Food Gels: Gelling Process and New Applications

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 784

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Food Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Interests: muscle food preservation; processing; gelation properties
College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Interests: meat and meat products; quality improvement; forest food; functional factor; food gels
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Many natural biopolymers are derived from muscle foods, and structure variations of these gellants may have a significant impact on creating molecular structures of gels with predictable functionality. The investigation of the gelation mechanism and the improvement in the gelation characteristics of animal-sourced proteins during processing and storage have represented hot research topics in the muscle food industry in recent years. At the same time, the creation and application of novel gel-based materials have brought new benefits to the food industry, especially in terms of preservation.

We have organized this Special Issue on “Food Gels: Gelling Process and New Applications” to summarize recent developments in the formation mechanism of food gels, the improvement in gelation properties, and the functionalization and potential applications of novel food gels, among many other relevant issues. We are looking forward to receiving fresh data and reviews on food gels from both experimental and theoretical perspectives.

Dr. Xin Du
Dr. Fangfei Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • muscle food
  • biopolymers
  • protein
  • gelation properties
  • development of novel food gels

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 6700 KiB  
Article
The Hypoglycemic Activity of Gracilaria lemaneiformis Polysaccharide Gels Based on IR/IRS-2/PI3k/Akt/Glut4 and Glycometabolism Signaling Pathways in HepG2 Cells
by Xiaoshan Long, Shucheng Liu, Xianqing Yang, Yongqiang Zhao, Shaoling Yang, Ya Wei, Chuang Pan, Shengjun Chen, Peihong Jiang, Bo Qi and Xiao Hu
Gels 2025, 11(5), 366; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11050366 - 15 May 2025
Viewed by 226
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the hypoglycemic activity and mechanism of G. lemaneiformis polysaccharide gels (GLP and GLP-HV) based on IR/IRS-2/PI3k/Akt/Glut4 and glycometabolism signaling pathways in HepG2 cells. After H2O2-Vc degradation, the molecular weight of G. [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to investigate the hypoglycemic activity and mechanism of G. lemaneiformis polysaccharide gels (GLP and GLP-HV) based on IR/IRS-2/PI3k/Akt/Glut4 and glycometabolism signaling pathways in HepG2 cells. After H2O2-Vc degradation, the molecular weight of G. lemaneiformis polysaccharide gel declined from 1478 kDa to 16 kDa. Molecular weight chromatogram and distribution indicated that GLP-HV had a high molecular weight homogeneity compared to GLP. G. lemaneiformis polysaccharide gels significantly decreased the TC, TG, LDL-C, MDA, and LDH contents and enhanced the activities of HDL-C, T-AOC, CAT, GSH-PX, SOD, insulin, and glycogen in HepG2 cells. Fluorescent staining results showed that G. lemaneiformis polysaccharide gels reduced ROS and calcium ions levels in HepG2 cells. GLP and GLP-HV displayed excellent hypoglycemic activity, with GLP-HV performing better. Furthermore, qPCR and Western blot analysis revealed that G. lemaneiformis polysaccharide gels remarkably strengthened the levels of IR, IRS-2, PI3K, Akt, Glut4, HK, G6PD, PFK, PEPCK, GK, PK genes, and proteins. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed that the IR/IRS-2/PI3k/Akt/Glut4 signaling pathway played a dominant role in regulating activity. These results show that G. lemaneiformis polysaccharide gels present a prominent hypoglycemic effect mediated by the IR/IRS-2/PI3k/Akt/Glut4 and glycometabolism signaling pathways, with the former playing a dominant role. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Gels: Gelling Process and New Applications)
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