This study investigated the synergistic effects of supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCD) combined with sucrose treatment on the foaming properties and freeze-thaw stability of egg white protein (EWP). The results demonstrated that SCCD-sucrose treatment significantly enhanced the foaming capacity, achieving a maximum of 139.5% (4.6-fold increase over the control) at 9 MPa for 60 min with 10 g/100 mL sucrose, while maintaining the foaming stability (FS) which was compromised by SCCD treatment alone. Furthermore, the treated EWP exhibited markedly improved stability against repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Mechanism analysis revealed that sucrose promoted the formation of larger protein aggregates, as evidenced by increased particle size, and significantly reduced surface tension, enhancing adsorption at the air-water interface. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated a rise in α-helix relative content, contributing to structural ordering, while rheological measurements showed improved elastic modulus (G′), supporting FS. Scanning electron microscopy further revealed a more cohesive and dense protein network of SCCD-sucrose treated group. These synergistic modifications counteracted the structural loosening induced by SCCD and facilitated the formation of a robust interfacial film. The findings provide an effective and promising physical modification strategy for enhancing the functional performance of frozen-stored egg white liquid in the egg processing industry.

As an important immuneoactive component in eggs, yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) shows great competitiveness in research and production due to its good stability, high safety, low cost, easy availability, strong immune activity, and no drug resistance. This article highlights the significant advantages of IgY as a good antibiotic substitute in the prevention and treatment of viral and bacterial diseases. Also, IgY has great potential in the regulation of nutrient metabolism balance, intestinal microflora and immune homeostasis by affecting key rate-limiting enzymes, and relevant receptors and inflammatory factors specifically. Proper diet and targeted delivery of foodborne IgY may be a new perspective on inflammation regulation, disease control, nutritional balance or homeostasis, and oral microencapsulated IgY is expected to be a new approach against increasing public health emergencies (such as COVID-19 pandemic).

This study compared the effects of chemically synthesized folic acid and natural folic acid derived from duck egg yolk on health outcomes in pregnant mice induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and their protective effects against neural tube defects in fetal mice. By observing the growth and appearance of fetal mice as well as assessing folate digestion and absorption in pregnant mice, redox homeostasis, and placental health, differences in the absorption of folates from different sources and their effects on oxidative stress levels in pregnant mice were explored. Evaluation of neural tube development in fetal mice, neural tube-related protein expression, antioxidant levels and inflammatory cytokine expression was conducted to analyze the potential of folate sources in preventing fetal neural tube defects and regulating inflammation levels in the body. The results demonstrated that both synthetic and egg-derived folic acids effectively improved the placental health of pregnant mice, with the latter being more effective in reducing LPS-induced damage in a dose-dependent manner. Egg-derived folate regulated the development of neural tube cells in fetal mice in a positive feedback manner, balanced the levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase in the brain of fetal mice, and maintained the relative mRNA expression levels of IL-6, IL-1β, MCP-1, iNOS, and TNF-α in a healthy balance. High-dose egg-derived folate significantly increased the expression of neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM1), a protein associated with promoting neural tube development, demonstrating good potential for preventing neural tube defects and inhibit inflammation. These results underscore the importance of egg-derived folate for preventing neural tube defects and regulating inflammation in the body, providing a new theoretical and practical basis for developing the health benefits of food-derived folate.

It is of great significance to improve the gel properties of egg white for their related products. This goal was accomplished by investigating the gel properties of egg white via interacting with pectin and laccase, and revealing their mechanisms. Results showed that 0.06% sugar beet pectin (SBP) and 0.5 U/g laccase could endow egg white gels with better texture properties (with the highest hardness of 1 508.00 g, chewiness of 1 144.83, and gumminess of 1 210.57), and superior water holding capacity (WHC) (the highest WHC value of 72.08%). This was attributed to the fact that 0.06% of SBP filled the pores of egg white gel, and enhanced affinity and binding of the gels to water by the good hydrophilicity of SBP, and the decrease in egg white gel pore size. Laccase (0.5 U/g) could promote the cross-linking between the egg white gel and SBP to form a more complex gel network structure through the interactions between the tyrosine residues and ferulic acid in SBP, which brought more ionic bonds (22.47%), hydrogen bonds (12.4%), disulfide bonds (16.97%) and more compact structure to egg white gels. This work can provide an effective method to improve the quality of egg white gel and related products.