Search Results (59)

Pu-erh tea residue (Ptr), an insoluble byproduct generated during the industrial production of ready-to-drink Pu-erh beverages, is often discarded as waste despite its substantial nutritional potential. To enhance its feed value, this study developed a microbial–enzymatic synergistic fermentation system. A dominant strain, isolated from decaying tea residue, was identified as Bacillus albus and designated as Bacillus albus C01 (Bacillus.a C01). The Bacillus.a C01 strain was sensitive to all nine antibiotics tested and reduced system pH to 3.9 after 5 days of fermentation. 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that microbial–enzymatic synergistic fermentation enriched Bacillus spp., inhibited Pseudomonas spp., and optimized Ptr quality by upgrading nutrients and degrading tannins. Synergistic fermentation significantly increased the contents of crude protein (+7.50%), soluble protein (+93.32%), acid-soluble protein (+41.87%), reducing sugars (+506.49%), γ-aminobutyric acid (+28.00%), tea polyphenols (+7.47%), acetic acid (+22.87%), and total antioxidant capacity (+23.78%), while decreasing crude fiber (−26.61%), tannins (−90.10%), and suppressing polyphenol oxidase activity (−55.41%). In summary, co-fermentation of Ptr with Bacillus.a C01 and composite enzymes significantly improved its nutritional profile by increasing available proteins and organic acids, and enhancing antioxidant capacity, thereby upgrading this industrial byproduct into a functional feed ingredient. This approach offers a practical strategy to mitigate feed shortages and upcycle solid waste from the beverage industry. Full article

The growing global demand for edible oils, coupled with environmental concerns associated with conventional oil crops, has accelerated the search for sustainable lipid alternatives. This review explores the valorization of agro-industrial residues, animal by-products, and oleaginous microorganisms within a circular bioeconomy framework. We assess the lipid recovery potential of these diverse feedstocks, ranging from plant wastes such as oilseed cakes and rice bran to microbial oils derived from fungi and yeast, while evaluating green extraction technologies for efficiency and reduced environmental impact. Particular attention is given to the synergy between post-extraction quality enhancement strategies, such as fatty acid modification and membrane-assisted refining, and the application of emerging digital tools, such as artificial intelligence, to optimize these complex processes. Integrating waste valorization with nutritional upgrading offers a pathway toward sustainable, health-promoting edible oils while supporting resource recovery and climate-aligned food system transformation. Full article

This study focuses on the selection of hybrid combinations of Hu sheep and meat quality analysis. A comparative analysis of meat quality and volatile flavor compounds was conducted using three hybrid groups—Australian White–Hu (AH), White Suffolk–Hu (SH), and Southdown–Hu (NH)—and a pure Hu sheep group (HH) as research subjects. The results show that in terms of basic nutritional quality, the moisture content in the NH group was significantly higher than that in the HH group (p < 0.05), and the crude protein content in the NH group was significantly higher than that in the HH group (p < 0.05). Regarding physicochemical properties, the NH group had significantly higher meat color scores, L*, a*, and b* values, than the other groups (p < 0.05), along with the best tenderness and cooking yield. An analysis of amino acids, fatty acids, and volatile flavor compounds in lambs from different hybrid combinations revealed significant differences in the contents of lys, thr, asp, and his (p < 0.01). Although no significant differences were found in the fatty acid composition scores among the AH, SH, NH, and HH groups, all groups met the FAO/WHO recommended values. The NH group not only had the highest MUFA and total fatty acid content but also the highest levels of trans-petroselinic acid and trans-vaccenic acid, the two most abundant trans fatty acids. A total of 43 volatile organic compounds were detected in the four groups, among which 10 were identified as differential compounds. This study provides a scientific basis for the hybrid utilization of Hu sheep and offers technical support for the transformation and upgrading of the regional meat sheep industry. Full article

Today, consumers’ growing demand for higher-quality beer and their desire for unique sensory experiences are propelling the craft beer movement into a new trend within the beer industry’s production and consumption landscape. Unlike traditional beers with their single-ingredient combinations, craft beers innovatively incorporate special functional adjuncts. These adjuncts produce unique aromas and nutritional value during fermentation, primarily manifested in flavor compounds such as alcohols, esters, and organic acids. However, current craft beer production faces challenges like extended fermentation cycles and flavor instability, limiting the development of its distinctive characteristics. This paper is the first to focus on analyzing the relationship between raw material and adjuncts characteristics and flavor formation in craft beer, aiming to provide innovative insights for the transformation and upgrading of the traditional beer industry. Full article

Background/Objectives: Rising incomes worldwide are reshaping dietary patterns and intensifying concern about the carbon impacts of household food consumption. This study examines how economic development influences food-related carbon emissions in China, with a focus on household food consumption behavior and dietary change. Methods: Using longitudinal household data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey covering 2004–2011, we apply a panel threshold regression model to identify nonlinear income effects on food-related carbon emissions. Results: Within the 2004–2011 sample, household income is positively associated with food-related emissions, but the marginal effect declines once income exceeds the estimated threshold. The baseline model identifies a single threshold at 6.5479 (95% confidence interval: [6.4965, 6.5917]), corresponding to 65,479 yuan in annual household income. The single-threshold test is significant at the 5% level (p = 0.035), and the adjusted R² is 0.243. Income growth significantly increases the consumption of greenhouse-gas-intensive foods and associated emissions among low-income households, whereas food consumption patterns among high-income households are comparatively more stable within the sample period. Conclusions: These findings indicate that rising income can intensify food-related carbon pressure during China’s dietary transition, particularly through dietary upgrading among low-income households, but they do not provide direct evidence that household food emissions will stabilize automatically over time. Full article

Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) is a green and readily scalable platform for the recovery and upgrading of bioactives from agri-food and forestry byproducts. This expert-led narrative review examines HC processing of citrus and pomegranate peels, softwoods, and plant protein systems, emphasizing process performance, ingredient functionality, and realistic routes to market, and contrasts HC with other green extraction technologies. Pilot-scale evidence repeatedly supports water-only operation with high solids and short residence times; in most practical deployments, energy demand is dominated by downstream water removal rather than the extraction step itself, which favors low water-to-biomass ratios. A distinctive outcome of HC is the spontaneous formation of stable pectin–flavonoid–terpene phytocomplexes with improved apparent solubility and bioaccessibility, and early studies indicate that HC may also facilitate protein–polyphenol complexation while lowering anti-nutritional factors. Two translational pathways appear near term: (i) blending HC-derived dry extracts with commercial dry protein isolates to deliver measurable functional benefits at low inclusion levels and (ii) HC-based extraction of plant proteins to obtain digestion-friendly isolates and conjugate-ready ingredients. Priority gaps include harmonized reporting of specific energy consumption and operating metrics, explicit solvent/byproduct mass balances, matched-scale benchmarking against subcritical water extraction and pulsed electric field, and evidence from continuous multi-ton operation. Overall, HC is a strong candidate unit operation for circular biorefineries, provided that energy accounting, quality retention, and regulatory documentation are handled rigorously. Full article

With the rapid increase in solid waste generated worldwide, sustainable approaches for the recovery of resources considering environmental protection are required. As one of the emerging strategies in recent years, biochar has shown great potential due to its high carbon stabilization, adjustable porosity and tunability. This review focuses on the critical assessment of the available technologies for biochar upgrading, with a specific objective of biochar physicochemical functionality improvement and critical materials recovery in line with circular economy targets. We systematically review physicochemical activation methodologies, functionalizations and leaching approaches, accounting for their effects on surface area, porosity and functional group chemistry. Particular attention is paid to the dual functionality of upgraded biochar (i) as a catalyst support for thermochemical processes and (ii) as a medium for the recycling of essential nutrients (e.g., phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium). It is evidenced that customized activation can further improve its adsorption and catalytic efficiency as well as promote near-total nutrition extraction. This review positions advanced biochar as an enabling multipurpose technology across sustainable material production, nutrient cycling and waste valorization in the circular bioeconomy. Full article

Understanding how digital transformation shapes dietary behavior is essential for evaluating nutritional transitions in developing economies. However, the mechanisms through which the digital economy impacts dietary diversity remain insufficiently explored. This study provides new empirical evidence on how digitalization influences the dietary diversity of Chinese residents. Utilizing unbalanced panel data sourced from the China Nutrition and Health Survey (CHNS), we calculate provincial digital economy indices and estimate its effects through Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and mediating effect model. Baseline results state that the digital economy significantly improves dietary diversity. Mediating effects analyses reveal that the digital economy augments dietary diversity by boosting household income, deepening dietary awareness, and facilitating industry transformation and consumption upgrading. Moreover, heterogeneity analyses indicate that the synergistic effect between the digital economy and diet patterns varies significantly across urban–rural areas, education levels, and household living conditions. These findings offer valuable insights for other emerging economies undergoing similar digital and nutritional transitions. Full article

Against the backdrop of global food security and circular agriculture development, edible fungi, as a high-protein food source, have both ecological and economic value in their production model using agricultural and forestry wastes. Based on the “Cycle Production of Plants, Animals, and Fungi” theory, this paper systematically reviews the research progress of alternative substrates for edible fungi. First, alternative substrates are categorized into plant-derived, animal-derived, and microbial-derived types according to their sources. The physicochemical properties, application status, and bottlenecks of each type are analyzed, such as difficult lignin degradation in plant-derived substrates, pollutant risks in animal-derived substrates, and lack of unified application standards for microbial-derived substrates. Second, the mechanisms of key influencing factors including substrate nutritional content, pH and moisture content are elaborated. Furthermore, the paper points out current industrial challenges such as regional resource heterogeneity, difficult control of pretreatment parameters, pollutant residues, and poor batch stability, and summarizes targeted optimization strategies, including regional substrate formulations, precise pretreatment technologies, nutritional regulation, and circular utilization models. Finally, future directions are prospected from four aspects: localized resource utilization, technological innovation, circular model upgrading, and standardized governance, providing theoretical support for the large-scale and sustainable development of the edible fungi industry and contributing to agricultural waste resource utilization and the achievement of “dual carbon” goals. Full article

Background: Jehovah’s Witness (JW) patients pose a unique challenge to cardiac surgery due to their refusal of blood products, typically precluding them from becoming candidates for orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT). While “bloodless” cardiac surgery has been described in ideal candidates, anemic or other hematologic-risk patients are typically excluded. We describe a successful “bloodless” OHT in a non-ideal JW patient with anemia and cardiogenic shock, with ventricular assist through a transvalvular pump to bridge and optimize hematologic status prior to operation. Case Presentation: A 58-year-old male JW with end-stage non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) and an ejection fraction of 15–20% experienced repeated decompensation despite maximal medical therapy and implantable cardioverter–defibrillator (ICD) implantation. Two years since first presentation, he developed cardiogenic shock and required intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) support. Iatrogenic anemia occurred during IABP placement and required femoral re-access and upgrade to Impella^® 5.5 support. During mechanical support, he was given a total blood conservation plan that included intravenous iron, darbepoetin alfa, restricted phlebotomy, and nutritional supplementation. Hemoglobin was increased from 7.8 to 10.4 g/dL. Successful “bloodless” OHT was subsequently performed on him with an estimated blood loss of 200 mL, 72 min cardiopulmonary bypass duration, and no transfusion. He was discharged on the nineth day after surgery with a hemoglobin level of 9.9 g/dL and returned to full activity. Discussion: Despite inherent risks, bloodless OHT may safely be performed in selected JW patients by means of multidisciplinary coordination, modern mechanical circulatory support, and hematopoietic stimulation. Our case highlights the utility of Impella^® 5.5 as a bridge-to-transplant strategy for anemic, hemodynamically unstable JW patients. This is in harmony with evidence from previous studies indicating similar results for JW and non-JW transplant recipients under strict optimization protocols. It also supports the expansion of candidacy criteria if appropriate planning and modern blood conservation strategies are employed. Conclusions: Transfusion religious objection ought not preclude JW patients from lifesaving OHT. With judicious perioperative planning, third-generation transvalvular pumps, and hematologic optimization, “bloodless” heart transplantation is possible—potentially even in non-ideal candidates. Full article

To investigate the geographical and species differences regarding mineral element content of camel milk, this research used camel milk from the Tacheng, Altay, and Ili regions of Xinjiang and cow milk, goat milk, and horse milk from the Tacheng region as subjects. The contents of 22 mineral elements were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The results showed that the contents of macro elements Ca, P, K, and Na in camel milk were significantly higher than those in other milk sources (p < 0.01). The contents of trace elements such as Se, Sr, and Ni were very significantly higher than those in other milk sources (p < 0.01). The content of 12 mineral elements in camel milk was very significantly higher than in other types of milk (p < 0.01). Principal component analysis (PCA) and factor analysis emphasized the relationship between element distribution and different milk sources, and the linear discriminant analysis (LDA) model could identify the species type of milk. Geographical analysis indicated that trace elements such as Sr, Ni, and Cr were highly significantly enriched in Tacheng camel milk (p < 0.01). The established LDA model achieved traceability of the geographical origin of Xinjiang camel milk. This research reveals the mineral nutritional advantages of camel milk and its geographical differentiation patterns, providing theoretical support for exploring the functional properties of camel milk and for identifying species and regions through minerals. It is important to promote the upgrading of the specialty dairy product industry. Full article

Amid the health-conscious consumption trend, functional foods rich in γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and vitamin B9 are gaining prominence. Foxtail millet, a traditional grain naturally abundant in these nutrients, faces quality assessment challenges due to the time-consuming and destructive nature of conventional methods, hindering large-scale screening. This study pioneers the systematic application of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) for nondestructive detection of GABA and vitamin B9 in millet. Utilizing spectral data from 190 samples across 19 varieties, we developed an innovative “coarse-fine” feature wavelength selection strategy. First, interval-based algorithms (iRF, iVISSA) screened highly correlated wavelength subsets. Second, model population analysis (MPA) algorithms (CARS, BOSS) identified optimal core wavelengths, boosting model efficiency and robustness. Based on this, a stacked BiLSTM–Adaboost model was built, integrating bidirectional long short-term memory networks for sequence dependency and adaptive boosting for enhanced generalization. This enables efficient, rapid, nondestructive, and precise nutrient detection. This interdisciplinary breakthrough establishes a novel pathway for millet nutritional assessment, deepens fundamental research, and provides core support for industrial upgrading, breeding, quality control, and functional food development, supporting national health. Full article

Carrots are gaining attention due to their health effects, high yield, low cost, and bright color in food processing. This study analyzed the impact of carrot whole flour (CWF) on steamed cake quality. The effects of CWF and its active ingredients, carrot dietary fiber (CDF) and carrot polyphenols (CPs), on gluten and starch properties were studied. Results showed that steamed cake quality was better at a 12% additional dose. CPs caused gluten to form more hydrogen bonds, increasing the specific volume. CDF weakened the gluten structure by reducing disulfide bonds, decreasing the hardness. Both CDF and CPs disrupted the starch structure by decreasing the short-range order, causing a reduction in springiness and cohesiveness. CDF and CPs increased starch crystallinity, which also contributed to decreasing springiness. This study systematically evaluated the effect of CWF on the steamed cake from the microstructure level to macroscopic quality. Wheat-vegetable blend flour is a key path for nutritional upgrading of traditional staple foods and an essential direction for functional wheat products. Full article

Edible fungi, a group of globally significant macrofungi, are highly valued for their unique flavors and substantial nutritional and medicinal properties. Understanding the molecular mechanisms governing their growth, development, gene function, biosynthesis of valuable compounds, and environmental adaptation is crucial for enhancing yield and quality, providing essential scientific support for industrial progress. Genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics, as cornerstone life science technologies, offer powerful, integrated approaches to decipher genetic codes, reveal gene expression patterns, and elucidate complex metabolic networks in edible fungi. These advancements are transitioning research from traditional cultivation methods towards deeper molecular biology exploration. This review synthesizes key progress in applying genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics to edible fungi, with a particular focus on metabolism-related research and the fundamentals of metabolic network construction. It discusses how these technologies, independently and in preliminary integration, uncover critical steps and regulatory mechanisms within endogenous metabolic pathways. While acknowledging the importance of metabolomics and epigenomics as cutting-edge areas, this review focuses on the “classical triad” of genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics due to their technological maturity, data accessibility, and established application base in elucidating core metabolic mechanisms in edible fungi. The goal is to deepen the understanding of edible fungi metabolic mechanisms, providing a vital theoretical basis and practical insights for optimizing cultivation, enabling genetic improvement, harnessing bioactive substances, and promoting industrial upgrading, thereby boosting the overall efficiency and competitiveness of the edible fungi industry. Full article

Rice is a staple food in Côte d’Ivoire, but parboiling remains a weak link in the local rice value chain. Parboiled rice has superior nutritional and physical properties compared with white rice. In 2017, AfricaRice introduced the “Grain quality enhancer, Energy efficient, and durable Material” (GEM) parboiling system in Côte d’Ivoire to address these challenges. This study evaluated the rice value chain, parboilers’ perceptions of GEM technology, and its role in upgrading the rice value chain. Using two survey types (parboiler association level (focus group) and parboiler household level), 179 rice parboilers and 77 key players were randomly sampled and interviewed in Côte d’Ivoire. We used descriptive statistics and the parboiler budget for the profitability analysis. The results show that parboiling, primarily undertaken by women, is profitable in Côte d’Ivoire. Parboilers identified the key advantages of the GEM system, including improved rice quality, higher output rates, better nutritional value, and the ability to parboil larger volumes of rice. GEM technology enhanced rice quality, increased parboilers’ incomes, and reduced energy costs by 22.3%, saving an average of 73,090 FCFA per ton of parboiled paddy. The study recommends scaling up GEM technology through local fabricator training and broader dissemination in rice-growing regions to further strengthen the rice value chain in Côte d’Ivoire. Full article