Meat products are an integral part of people's daily diets, but high-temperature roasting and drying processes can produce advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and heterocyclic amines (HAs), the excessive accumulation of which is detrimental to human health. The synergistic effects of six plant polyphenols (epicatechin, curcumin, resveratrol, rosmarinic acid, hesperetin and kaempferol) in combination with three physical fields (ultrasound, electrostatic field, and pulsating vacuum tumbling) on the AGEs and HAs formation in roast steak, as well as their impact on meat quality, were investigated. It was found that plant polyphenols-physical fields inhibited the AGEs and HAs formation more effectively than plant polyphenols alone. In particular, the epicatechin-ultrasound (EC-US) treatment overall inhibited the AGEs and HAs formation up to 69.8 %, while maintaining optimal water-holding capacity. Besides, this combined marination method had the least impact on the color and browning of the roast steak and produced the most volatile flavor compounds types (24 in total). Although levels of certain volatile compounds (alcohols, aldehydes, furans, and pyrazines) decreased, the EC-US treatment introduced unique flavor contributors such as estragole and trans-cinnamaldehyde, enhancing he overall sensory experience. Sensory evaluation results further confirmed that the plant polyphenols-physical fields treatment enhanced the tenderness and juiciness of roast steak. The correlation analysis between consumer palatability scores and volatile compounds indicated a strong association between consumer acceptance and the presence of characteristic volatile components. These results provide new perspectives and strategies for the development of healthier and safer meat processing technologies.

The physiological benefits and post-prandial retention mechanisms of meat aroma compounds remain poorly understood. In this study, simulated roasted duck-derived biomimetic myosin-triglyceride-maltose micro/nanoparticles loaded with furfuryl mercaptan (FurMeSH; final concentration, 1 mg/L) were fractionated into homogeneous particles (HPs), microfiltered particles (MPs), and ultrafiltered particles (UPs). In Caenorhabditis elegans, bioactivity showed clear size dependence. MPs-FurMeSH showed the strongest protective trend under heat and oxidative stress, primarily by alleviating the carrier-induced stress observed in the unloaded MPs group and by reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) relative to the stressed baseline. Integrated metabolomic and microbial profiling associated this protection with improved neuromuscular behavioral performance and shifts in the nematode-associated microbial community. During in vitro digestion, MPs structurally evolved into micelle-like colloidal structures and showed favorable FurMeSH retention/release behavior. Caco-2 assays further showed that digestion products of MPs-FurMeSH were associated with enhanced FurMeSH-related transport via a potential carrier-mediated pathway, while attenuating extensive Phase II glucuronidation. These findings demonstrate that food-derived microstructures can function as natural carriers, offering a mechanistic link between flavor retention and nutrient-like bioactivity and providing a matrix-design strategy for future aroma-based functional foods.

Frozen pre-cooked dishes have gained popularity for their convenience, but retaining original flavour during the reheating remains a key research focus. This study evaluated the effects of microwave (MW), electromagnetic (EM), open flame (OF), water boiling (WB) reheating methods and a control (CK) on frozen pre-cooked braised beef quality and flavour profiles. MW-reheated samples exhibited the optimal overall performance, with significantly higher sensory scores than other groups (P < 0.05) and superior colour. Texture analysis revealed that EM induced excessive cross-linking of myofibrillar proteins, resulting in highest hardness and chewiness; while MW maintained moderate texture aligning with consumer preferences. For taste-related non-volatile compounds, reheating reduced total nucleotides and umami amino acids overall, whereas MW induced a more desirable taste balance by increasing Ala and decreasing Lys. Electronic nose (W1W sensor, sensitive to terpenes/ sulfur-containing compounds) combined with GC-MS confirmed that MW maximally promoted the terpenes and other volatile flavour compounds enrichment, while other methods caused varying degrees of flavour loss. Correlation analysis of key compounds revealed that 1-(1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-ethanone showed a highly significant negative correlation with all sensory dimensions (P < 0.01), potentially serving as a thermal-sensitive marker; 2-methylphenyl octadecyl ester oxalic acid exhibited a significant positive correlation with sensory acceptance, and its high abundance in MW-reheated samples was a critical compounds for their superior flavour. These results provide a theoretical basis for optimizing frozen braised beef reheating to improve eating quality and meet consumer demand for convenient dishes.

Cold stress is a significant challenge to cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production during seed emergence and early seedling establishment, as cotton is native to tropical and subtropical environments. Low temperatures during these sensitive stages impair photosynthetic efficiency, damage cellular structures, and reduce yield. Although cotton responses to cold stress have been extensively investigated at physiological, molecular, and transcriptional levels, increasing evidence suggests that transient gene expression changes alone are insufficient to explain sustained stress performance. This review synthesizes current knowledge on cotton cold-stress responses, emphasizing the regulatory roles of key histone modifications histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) and histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) in transcriptional control and within-generation (somatic) epigenetic priming. Although cotton cold epigenome profiling is beginning to emerge, cotton-specific, time-resolved chromatin datasets that span chilling, recovery, and recurrent chilling (stress-recovery-re-stress) remain limited; therefore, several mechanistic inferences necessarily rely on indirect evidence from cotton studies under other conditions and on well-characterized model plant systems. H3K27me3 is implicated in Polycomb-mediated gene silencing and may regulate gene reactivation during cold stress and recovery, whereas H3K4me3 is proposed to support rapid induction of cold-responsive genes. Bivalent chromatin domains containing H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 may maintain stress-related genes in a poised transcriptional state, enabling swift activation while preserving developmental regulation. We highlight key knowledge gaps and experimental priorities for establishing cotton-specific chromatin mechanisms of cold memory and for translating these insights into epigenome-assisted breeding and biotechnological strategies to develop cotton varieties with improved and stable cold resilience.

Meat matrices serve as pivotal reservoirs of high-quality proteins and bioavailable micronutrients essential for human health. However, the "one-size-fits-all" approach to meat consumption fails to address the profound heterogeneity in nutritional requirements across the lifespan, ranging from rapid neurodevelopment in infants to anabolic resistance in the elderly. This review systematically explores the Delicate Nutrient Delivery Model (DNDM) as a transformative framework for precision nutrition. We first analyze the distinct nutritional profiles of meat, including proteins, bioactive peptides, and micronutrients, and align them with the specific physiological barriers and metabolic demands of diverse demographic groups. Subsequently, we critically evaluate the engineering strategies underpinning DNDM, including non-thermal processing, lipid-based nanocarriers (liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles), Pickering emulsions, and 3D printing, which are designed to protect labile nutrients and optimize their release kinetics. The implementation of DNDM is then assessed across populations, highlighting its role in correcting metabolic deviations in adolescents, enhancing recovery in athletes, and preventing sarcopenia in geriatric groups. Ultimately, this work highlights the potential of DNDM to bridge the gap between advanced food processing and personalized health needs. By shifting the focus from "what we eat" to "how nutrients are delivered," this review provides a roadmap for unlocking the full functional potential of meat matrices for public health.

This study investigated the effect of freezing methods (conventional freezing, CF, ultra low temperature freezing, UF, liquid nitrogen freezing, LN) on the flavor, texture, and digestibility of reheated stir-fried chicken. Samples were preheated to four doneness levels (T1~T4) before freezing. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) identified 66 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including 1-octen-3-ol, nonanal, and hexadecanal. LN (50.17%) and UF (25.27%) demonstrated superior volatile retention compared to CF (24.54%), although VOCs concentration declined with elevated doneness levels. E-nose supported GC-MS findings, highlighting enhanced sensor responses at LN-T1. LN exhibited higher moisture retention (62.24%) than CF (45.86%), which declined progressively with increasing doneness levels. Finer ice crystals resulted in enhanced myofibrillar retention and noticeable boundaries at UF and LN. Protein digestibility was lowest at CF (33.39%~55.62%), improved at LN (68.39%~83.31%). These findings highlighted liquid nitrogen freezing as the optimal preservation method for preheated stir-fried chicken.

Aroma characteristics of regional roast duck vary with processing: Nanjing roast ducks are marinated with table salt and monosodium glutamate, whereas Beijing roast duck is not. The aroma profiles and major odorants in skin and muscle of both were clarified by sensomics approach. E-nose findings initially revealed that odor intensity of muscle was higher than that of skin in both regional ducks. Subsequently, volatiles were identified by GC-IMS, GC-MS, and GC-O. Actual aroma contributions of twenty-eight quantified aroma-active compounds (FD ≥ 3 and OAV > 1) were clarified. Due to inadequate aroma reconstitution effect of odorants in lipid-rich skin, only the relationships between aroma attributes and major odorants in muscles were visualized through molecular odor wheels. Among these, 2-n-butyl furan, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine, decanal and (E,E)-2,4-nonadienal significantly (p < 0.001) affected Nanjing roast duck muscles' caramel, roasty, meaty and fatty notes, respectively. Nonanal, 1-octen-3-ol, hexanal, (E)-2-decenal and (E,E)-2,4-nonadienal were the most important contributors to Beijing roast duck muscles.

The soil-borne fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae (V. dahliae) is the causal agent of Verticillium wilt (VW), a vascular disease that severely threatens global cotton production. Although cell wall lignification represents a cornerstone of plant immunity, the precise regulatory circuits that bridge this structural reinforcement with Verticillium dahliae resistance in cotton have yet to be fully elucidated. Here, we demonstrate that the NAC transcription factor GhNAC043 is a key positive regulator of this defense. GhNAC043 expression was rapidly induced upon V. dahliae infection. Silencing GhNAC043 in cotton compromised resistance, reducing lignin accumulation and downregulating lignin biosynthesis genes. Conversely, heterologous overexpression of GhNAC043 in Arabidopsis enhanced VW tolerance. We further identified GhBPM2 as a nuclear interaction partner of GhNAC043. Profiling of the transcriptome demonstrated that the GhNAC043-GhBPM2 module alters the expression profile of genes pivotal for jasmonic acid (JA) and abscisic acid (ABA) signal transduction. Collectively, these results highlight a previously unknown regulatory pathway in which the GhNAC043-GhBPM2 complex drives lignin deposition through the modulation of JA and ABA signaling, thereby fortifying cotton against VW infection.

Herein, a novel flexible disulfide-bridged hyperbranched poly(amido amine)s based nonconjugated carbonized polymer dots (ssHPA-CPDs) was developed using citric acid and ssHPA with disulfide bonds as precursors. The structure and composition of ssHPA-CPDs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, raman spectroscopy, and small-X-ray scattering. The results show that when the mass ratio of ssHPA-CPDs/citric acid is 0.5, graphite nitrogen and thiophenone/thiazole sulfur occupy a dominant position, with a higher quantum yield (29.08%). The high disulfide bond content increases ssHPA-CPDs flexibility, leading to greater surface roughness and enhanced Fe(III) binding. In addition, the fluorescence intensity of ssHPA-CPDs at 465 nm (λex = 350 nm) was used as the quantitative signal for Fe(III) detection with a limit of detection of 0.07 μM. The ssHPA-CPDs offering a rapid (1.0 min) and reproducible (three times) method by adding ascorbic acid for accurately determining Fe(III) content in liver and blood samples, with spiked recovery rates ranging from 87.47% to 106.01%. This method adopts flexible disulfide-bridged CPDs to regulate quantum yield, offering a rapid and accurate approach to detect Fe(III) content in meat by-products for the evaluation of food safety and human health.

Glucocorticoid-induced myopathy is characterized by progressive muscle atrophy and impaired regeneration, yet effective microbiota-oriented interventions for preserving muscle homeostasis remain largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that dietary chondroitin sulfate (DCS) restores muscle mass and function through a microbiota-dependent gut-muscle metabolic axis. DCS failed to confer protection in germ-free or antibiotic-treated mice, establishing gut microbiota as a prerequisite for its efficacy. Microbiota transplantation and mono-colonization experiments identified Lactobacillus johnsonii Z-RW as a functionally relevant mediator capable of recapitulating muscle protection under controlled microbial conditions. Integrated metagenomic, metabolomic, and proteomic analyses revealed coordinated reprogramming of intestinal sugar utilization and bile acid metabolism following DCS administration. Notably, DCS promoted bile acid deconjugation and enrichment of secondary bile acids, coinciding with restoration of muscle regenerative and energetic programs, including upregulation of NMRK2, PAX7, and SIRT1. Metabolite supplementation further implicated bile acids as candidate mediators linking microbial metabolism to muscle phenotypes. To quantitatively integrate these shifts, we introduce the sugar-bile acid ratio as a systems-level descriptor of microbiota-driven metabolic remodeling. Our findings delineate a microbiota-dependent metabolic framework through which a functional polysaccharide reshapes intestinal biochemistry to influence distal muscle physiology. This work highlights bile acid-associated signaling as a central relay within the gut-muscle axis and provides a conceptual foundation for microbiota-targeted strategies to mitigate muscle wasting.

The development of attractive flavor in roasted meat is accompanied by the formation of potentially harmful compounds such as AGEs and HAs. This study determined the effect of different types (epicatechin, rosmarinic acid, resveratrol, hesperidin, kaempferol, and curcumin) and concentrations (0.1 %, 0.2 %, 0.4 %) of plant polyphenols on AGEs and HAs in roast steak and explored the potential regulatory mechanisms of plant polyphenols on the key free amino acids, fatty acids, flavor compounds, AGEs and HAs. Polyphenol marination significantly inhibited AGEs and HAs (P < 0.05) and modified the flavor profile. A two-way ANOVA revealed a highly significant interaction between polyphenol type and concentration (P < 0.001). Notably, 0.4 % epicatechin was identified as the most effective treatment. Chemometric analysis identified eight key free amino acids and five key fatty acids as core precursors. The O2PLS model revealed that polyphenols achieve their dual benefit of simultaneously inhibiting harmful Maillard reaction products and enhancing flavor by strategically regulating a shared network of key precursors at the intersection of the Maillard reaction and lipid oxidation. This targeted intervention is achieved through a synergistic mechanism whereby polyphenols act as direct antioxidants, deplete key free amino acid and fatty acid precursors, and trap reactive carbonyl intermediates. The dominant mechanism depends on the chemical structure of the polyphenols themselves. Our findings decipher the structure- and dose-dependent mechanisms by which polyphenols co-regulate safety and flavor, thereby providing a rational strategy for the development of healthier roasted meat products without compromising sensory quality.

Volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) have a direct influence on sensory profiles owing to their unique aroma properties and low odor thresholds. The review systematically outlines the principal formation pathways of structurally diverse VSCs, their characteristic odor descriptors, the positive and negative correlations between VSCs and sensory attributes, as well as a comprehensive overview of strategies for improving aroma profiles in cooked meat. Analytical findings reveal that various VSCs are simultaneously produced through the Strecker degradation, lipid oxidation, and the Maillard reaction. Accumulated evidences suggest that thiophenes, thiazoles, and thiols having both a heterocyclic ring structure and sulfhydryl functional group contribute to desirable meaty, fatty, and roasted odor, while short-chain alkyl sulfides are frequently associated with off-flavors such as sulfurous or rancid odors. Emerging evidence suggests that precursor-directed modulation under appropriate acidity conditions, by reducing undesirable alkyl sulfides through consuming precursors (methanethiol), represents the most effective strategy for enhancing meaty odor in cooked meat compared to alternative approaches. Accurate comprehension of odor effects caused by VSCs is a significant theoretical foundation for the advancement of the meat business. Sulfur-containing heterocyclic compounds among VSCs contribute to meaty aroma Odor descriptions are related with functional group reactivity and matrix effects Macromolecular interactions may affect the aroma profiles of cooked meat Reduce alkyl sulfides by consuming MeSH to improve the meaty aroma

Chicken soup is a traditional meat-based dish whose quality is determined by the interplay between nutrient composition and volatile flavor compounds. Volatile profiling revealed aldehydes, including n-Hexanal, (E,E)-2,4-nonenal, and n-Octanal, as the dominant contributors to its characteristic flavor. Nutritional evaluation showed that chicken soup contained high levels of protein, essential amino acids, and lipids, with clear differences in lipid contents among breeds. In detail, protein was the predominant nutrient, and fractions of approximately 100 kDa and 35 kDa exhibited high hydrolysis efficiency during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion, indicating favorable digestibility. Essential amino acids, such as lysine, leucine, and valine, were present at relatively high levels. While free amino acids showed greater regional variability. Correlation analysis demonstrated that protein, lipids, and essential amino acids were positively associated with the generation of flavor-active aldehydes, whereas moisture and free amino acids were negatively associated. These findings were validated using electronic nose, electronic tongue, and headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS), confirming the consistency of nutritional-flavor relationships across chicken breeds. Collectively, these results clarify that the mechanistic relationship between nutrient composition and volatile formation, and they also provide a basis for optimising the nutritional design and sensory quality of chicken soup.

The expansion of captive breeding of the forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii)—a first-class protected species in China with significant economic and medicinal value—has led to escalating disease threats, underscoring the need for intelligent disease management based on knowledge graphs. However, the unstructured nature of veterinary texts, characterized by nested entities, ambiguous boundaries, and sparse relations, poses substantial challenges to accurate joint entity-relation extraction. To address these issues, this study proposes BRW-GPLinker, an enhanced joint extraction model built upon the GPLinker framework. This model integrates a Boundary-Aware Module (BAM) for precise entity boundary detection, a Relative Distance Bias Module (RDBM) to minimize pairing errors in dense contexts, and a Weighted Sparse Multi-label Cross-Entropy (WSMCE) loss function to improve recall for infrequent relations. Experimental results on the constructed MS-Data dataset demonstrate that BRW-GPLinker achieves an F1 score of 0.887, outperforming the baseline GPLinker by 2.0 percentage points. It also exhibits strong generalization, with an F1 score of 0.590 on the general-domain CMeIE-V2 dataset. These findings confirm that the proposed model provides reliable support for constructing disease knowledge graphs in forest musk deer farming.

Cotton originated in the tropics and is sensitive to low temperatures. Low-temperature stress has always been a significant limiting factor restricting its domestication and spread. The H3K4me3 histone mark regulates plant gene expression and transcriptional memory while influencing several developmental processes and stress responses. However, the potential function of cold stress-induced H3K4 trimethylation of cold-related genes in cotton's response to cold is mostly underinvestigated. Here, we found that low temperatures significantly alter the levels of H3K4me3 modification in cotton, and the levels of H3K4me3 modification significantly correlate with the expression levels of cold-responsive genes. H3K4me3 modification has a role in regulating the expression of positive or negative cold-responsive genes, with positive regulation predominant in upland cotton (71.1%). 5182 core cold-induced genes marked by H3K4me3 (CCRGs), including the crucial cold signaling regulatory pathway ICE-CBF-CORs, have been identified. We revealed that within the ICE-CBF-CORs regulatory pathway, ICE1, CBF1, and most COR genes are positively regulated by H3K4me3. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) analysis demonstrated that the expression patterns of CCRG genes are significantly correlated with the elongation of cotton radicles under low temperatures. We conducted preliminary functional validation of cold-responsive gene GhZAT11 modified by H3K4me3 and found that its silencing significantly reduces the cold tolerance of cotton. This supports the application of CCRG genes in cold tolerance research in cotton.

Flavor quality is an important determinant of consumer acceptance for meat dishes, yet it is often reduced during the industrial processing and reheating of prepared meat containing products. To address this, this study systematically investigated how pre-cooking temperature affects reheated beef flavor profiles, integrating metabolomics to identify key potential precursors. Results demonstrated that pre-cooking to a core temperature of 70 °C maximized the retention of key volatile compounds upon reheating. To explain this, a 'biphasic precursor consumption-adsorption-release' mechanism is proposed, where moderate heat promotes flavor generation while inhibiting excessive volatilization and degradation. This study provides a molecular-level understanding of flavor evolution during thermal processing and offers a theoretical basis for optimizing temperature control in industrial ready-to-eat meat products, thereby enhancing quality and consumer satisfaction.

The study aimed to investigate changes in morphology, structural properties, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and interbinding mechanisms of the micro-nano particles of aroma-containing compounds (MNPs-ACCs) in roasted ducks subjected to different roasting times (0, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 min) with varied filtration scales (centrifugation, microfiltration, and ultrafiltration). The presence of MNPs-ACCs in roasted ducks was confirmed by the Tyndall effect, scanning electron microscopy, and electronic nose. These particles showed negative charge, increased size and ζ-potential, and decreased dispersion index with roasting times. Moreover, a shift from ordered (α-helix and β-turn) to disordered conformations (β-sheet and random coil) in the MNPs-ACCs during roasting, along with increased hydrophobicity, exposing more odor-binding sites. Fluorescence spectroscopy and wide-angle X-ray results similarly validated this result. Meanwhile, thirty-six characteristic VOCs (variable importance scores ≥1), mainly aldehyde and alcohol, were identified in the MNPs-ACCs. Higher filtration intensity reduced relative aldehyde and alcohol content while increasing ester and ketone. The interaction analysis further confirmed that the MNPs-ACCs transitioned from noncovalent to covalent binding during roasting, forming more stable structures. Overall, biomolecular self-assembly during roasting generates micro-nano particles that serve as VOC carriers, providing novel insights into flavor development and retention in roasted ducks.

In this study, electronic nose, electronic tongue and solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-O-MS) were used to investigate the volatile flavor characteristics and the changing pattern of meat balls braised with brown sauce in prepared dishes during processing. A total of 13 volatile compounds were detected by combining the results of the OAVs and GC-O analyses using both methods. The detected volatile compounds were benzaldehyde, nonanal, (E)-2-octenal, citral, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, 1-octen-3-ol, eucalyptol, linalool, ethyl acetate, eugenol, d-limonene, anethole, and estragole. Among them, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one showed importance in both GC-O and OAVs analyses and was the only significant volatile compounds in the processing of meat balls braised with brown sauce. The differences between the samples mainly stemmed from the different processing stages. Nonetheless, samples S5 and S6, which had similar volatile compounds, indicated that the difference between freezing and packaging resulted in a decrease in the quality of meat balls braised with brown sauce. Hence, the study could offer a theoretical foundation and technological assistance for enhancing the quality and flavor of mass-produced braised pork ball products.

Flavor loss is a pain point during prepared dishes processing. As a key step during processing, the potential role of freezing in flavor regulation is less known. Hence, the aim of present study was to investigate how freezing affects flavor quality. In this work, simplify processing models of beef was established to describe the effects of different freezing methods-slow (SF), quick (QF), and liquid nitrogen (LNF) freezing-on the flavor retention of precooked beef. The results demonstrate that freezing rate exerts a significant in flavor loss, and high freezing rate (QF and LNF) can reduce key differential compounds (1-octen-3-ol, 2-pentylfuran, and nonanal) changing effectively. The correlation analysis further suggested that QF might strike a balance between forming smaller ice crystals and minimizing protein damage to the best flavor retention. These findings open new avenues of research to emphasizes the role of optimizing freezing processes in prepared dishes industrial production.