As important economic crops, tomatoes and peppers are prone to postharvest deterioration in sensory qualities such as flavor, color, and firmness, thereby significantly reducing their market value. As a chemical-free approach, light regulation technology shows promising potential in delaying postharvest quality decline and preserving the sensory and nutritional attributes of these crops. This review examines how light exposure influences the multidimensional sensory qualities of postharvest tomatoes and peppers, with a focus on key metabolic pathways including fatty acid degradation, carotenoid cleavage, amino acid metabolism, and sucrose metabolism that contribute to the formation of characteristic flavor compounds under light treatment. A flavor-related metabolic network is proposed, offering valuable insights for the targeted improvement of postharvest sensory qualities in tomatoes and peppers, as well as for the development and application of light-based technologies to reduce postharvest losses and enhance preservation.

To address the deterioration of flavor and nutritional quality in pre-cooked braised pork caused by microbial proliferation and oxidative degradation during storage, this study investigated the effect of ultra-high pressure marination with Rosa roxburghii juice concentrate on pork quality improvement during refrigerated (at 4 ℃ for up to 21 days) and frozen storage (at –20 ℃ for up to 120 days), and evaluate the feasibility of applying this technology to pre-cooked braised pork production. Compared with the untreated control group, ultra-high pressure marination with R. roxburghii juice concentrate significantly reduced the total viable count and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value, delayed protein carbonylation, and maintained textural properties in pre-cooked braised pork during storage. Analysis of volatile flavor components by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed that this treatment effectively inhibited the accumulation of acidic and rancid off-odor compounds, resulting in a 57.12% reduction in the odor activity value of 3-methylbutanoic acid. The results indicated that ultra-high pressure marination (at 400 MPa for 4 min) with R. roxburghii juice concentrate (5.0 g/kg of seasoned pork) effectively enhanced the flavor and nutritional quality of pre-cooked braised pork, providing an innovative processing approach for the quality improvement of prepared meat products.

Anthocyanins and vitamin C (VC) are important functional substances in fruit and vegetable beverages. However, anthocyanins and VC degrade each other in fruit and vegetable beverages, causing significant losses of their color, flavor and nutritional value. Considering that their interaction mechanism is unclear yet, the oxidation and condensation hypotheses of the anthocyanins-VC interaction are reviewed in detail, starting with the degradation routes of anthocyanins and VC. The effects of anthocyanin structure, vitamin C concentration, temperature, the presence of oxygen, polyphenols and biomacromolecules on the anthocyanins-VC interaction are elucidated. The applications of colorimeter, UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, high performance liquid chromatography, electron spin resonance spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in studies on the anthocyanins-VC interaction are summarized. This review provides a theoretical basis to understand the interaction mechanism between anthocyanins and VC, and inspire future research to inhibit the interaction between anthocyanins and VC.

French press coffee with a soluble solid content (SSC) of 2% was prepared from medium roasted Hainangrown Robusta coffee. Single factor experiments and response surface methodology were used jointly for optimization of four processing parameters based on consumer preference, and the correlation between consumer preference and sensory characteristics and flavor components was analyzed by quantitative sensory description, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). The results showed that the extraction yield of coffee significantly increased with the decrease in coffee grind size, the increase in powder-to-water ratio, the increase in brewing water temperature or the prolongation of brewing time (P < 0.05). Maximum liking score of (3.3 ± 1.6) (out of 6 on a 7-point hedonic scale) was obtained when the powder-to-water ratio was 1:5 (m/m), the grind size was 8, the brewing water temperature was 92 ℃, and the brewing time was 6 min. A total of 78 volatile components were detected from coffee, and 10 key aroma components such as macroketone and 3-ethyl-2,5-methylpyrazine were identified by odor activity value (OAV) analysis. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the degree of liking was positively correlated with the roundness and chocolate aroma of coffee, and negatively correlated with caffeine; 4-ethyl-2-methoxy-phenol and 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, with clove and phenol-like flavors; and 3-methyl-indole, with a fecal odor. This study provides a theoretical basis for exploring the flavor preference and material basis of Hainan-grown Robusta coffee.

Unfermented jujube pulp (UFJP), fermented jujube pulp (FJP) in high and low doses were fed to constipated ICR mice. Defecation function, serum gastrointestinal regulatory peptide, fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and gut microbial composition were assessed. Results showed that high-dose FJP could protect intestinal mucosa tissue, shorten the first black feces defecating time by 17% and increase the number and wet weights of black feces by 72% and 71%, respectively, within 6 h. High-dose FJP significantly down-regulated the somatostatin level and up-regulated gastrin level in constipated mice, compared with low-dose FJP and UFJP. High-dose FJP intervention regulated the microbiota profile, which afterwards restored microbiota, like Bacteroidetes, Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, to a less unhealthy state. This study provides convincing in vivo evidence that high-dose FJP supplementation through daily diet could be a promising approach to effectively alleviate constipation and modulate gut health.