Liver diseases remain a global health crisis, with limited safe therapeutic options. Cornus officinalis, a traditional medicinal-edible plant, has demonstrated significant hepatoprotective potential. This review systematically summarizes its liver-protective mechanisms and explores its potential as a functional food. Data were collected from scientific databases such as PubMed, ScienceDirect, Elsevier, Google Scholar, and relevant literature. Key bioactive compounds—including iridoids, polyphenols, and polysaccharides—contribute to hepatoprotection by mitigating oxidative stress, inflammation, steatosis, apoptosis, and by regulating gut microbiota. As critical quality markers, iridoids exhibit suboptimal bioavailability, necessitating targeted technological interventions—nanoencapsulation for liver-specific delivery and microbial fermentation for controlled aglycone conversion are proposed to enhance their pharmacokinetic properties and bioactivity. Future research could adopt encapsulation and fermentation technologies for C. officinalis processing, aiming to develop targeted functional food products with enhanced bioactivity of its active components. This review, for the first time, establishes a “component-pathway-integration” model, providing a theoretical framework for evidence-based CO-derived functional food development and highlighting the need for further research on iridoid metabolic transformation to advance liver health management.

As a traditional fermented food with profound historical and cultural heritage, Beijing Douzhi carries rich cultural connotations. However, the unique rancid and beany off-flavor of Douzhi leads to strong sensory controversy, which restricts its market promotion. This paper deeply explores the material basis for the unique flavor of Beijing Douzhi, its flavor components and flavor formation mechanism, and microbial species used for its production. It systematically summarizes the influences of different processing techniques, starter cultures and food additives on the flavor of Douzhi. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive theoretical basis for the precise regulation of the flavor of Douzhi, promote the modernization and development of the Douzhi industry, and facilitate the inheritance and innovation of traditional foods in the new era.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease triggered by multiple factors, characterized by gut microbiota dysbiosis, epithelial barrier dysfunction, and abnormal mucosal immunity. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) ligands, including agonists and antagonists, are small molecules that directly bind to AHR, promoting its nuclear translocation and transcriptional regulation of downstream genes. Studies have shown that a long-term deficiency of AHR agonists in the diet can increase the risk of UC. The AHR ligands in foods and their metabolites can regulate the homeostasis of intestinal epithelial and immune cells by modulating AHR signaling, thereby alleviating colonic inflammation. This article summarizes the role of AHR in regulating the key cells of the intestinal barrier in UC and proposes that AHR agonists have cell-specific effects. It outlines the common food sources and metabolic pathways of AHR ligands, as well as food components that can synergistically enhance AHR signaling and the underlying mechanisms. The paper also explains the reasons for the unstable effects of certain AHR ligands, providing a scientific basis for exploring diet-based intervention strategies for UC.

Walnut pellicle is a layer of film wrapped around the surface of the walnut kernel. The walnut pellicle is rich in tannin compounds, which can react with salivary proteins to produce a bitter and astringent taste, affecting the taste of walnuts. Consequently, the walnut pellicle is typically discarded as waste during food processing. The paper reviews the composition of polyphenolic compounds in the walnut pellicle, mainly including more than 110 kinds of phenolic compounds such as tannins, flavonoids, and phenolic acids; as well as the progress of research on the functional activities in various fields, including inflammation protection, hypolipidemic, antimicrobial, antitumor, and anti-aging, and other five aspects of bioactivity; and finally, elaborates on the interaction between the polyphenolic compounds of the walnut pellicle and walnut proteins, and the possibility that de-phenolization might reduce the structural properties of walnut proteins during processing.