch chains degraded, migrated, and aggregated, showing an increase in the double helix content, but there was no difference in the single helix structure with temperature. With the increase of extrusion temperature, the amorphous layer of extruded starch thickened. Moreover, the peak viscosity, breakdown viscosity and setback viscosity initially increased and then decreased, the peak temperature and enthalpy change increased. The water absorption index, water solubility and swelling power significantly decreased with increasing temperatures. The freeze-thaw stability and transparency of extruded starch decreased, and showed a downward trend with prolonged time. The above results indicate that extrusion treatment effectively modifies the thermal stability and viscosity of proso millet starch, laying a foundation for applying it different industrial applications.

The effects of Bifidobacterium fermentation on dietary fiber (DF) of prosomillet bran were studied. Firstly, optimal fermentation conditions for extracting soluble dietary fiber were determined through single factor tests and orthogonal experiments. The structural features were evaluated by means of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier infrared spectroscopy, particle size analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and monosaccharide content. The results showed that some the crystal structure changed from crystal to non-crystal, which was followed by the decrease of thermal stability. The DF's surface loosened and its particle size decreased after fermentation. Meanwhile, DF showed similar spectral characteristics before and after fermentation, but the monosaccharide composition changed. Furthermore, the physicochemical properties were investigated. The fermented DF exhibited higher water swelling capacity, water holding capacity, oil holding capacity. Finally, improvements in glucose adsorption capacity, cation exchange and antioxidant properties were observed. These results indicated that Bifidobacteria fermentation is beneficial to the modification of DF.

Wheat gluten (WG) has excellent processing properties, however, its utilization in food industry has been largely restricted for the low solubility. We are interested in improving its solubility with simple and effective approach to broaden its application. Phosvitin (PSV) is a kind of yolk proteins with high solubility. In this work, a co soluble system (WG-PSV complex) has been established under pH-shifting treatment. After that, the solubility of WG is effectively increased from 16.2% to 43.1%. The WG-PSV complex has smaller particles, a higher Zeta potential, and a more flexible secondary structure compared to native WG. Meanwhile, the free sulfhydryl group content in WG-PSV complex was 12.24 mu mol/g, which was higher than that of native WG (9.05 mu mol/g), and its free amino group was much lower than that of native WG. In addition, the proteomics was used to compare the subunit composition in WG-PSV complex and native WG to identify key subunits related to improvement of solubility. It shows that compared to native WG, the subunits A0A3B5ZSZ8 and A0A1D5UUP9 derived from WG have been significantly upregulated, and Q306F8, A0A0E3UQV1 and Q8H738 have been significantly down regulated. In conclusion, pH-shifting is a successful method to establish WG-PSV complex to effectively improve the solubility of WG. And disulfide bonds, amide bonds and hydrophobic contacts were the main interaction forces. Some key subunits were identified to largely determine the forming of protein complex. This study provides a theoretical foundation for enhancing solubility of WG, which would widely expand its applications in food industry.

Applications of pea protein in the food industry have been greatly restricted by its poor functional properties. In order to solve this problem, a novel technique combining enzymatic hydrolysis and fatty acid acylation has been applied in this work to construct a pea protein-fatty acid covalent complex that aims to improve its functional properties. The processed pea protein with increased water solubility tends to decrease the chance of self-aggregation. Additionally, emulsifying and antioxidant properties have also been found after this process. On top of that, the modified pea protein has been characterized by Fourier transform infrared and circular dichroism spectroscopy. These results demonstrate that these properties were mainly caused by the acylation of the amino group from hydrolyzed pea protein and the carboxyl group from the fatty acid. The enzymatic hydrolysis/fatty acid acylation research provides insights into manufacturing high-quality functional lipoproteins from inexpensive pea protein for the food industry.

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes has been growing at an increasing rate worldwide. Dietary therapy is probably the easiest and least expensive method to prevent and treat diabetes. Previous studies have reported that coarse grains have anti-diabetic effects. Although considerable efforts have been made on the anti-diabetic function of different grains, the mechanisms of coarse grains on type 2 diabetes have not been systematically compared and summarized so far. Intestinal flora, reported as the main 'organ' of action underlying coarse grains, is an important factor in the alleviation of type 2 diabetes by coarse grains. Furthermore, microRNA (miRNA), as a new disease marker and 'dark nutrient', plays a likely influential role in cross-border communication among coarse grains, intestinal flora, and hosts. Given this context, this article reviews several possible mechanisms for the role of coarse grains on diabetes, incorporating resistance to inflammation and oxidative stress, repair of insulin signaling and β-cell dysfunction, and highlights the regulation of intestinal flora disorders and miRNAs expression, along with some novel insights. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

This work aimed to investigate the hypoglycemic effects and underlying mechanism of whole grain proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.; WPM) on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The results showed that WPM supplementation significantly reduced fasting blood glucose (FBG) and serum lipid levels in T2DM mice induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) combined with streptozotocin (STZ), with improved glucose tolerance, liver and kidney injury, and insulin resistance. In addition, WPM significantly inhibited the expression of gluconeogenesis-related genes G6pase, Pepck, Foxo1, and Pgc-1α. Further study by miRNA high-throughput sequencing revealed that WPM supplementation mainly altered the liver miRNA expression profile of T2DM mice by increasing the expression of miR-144-3p_R-1 and miR-423-5p, reducing the expression of miR-22-5p_R-1 and miR-30a-3p. GO and KEGG analyses showed that the target genes of these miRNAs were mainly enriched in the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. WPM supplementation significantly increased the level of PI3K, p-AKT, and GSK3β in the liver of T2DM mice. Taken together, WPM exerts antidiabetic effects by improving the miRNA profile and activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway to inhibit gluconeogenesis. This study implies that PM can act as a dietary supplement to attenuate T2DM.

The increasing demand for functional foods has pushed the food industry to produce fiber-enriched products. In this study, rheological, microstructural, physicochemical, and functional characteristics were investigated for whole proso millet dough and cake, fortified with fermented proso millet bran dietary fiber flour (F-DF). Results showed that proso millet flour is less absorbent and stable than the control group. Adding proso millet flour and F-DF reduced the elasticity of the dough and increased its hardness, but had no significant effect on viscosity, cohesion, and resilience. The microstructure analysis exhibited an unformed continuous network formation in proso millet dough. Analyses suggested that proso millet flour combined with the fermented dietary fiber group had significantly higher total phenol content (0.46 GAE mg/g), DPPH• scavenging activity (66.84%), and ABTS•+ scavenging activity (87.01%) than did the other group. In addition, F-DF led to a significant reduction in the predicted released glucose contents of reformulated cakes. In summary, cakes prepared with the involvement of whole proso millet flour and F-DF exhibited less adverse sensory impact and possessed the potential to decrease postprandial blood glucose levels resulting purely from cake consumption.

Gut microbiota is associated with hyperuricemia progression and can be regulated by Lactobacillus plantarum. However, the role of Lactobacillus plantarum in hyperuricemia is still unknown. Thus, we constructed the mouse model of hyperuricemia using potassium oxonate and hypoxanthine treatment to explore the effects of Lactobacillus plantarum LLY-606 supplementation on the development of hyperuricemia. The results showed that Lactobacillus plantarum LLY-606 significantly reduced the level of serum uric acid through inhibiting uric acid secretion and regulating uric acid transport. We also found that Lactobacillus plantarum LLY-606 supplementation inhibited the inflammatory response and the activation of the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway in mice. Microbiome sequencing and analysis suggested the successful colonization of probiotics, which could regulate intestinal flora dysbiosis induced by hyperuricemia. The abundance of Lactobacillus plantarum was significantly negatively correlated with hyperuricemia-related indicators. Notably, the functional abundance prediction of microbiota indicated that lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis protein pathways and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis pathways were inhibited after the probiotic intervention. In conclusion, Lactobacillus plantarum LLY-606 can serve as a potential functional probiotic to affect the development of hyperuricemia through modulating gut microbiota, downregulating renal inflammation, and regulating uric acid metabolism.

Scope Postpartum depression and cognitive impairment are the common complications of prenatal obesity. Stevioside is a non‐nutritive natural sweetener with antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory. However, its effects on depression behaviors and cognitive impairment induced by a high‐fat diet (HFD) remain unclear. Methods and results An 8‐week HFD is used to establish a prenatal obesity model in female C57BL/6J mice to explore the improvement effects of stevioside (0.5 mg mL −1 in drinking water) on maternal depression and cognitive dysfunction after weaning. The results demonstrated that stevioside improves behavioral performance of obese maternal mice, and inhibits neuronal damage and 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) abnormality induced by HFD. In addition, stevioside inhibits oxidative stress by reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) and increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) activities in the brains of obese maternal mice. Additionally, stevioside improves gut barrier integrity and prevented lipopolysaccharide (LPS) extravasation, and alleviates neuroinflammation. Correlation analysis shows that gut barrier and serum LPS are closely related to behavioral performance and brain biochemical indicators. Conclusion Stevioside is capable to prevent prenatal obesity‐induced cognitive and mood disorders by restoring intestinal barrier damage and inhibiting inflammation.

The effects of ball milling processing on the structure, physicochemical, and functional properties of insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) in bran from prosomillet, wheat and rice were investigated. Meanwhile, the effect of IDF on glucose tolerance and blood lipid levels in mice was evaluated as well. With findings, for all three grains, the particle sizes of IDF were significantly reduced after ball milling treatment (p < 0.05). Scanning electron mi-croscopy revealed fragmented fiber with numerous pores and cracks. The reactive groups of three IDF samples were found to be similar by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. And consistent with X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis, for all three grains, ball milling reduced the crystallinity of IDF and helped to increase the release of free phenol by 23.4 %, 8.9 %, and 12.2 %, respectively. Furthermore, the water holding capacity, glucose delay capacity, glucose, sodium cholate, and cholesterol adsorption capacity, and in vitro digestibility of starch and fat were all improved to varying degrees. Animal experiments showed that ball milling treatment effectively slowed the postprandial rise in blood sugar (especially IDF of rice bran) and blood lipids (especially IDF of prosomillet bran). As a result, ball milling treatment is a potential method for dietary fiber modification in the food industry.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a persistent organic pollutant associated with many adverse health risks. Ev-idence suggests that obese individuals may be more susceptible to environmental substances. In the present work, we explored the effects of PFOA exposure on the cognitive function and intestinal health of obese mice. Obese mice induced by a high-fat diet were exposed to PFOA (0.5 mg/kg (bw)/day) via drinking water for 100 days. After exposure to PFOA, decreased body weight, enlarged liver, abnormal behavior, impaired synapse structure, neuroinflammation, activated glial cell, decreased nerve growth factor, altered gut microbiota, and disturbed serum metabolites were observed, while the gut inflammation and intestinal barrier were not signif-icantly influenced. These results suggest that exposure to PFOA is associated with cognitive impairment in obese mice.

Prosomillet bran was fermented with lactic bacteria and the changes of the structure and physicochemical and functional properties of its soluble dietary fiber (SDF) were investigated. Results showed the yield of SDF was increased from 4.2% to 7.6% after fermentation, and the odor intensity and flavor characteristics were also significantly changed. SEM and FTIR assay indicated that the microstructure after fermentation became looser and more porous, and both of UF-SDF and F-SDF had characteristic absorption peaks of polysaccharides. Fermentation also reduced the crystalline area and thus affected the thermal stability of SDF by X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis. In addition, the physicochemical and functional properties such as solubility, water and oil holding capacity, swelling capacity, nitrite, sodium cholate and cholesterol adsorption capacity were improved as well. The phenolic content and free radical scavenging capacity also increased significantly. The above results showed that F-SDF could be applied as a functional ingredient in food industry.

在不添加增稠剂的情况下,以三种糖醇(麦芽糖醇、木糖醇、赤藓糖醇)分别替代蔗糖,制备低脂无糖的绿茶卡仕达酱,研究不同糖醇对绿茶卡仕达酱感官品质、色度、贮藏稳定性、流变特性以及质构的影响.结果表明:三组糖醇与蔗糖组在甜味方面并无显著差异,糖醇可作为良好的糖替代品,木糖醇组具有良好的色泽和甜味,综合得分7.53,赤藓糖醇组具有良好的口感和涂抹性,综合得分7.40.与蔗糖组相比,三种糖醇均可提高绿茶卡仕达酱产品亮度(L?),木糖醇组绿色最深,a?值绝对值为1.62.麦芽糖醇和木糖醇均使样品贮藏稳定性有明显下降,赤藓糖醇组的稳定性与蔗糖组最为接近,脱水收缩值为1.33% .所有样品均表现出剪切变稀的假塑性,添加糖醇使样品粘弹性较蔗糖组有明显下降.麦芽糖醇组硬度和稠度最大,赤藓糖醇组粘聚性和粘度最小,涂抹性最佳.

As beverage industry by product, kiwi fruit pomace is potential but underutilized. In this study, insoluble dietary fiber from kiwi fruit pomace was modified via ultra-fine pulverization. The physicochemical and functional properties of kiwi fruit insoluble dietary fiber (KWIDF) superfine powder and its application in pork meatballs as a fat substitute were investigated. The SEM and droplet size measurement results revealed that the specific surface area of KWIDF increased from 44.4 to 192.9 m2 kg−1. The swelling capacity, water-, oil- and fat-holding capacities increased by 51.61%, 40.21%, 46.09% and 47.01%, respectively. The poisonous substances adsorbing abilities and the inhibition of enzyme activities were also improved. Similarly, KWIDF adsorbed cholesterol and glucose preferably. In addition, KWIDF revealed significant dose–response effects on the nutritional within a meat matrix, quality and sensory characteristics in meatballs (P < 0.05). The addition of 3% KWIDF superfine powder was found most suitable with high acceptability overall.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is an eight-carbon perfluoroalkyl chemical and has been detected widely in many media. Although the toxic effect of PFOA has been confirmed, the influence on gut and brain has not been cleared. Male C57BL/6J mice were exposed to different concentrations (0, 0.5, 1, and 3 mg/Kg (bw)/day of PFOA for 35 days in this work. The results indicate that exposure to PFOA could damage intestinal barrier integrity and impair the synaptic structure. PFOA exposure also caused inflammation in gut and brain by increasing lipopolysaccharide, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1 beta, and cyclooxygenase-2 and decreasing interleukin-10. Interestingly, fecal microbiota transplantation treatment could attenuate a series of PFOA-induced changes to a certain extent. The results suggest that exposure to PFOA has potential deleterious effects on gut and brain, and inflammation may play an essential role in evaluating the influence induced by PFOA exposure.