This study examined the effect of alternating electric field (AEF) at different strengths on the non-crystal freezing (NCF) of chicken breast. An AEF of 1800 V/m significantly delayed ice nucleation and reduced the nucleation temperature. After 24 hours of storage at −4°C under this condition, the nucleation rate was 0%, indicating successful induction of NCF. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) measurements showed shorter relaxation times and reduced signal intensity after freezing, but AEF treatment helped maintain water mobility and muscle structure. Compared to samples stored at 4°C, −4°C, and −18°C without AEF, those treated with 1800 V/m AEF at −4°C retained better freshness for 15 days. Additionally, NCF-treated samples exhibited improved color and water-holding capacity. These findings suggest that AEF-assisted freezing is an effective method for preserving the quality of chicken breast and may offer a promising strategy for meat storage.

This study developed a novel gelatin-stabilized nano-silver particle/agar hydrogel (AgNP hydrogel) and investigated its color rendering mechanism for monitoring the freshness of braised chicken. The results showed that the color of AgNP hydrogel shifted from brown to gray-white within 3 days of storage of braised chicken, and its application extended the shelf life of unpackaged braised chicken meat from 4 d to 6 d at 4 °C (P < 0.05). The results of circular dichroism (CD), particle size, zeta potential, and UV indicated that Cl- on the surface of braised chicken could react with Ag+ on the surface of AgNP, resulting in the formation of AgCl particles during storage. These AgCl particles were subsequently transformed into black Ag2S particles, causing the visual color shift of AgNP to gray-white. Overall, the AgNP hydrogel could provide a new method for the freshness assessment of cooked meat products.

This study investigated the impact of varieties and anatomical parts on the quality characteristic of chicken, with the aim of providing a reference for the selection of chicken and the assessment of edible quality in the processing of Chinese meat products. Yellow-feathered broiler, spent laying hen and Jianmen native chicken were selected for this particular research to comparatively analyze the differences in their food quality, basic nutritional composition and microstructure differences of chicken meat. It elucidated the influence of varieties and parts of the characteristic chicken on the quality characteristics of characteristic chicken meat. The results indicated that, in terms of breed, spent laying hen of their legs had the greatest hardness and shear force values, as well as the highest protein and moisture contents. The amino acids content and equivalent umami concentration (EUC) values were significantly higher relative to those of yellow-feathered broiler (P<0.05), while the inosine monophosphate in the breast muscle was the highest at 235.53 mg/100 g. This indicated that the spent laying hen was rich in taste-active compounds, contributing to a prominent umami taste. The yellow-feathered broiler exhibited the highest fat content (1.93 g/100 g), with orderly arranged myofibrils and well-organized sarcomeres. While the Jianmen native chicken had the lowest hardness and shear force values, while the glutamic acid content and EUC values were significantly higher than those of the other two chicken meat types (P<0.05). With respect to the muscle parts, in comparison to the breast muscle, the thigh muscle had higher contents of fat and moisture. The muscle fibers in the leg meat of yellow-feathered broiler and spent laying hen had a larger diameter and lower density, and a high shear force values, resulting in lower tenderness. In conclusion, the chicken variety had a significant impact on the nutritional components and microstructure of chicken meat. The Jianmen native chicken meat stood out with the best tenderness, elevated levels of umami amino acids, and excellent edible quality, offering clear advantages in chicken meat type. Meat from the spent laying hen was relatively tender yet nutrient-dense, while the yellow-feathered broiler meat had the highest fat content, whilst really tender and juicy.

This study examined the effects of lycopene incorporation strategies, direct addition (LM), dissolution in lard (LOM) and homogenization after dissolution (LOHM) on beef meatballs qualities. The LOHM treatment significantly improved oxidative stability (reduced TBARS and carbonyl values) but compromised protein network formation, increasing viscous modulus (G″) and deteriorating texture. In contrast, LOM enhanced elastic network structure (higher storage modulus G') and textural properties. During digestion, LOHM exhibited a "digestive dichotomy": it promoted initial gastric proteolysis, increasing peptide diversity and low-molecular- weight peptides, yet induced protein aggregation that resisted intestinal hydrolysis, limiting free amino acids release. These results demonstrate that the finely dispersed, lycopene-stabilized emulsion created by LOHM facilitates early pepsin-mediated cleavage but also promotes aggregation/reorganization that hinders later intestinal enzyme access, representing a stage-dependent digestibility trade-off. This work provides novel insights for designing precision-functionality meat products with tailored digestive behaviors.

Soy sauce-based marinated beef (SSMB) is a traditional Chinese meat product whose aroma quality influences consumer acceptance and product differentiation. Mechanized processing improves efficiency and standardization but may alter attribute-specific aroma expression. This study integrated sensory evaluation, headspace solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS), multivariate analysis, gas chromatography–olfactometry (GC-O), odor activity value analysis, aroma recombination and omission tests, and molecular docking to compare traditional (CT-SSMB) and mechanized (JX-SSMB) products. Sensory evaluation showed that CT-SSMB had a significantly stronger herbal aroma, whereas JX-SSMB exhibited a stronger caramel-like aroma; fatty, roasted, and meaty attributes did not differ significantly. Seven differential aroma-active candidates were identified: anethole, eugenol, estragole, ethyl maltol, D-limonene, β-caryophyllene, and linalool. Molecular sensory analyses indicated that CT-SSMB and JX-SSMB shared a common aroma framework, whereas spice-derived odorants, particularly eugenol, linalool, estragole, anethole, eucalyptol, and D-limonene, contributed more strongly to CT-SSMB. Molecular docking suggested potential interactions between the candidate odorants and selected human olfactory receptors. Overall, the two product types differed mainly in the relative contributions of style-defining odorants rather than in the presence of completely distinct aroma systems. These findings identify candidate targets for future controlled optimization of spice-derived aroma in JX-SSMB.

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a bioactive polysaccharide derived from animal cartilage that must pass through the intestinal mucus layer before epithelial absorption. We investigated the penetration behavior and mucus permeability effects of CS samples with distinct disaccharide compositions from bovine (BCS), chicken (CCS), and shark (SCS) cartilage. Using a mucus layer model, mucin (MUC2) structure was observed to unfold and loosen upon binding with CS, accompanied by increased mucus viscoelasticity and reduced mucus permeability. Afterwards, binding affinity to MUC2 was found to be correlated positively with 4-chondroitin sulfate (CSA) content (BCS > CCS > SCS) and negatively with 6-chondroitin sulfate (CSC). Results of molecular dynamics suggested stronger CSA-MUC2 binding energy (-28.72 kcal/mol) than that of CSC (-20.8 kcal/mol), which was consistent with enhanced local MUC2 domain association and reduced pore like interfacial space. Overall, this study provides in vitro evidence that CS disaccharide composition may influence its interaction with MUC2 and the resulting changes in mucus permeability.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of ultrasound-assisted cooking at different power levels (0, 200W, 400W, 600W) on the physicochemical properties, water status, microstructure and protein structure of pork meat. The results indicate that ultrasound-assisted cooking reduced cooking loss, shear force, and hardness, disrupted the muscle fiber structure, and increased inter-fiber spacing. It also enhanced water mobility and the proportion of immobilized water, thereby improving the water-holding capacity and tenderness of the pork meat. Electronic nose and electronic tongue analyses indicated that ultrasound treatment increased the content of aldehydes and ketones and enhanced saltiness and umami flavors. Pork meat treated at 400W exhibited the best overall physicochemical properties. Additionally, ultrasound-assisted cooking decreased sulfhydryl (SH) content, β-turns, and random coils, but increased TBARS values, α-helices, and β-sheets. These findings indicated that moderate-intensity ultrasonic-assisted cooking can improve the quality of meat products.

The prevalence of obesity among elderly women is increasing, particularly in postmenopausal populations. This exploratory study investigated the associations between chondroitin sulfate (CS) supplementation and body weight control in ovariectomized (OVX) rats, a preclinical model for postmenopausal physiology. CS supplementation was associated with significantly reduced body weight gain and preserved adipocyte morphology. CS-treated OVX rats exhibited decreased gut microbiota diversity, with reduced abundance of Photobacterium and Rhodococcus and increased abundance of Turicibacter. Metabolomic analysis revealed elevated levels of carbohydrates, fatty acids, and their conjugates, some of which correlated with body weight parameters. Bioinformatic analysis identified enriched KEGG pathways including tyrosine metabolism, glucosinolate biosynthesis and thiamine metabolism. Collectively, these findings provide preliminary correlational evidence in an OVX rat model supporting the potential of CS as a food supplement for body weight control, although causal relationships and clinical applicability warrant further investigation in postmenopausal populations.

BACKGROUND:Although livestock and poultry bone collagen peptides (LBPs) have been reported to exhibit protective effects against osteoporosis, the in vitro osteogenic and in vivo anti-osteoporotic bioactivity of LBPs may vary depending on the animal sources, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the divergence in the osteoprotective effects of yak (YBPs)/bovine (BBPs)/porcine (PBPs)/chicken (CBPs) bone collagen peptides, and to elucidate how gastrointestinal digestion and absorption characteristics contribute to their distinct osteoprotective mechanisms. RESULTS:YBPs/BBPs exhibited the highest osteoprotective effects, whereas PBPs exhibited weaker in vitro osteogenic but stronger in vivo anti-osteoporotic bioactivity than CBPs. Four osteogenic peptides were obtained by virtual screening, their retention rates after simulated gastrointestinal digestion and apparent permeability coefficients in a Caco-2 monolayer model ranged from 12.95% to 30.13% and 0.15 to 0.55 × 10-7 cm s-1, respectively. Integrated in silico analyses, gastrointestinal digestion stability and intestinal absorption/transportation data suggest that the divergent osteoprotective effects of LBPs likely stem from distinct absorptive/digestive properties mediated by their structural differences. CONCLUSION:The divergent osteoprotective effects of YBP/BBPs/PBPs/CBPs are likely attributable to their structural determinants including gastrointestinal digestion/absorption/transportation, and affinity/binding modes to epidermal growth factor receptor, as well as possible RGD (arginine, glycine and aspartic acid) sequence similarity. These findings provide mechanistic insights and identify potential molecular targets for optimizing peptide-based functional food ingredients for bone health. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

This investigation aimed to clarify the binding mechanisms between six aldehydes and myofibrillar proteins (MPs), with a structural explanation in response to stage-heating treatments. The conformational intermediates of MPs, which form during heat processing, were systematically characterized to elucidate their role in aldehyde binding and flavor retention. Machine learning results suggested that high-temperature boiling promoted extensive protein denaturation and aggregation, while subsequent low-temperature stewing induced partial rearrangement. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that hexanal-MPs formation was primarily driven by hydrogen bonding, whereas other longer-chain and unsaturated aldehydes penetrated hydrophobic pockets. Proteomics revealed that saturated aldehydes predominantly formed Schiff bases with the lysine ε-amino group. Unsaturated aldehydes, especially (E, E)-2,4-decadienal, undergo both Schiff base reactions and Michael addition with cysteine, histidine, and tryptophan residues. The retention/release behavior of aldehydes during processing is determined by covalent and non-covalent interactions. These results provide a scientific basis for precisely controlling flavor quality in meat products.

This study investigated the evolution of eating quality (colour, texture and volatile flavour compounds), water status, microstructure and protein structure of pork meat under different cooking methods. The methods analysed included traditional cooking (TC: 10, 20, 30 and 40 min, 100 °C), sous-vide cooking (SV: 1, 2, 3 and 4 h, 60 °C) and micro-pressure cooking (MC: 10, 20, 30 and 40 min, 120 °C). Across the three cooking processes, as cooking time increased, cooking loss, lightness, yellowness, P23, β-sheet, random coil and surface hydrophobicity of the meat samples increased. By contrast, redness, P22, hydrogen proton density, esters content, α-helix, β-turn and sulfhydryl group content decreased. Moreover, the Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), adhesiveness, hardness, springiness, gumminess, chewiness, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones and fluorescence intensity of the meat samples, initially increased and then decreased as cooking progressed. SV resulted in higher water-holding capacity (WHC), improved redness and increased alcohol and ester levels, whereas MC produced softer meat and greater water mobility. Furthermore, MC enhanced the degree of microstructural damage and protein structural unfolding in the meat. MC requires less time to achieve textures and flavours similar to those obtained using the TC and SV methods. Thus, MC is an efficient cooking method for the catering industry to obtain desired meat quality rapidly.

The study investigated the effects of Chinese star anise on the warmed-over flavor (WOF) in precooked Chinese stewed beef (PSB) after 6 d of refrigerated storage by analyzing sensory attributes, aroma profiles, fatty acid composition, lipid oxidation, total sulfhydryl (SH) content, and protein secondary structure. All star anise addition levels (1-4%, w/w) significantly reduced key WOF-related volatiles compared with the control, and 1% addition gave the lowest odor activity values. Only 3% star anise significantly suppressed lipid oxidation, as indicated by the lowest TBARS value and the highest total unsaturated fatty acid content (∑UFA). At this level, key WOF-related compounds, including hexanal and 2,3-octanedione, decreased by over 90%. At 4%, a pro-oxidant tendency was observed. TBARS increased and ∑UFA decreased compared with the 3% group. Whereas, most lipid-derived compounds remained stable or decreased. Star anise further changed protein secondary structure and SH content, suggesting that star anise-derived components may interact with beef protein. This may alter protein conformation and influence the retention and release of WOF-related volatiles. Moreover, star anise enriched the flavor profile of the PSB and masked WOF perception. Among endowed volatiles form star anise, (E)-anethole was the dominant contributor, with the highest endowment rate value of 4.91%. Sensory evaluation revealed that the 1% group achieved the highest overall acceptance, with better balance between meaty and star anise-like aromas and weaker WOF perception. These findings support the use of star anise as an ingredient-driven strategy to mitigate WOF and improve flavor quality in industrial production of PSB.

Collagen hydrolysates are rich in osteogenic peptides, and their osteogenic activity depends on structural characteristics. This study aimed to analyze the structure-activity relationship of osteogenic peptides derived from cattle bone collagen. Here, a novel osteogenic collagen pentapeptide, GFP(+16.00)GP, was successfully identified and synthesized. The proliferation and calcium deposition of MC3T3-E1 cells treated with GFP(+16.00)GP increased to 176.09% and 187.54% compared to the control group. The interaction manners between GFP(+16.00)GP and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mainly included hydrogen bonds, Pi-alkyl, and Pi-Pi T-shaped. The alanine replacement and principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the effect of different amino acid residues on osteogenic activity of GFP(+16.00)GP was Phe > Pro > Gly (C5). Molecular docking and microscale thermophoresis (MST) demonstrated that the Phe was key amino acid residue for osteogenic activity of GFP(+16.00)GP. Furthermore, molecular orbital energy and Mulliken charge further indicated that the benzene ring in Phe played an important role in the binding process between GFP(+16.00)GP and EGFR. This study provided novel insights and theoretical basis for further perfecting the structure-activity relationship of osteogenic collagen peptides. These new understandings contributed to developing cattle bone collagen peptides as functional components for improving osteoporosis.

Antimicrobial agents in conventional antimicrobial packaging tend to migrate into food, posing threats to human health and the environment. In this study, hydrophobic, antibacterial, and non-migrating polyethylene (PE) films were fabricated via industrial blow-molding by incorporating carnauba wax (CW), nano-silica (rS), and methylparaben (MeP, the antimicrobial agent) at optimized concentrations. Their mechanical properties, barrier performance (water vapor/oxygen resistance), non-migration behavior, antibacterial activity, and fresh-keeping efficacy for fresh-cut pineapples were systematically evaluated. Among the tested films, the PEM + 1% WrS exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli, 0.67 +/- 0.01 log10 CFU/mL reduction) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, 1.03 +/- 0.02 log10 CFU/mL reduction), mechanical properties (tensile strength of 35.84 +/- 1.27 MPa, elongation at break of 967.61% +/- 2.75%), and barrier performance (water vapor transmission rate of 28.21 +/- 0.40 g/(m2 & centerdot;24 h), oxygen transmission rate of 413.48 +/- 1.45 cm3/[m2 & centerdot;24h & centerdot;0.1 MPa]). Migration tests indicated no detectable migration of MeP or carnauba wax into food simulants. Shelf-life studies on fresh-cut pineapples at 4 degrees C demonstrated that PEM + 1% WrS film packaging extended the shelf life by 4 days compared with the control group, reducing weight loss (5.91% +/- 0.86%), total viable count (5.29 +/- 0.11 lg CFU/g), and total yeast and mold count (5.59 +/- 0.14 lg CFU/g), while maintaining the sensory quality of the samples. This study develops a novel PE film with micro-nano scale protrusions on its surface and incorporated with MeP, featuring hydrophobicity, antibacterial activity, and enhanced comprehensive properties. Enabling the antimicrobial agent to exert excellent efficacy while achieving undetectable migration in food simulants, this film provides a sustainable packaging solution for fresh-cut fruit preservation.

In response to the current problems of low production efficiency, discontinuous batches and difficult quality control in industrialized dish stir-frying equipment, based on the research of the influence of multi-parameter coupling of cooking time, power and speed on cooking quality, a drum-type industrialized continuous stirfrying equipment suitable for Chinese-style meat dish stir-frying is developed and its performance is verified. The stir-frying process is simulated using EDEM, and the stirring effect and stir-frying time corresponding to different scraper angles are compared. The results show that the stirring effect is the optimal when the scraper angle is 22.5 degrees, and the stir-frying time is the shortest when the angle is 45 degrees. Taking pork tenderloin as the research object and the comprehensive quality of stir-frying as the optimization index, orthogonal experiments and response surface analysis are conducted. The experimental results demonstrate that under optimal processing conditions (specifically a scraper angle of 22.5 degrees, electromagnetic power of 29.2 kW, and stirring speed of 29.6 rpm), the comprehensive quality of pork tenderloin slices achieves its maximum value. The verification experiments indicate that the error between the experimental values and the predicted values is less than 5 %. Comparative experiments show that this equipment's stir-fried pork tenderloin comprehensive quality is 54 % of traditional techniques, but its production efficiency is 7 % higher than that of commercial stir-frying equipment of the same specification. It has improved the processing efficiency while maintaining a certain quality. The development of this equipment provides a new idea for the continuous processing of Chinese cuisine.

Goatskin by-products are generated in large quantities annually from slaughterhouses, resulting in resource waste and environmental pollution. Despite the considerable application potential of collagen, the primary component of goatskin, its extraction, and its utilization remain limited, particularly in gel-based food products. This study aims to extract goatskin collagen using a hydrothermal technique and elucidate how the hydrothermal intensity (60°C-100°C, 3-9 h) affects gel properties through structural changes. The results showed that gel properties were markedly affected by the extraction intensity. Mild conditions (3 h-60°C) produced collagen with the greatest gel strength (1569 g), along with the highest melting (35.1°C) and gelling (34.2°C) temperatures and the brightest color. In contrast, harsher conditions significantly reduced gel strength, lowered transition temperatures, and darkened gel appearance. Rheological analysis also confirmed weakened viscoelasticity and earlier structural breakdown under intensive treatments. Structural analysis further demonstrated that increasing hydrothermal intensity caused pronounced collagen degradation, increased small fragments, disordering of secondary structures with reduced α-helix and β-sheet content, and increased random coils. Meanwhile, the dominant intramolecular forces stabilizing gel network shifted from hydrogen bonds to hydrophobic and disulfide interactions. These structural changes ultimately resulted in a loose, porous, and uneven gel network accompanied by a significant decline in gel performance. Overall, mild hydrothermal treatments best preserved collagen structural integrity and yielded gels with superior functional properties, providing a theoretical basis for optimizing goatskin collagen extraction for food applications.

Collagen peptides (CPs) have emerged as a promising food-derived strategy to enhance calcium utilization and osteogenesis, notably through specific calcium binding via chelation. However, conventional separation methods often fail to efficiently isolate peptides with high calcium-binding affinity, resulting in products with limited osteogenic activity. In this study, hydroxyapatite affinity chromatography (HAC) was employed, leveraging its dual ion-exchange and affinity properties, to enrich bovine-bone-derived CPs with high calcium-binding capacity. The purified fraction (F2) exhibited a significantly higher calcium-binding capacity (42.44 µg/mg) than unpurified CPs and was enriched in low-molecular-weight (LMW) peptides (1-3 kDa) rich in acidic amino acids (Asp and Glu). After calcium chelation, structural analysis (e.g., FTIR, SEM, and AFM) confirmed its effective calcium-binding capacity and conformational changes. In addition, in vitro assays demonstrated that F2 markedly promoted MC3T3-E1 osteoblast proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization compared with CPs, presenting enhanced osteogenic bioactivity. Molecular docking further indicated that key peptides may bind to the osteogenic receptors BMPR1 and TGFBR1, raising the possibility that the TGF-β/BMP signaling pathways could be involved. Collectively, our findings indicate that HAC is an effective strategy for enriching osteogenic CPs with high calcium-binding and osteogenic activity, offering a scalable strategy for producing potent peptides applicable to bone health management and therapeutics. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This study provides a scalable method for extracting highly active calcium-binding peptides from collagen peptides using a hydroxyapatite column. These purified peptides can be developed into functional food ingredients or dietary supplements to support bone health. By improving calcium delivery efficiency and direct osteogenic activity, this approach offers a science-based strategy for next-generation bone health products.

Accurate segmentation of key parts in the chicken carcass is crucial for intelligent cutting systems in the modern poultry processing industry.However,the false detection,missed detection,and inaccurate segmentation can occur in key parts of chicken carcasses under complex industrial scenarios(e.g.,adhesion between wings and drumsticks,occlusion,and uneven lighting).This study aimed to develop a lightweight,high-precision,and real-time instance segmentation model suitable for deployment on intelligent chicken carcass cutting equipment.An enhanced dataset was constructed for chicken carcasses,with emphasis on Sanhuang and white-feathered chickens.Furthermore,the 109 0 original images were expanded into 545 0 images,thus covering three types of scenarios:ambient lighting,carcass occlusion,and compression-induced deformation.Multi-dimensional data augmentation techniques such as geometric transformation,illumination adjustment,and occlusion simulation were adopted to improve the model's robustness.DEF-YOLO-seg model was developed to improve the YOLOv12n-seg as the baseline:(1)C3k2_DAttention module was designed to fuse the C3k2 module with Deformable Attention(DAttention),which replaced the Area-Attention Enhanced Cross-Feature(A2C2f)module in the lower layer of the backbone network for the feature extraction in the adhered/occluded regions;(2)Efficient Up-Convolution Block(EUCB)was introduced to replace the Upsample module in the neck network,thus reducing computational cost for the feature fusion efficiency;(3)A composite loss function(Focaler-CIoU)with Focaler-IoU and CIoU was constructed for the distribution of easy and difficult samples under complex scenarios.Finally,model training and testing were completed on a hardware platform with an NVIDIA RTX 3090 GPU and an Intel Xeon Platinum 8362 CPU.The DEF-YOLO-seg model achieved a mean Average Precision at an IoU threshold of 0.5(mAP50)of 95.5％and a mean Average Precision at IoU thresholds from 0.5 to 0.95(mAP50-95)of 94.1％,which were 1.3 and 2.8 percentage points higher than those of the baseline YOLOv12n-seg,respectively.With a parameter count of 3.3M and a computational complexity of 11GFLOPs,the model's inference time per image on a local computer was no more than 30 ms.Compared with mainstream models,such as YOLOv9c-seg,YOLOv11n-seg,and YOLOv12n-seg,the improved model maintained lightweight for the superior segmentation accuracy.Furthermore,the parameter sensitivity analysis revealed that the optimal Focaler-CIoU configuration(d=0.22,u=0.73)precisely matched the IoU distribution of chicken carcass data.The task-specific loss function was designed for rather than generic settings.There was the an image-level accuracy of 95.0％.Dice coefficients of the neck,wings,and drumsticks increased from 0.85,0.83 and 0.78 to 0.93,0.92 and 0.90,respectively,in the practical production line.The improved model was effectively reduced the missed detection,false detection,and false segmentation of small parts(e.g.,neck and shank)under adhesion and occlusion.The DEF-YOLO-seg model also achieved the a better balance among segmentation accuracy,real-time performance,and deployment feasibility in intelligent cutting equipment for chicken carcasses.The findings can provide the technical support to the intelligent upgrading for theof food processing.Future research can focus on cutting path planning,as well as the balance between lightweight and detection accuracy.

BACKGROUND:Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. (Z. bungeanum) is widely applied in the processing of stewed beef with spices (SBS) to improve sensory quality, yet the processing-induced interactions between its flavonol glycosides and myofibrillar protein (MP) and their role in taste modulation remain poorly understood. In particular, the structural basis and binding behavior underlying protein-flavonol interactions during stewing, as well as their contribution to taste regulation. In this study, metabolomics combined with random forest modeling was employed to screen key taste-active compounds in SBS. The structure-affinity relationship and the mechanism underlying the interaction between flavonol glycosides and MP were investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and molecular docking. RESULTS:The top 15 key taste compounds were identified by a random forest model as significant contributors to flavor enhancement. A subsequent investigation focused on isoquercetin and astragalin due to their notably high variable importance scores and acknowledged chemical relevance. E-tongue results suggest that MP exhibits strong bitterness-masking activity. The interaction of flavonol glycosides (isoquercetin and astragalin) with MP in higher pH environments caused fluorescence quenching. Molecular docking results indicate that variations in the molecular geometries of isoquercetin and astragalin contribute to their distinct binding interactions with bitter taste receptor TAS2R14. CONCLUSIONS:These findings provide mechanistic insight into processing-induced protein-flavonol interactions and offer theoretical guidance for optimizing spice-assisted meat processing strategies and taste quality regulation. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

This study aimed to unravel the mechanism behind the paradoxical rapid tenderization of Wenchang chicken (WC) during coconut water stewing by contrasting its behavior with Huangma chicken (YC). WC exhibited a faster heating rate, allowing it to surpass critical protein denaturation temperatures ahead of YC. This accelerated thermal kinetics triggered an earlier and more intense protein oxidation and denaturation. The key mechanistic finding was that the faster heating induced a predominant transverse contraction of myofibrils in WC, which forcefully expelled immobilized water, leading to a swift tenderness transition. This was confirmed by a rapid decrease in T21 relaxation time and distinct microstructural changes. WC reached its optimal tenderness at 15 min, whereas YC required 20 min. This work moves beyond conventional paradigms by identifying the direction of myofibrillar shrinkage as a critical factor in meat texture, providing a theoretical foundation for precision cooking based on intrinsic material properties.