Food-related nanoparticles (FNPs) are nanoparticles closely associated with the food industry and human health. Once entering biological environments, they spontaneously adsorb proteins to form a protein corona (PC). PC has double-edged sword functions. On the one hand, the formation of PC confers various properties on FNPs or enhance their properties. PC endows FNPs with detection capabilities, significantly improving the sensitivity and reliability compared with FNPs alone. As carriers for nutrient delivery, PC offers unique advantages. Additionally, it imparts FNPs with distinctive antibacterial properties. FNPs can form a corona with digestive enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract, which allows sustained release of active substances, improves the digestibility of hard-to-digest proteins, and enhance the enzymatic resistance of starch-based matrices. On the other hand, the formation of PC may also cause adverse effects. It may increase the cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, and immune response of FNPs, and, in some cases, affect the delivery efficiency of FNPs as delivery carriers. Therefore, anti-protein adsorption strategies for FNPs are necessary. This review summarizes the formation and influencing factors of PC, elaborates on the applications of PC in the food field, as well as the strategies for inhibiting PC formation, with the aim of promoting the application of PC and FNPs in food.

To improve the loading rate and stability of ferulic acid, ferulic acid-loaded hydrogel based on amyloid fibrils, formed by heat treatment of hen egg white lysozyme under acidic conditions, was prepared by self assembly. The effects of amyloid fibril concentration, polyphenol addition, and pH on the loading rate of ferulic acid were investigated to optimize the hydrogel preparation conditions. The structural changes of the protein and the microstructure and gel properties of the hydrogel were explored by infrared (IR) spectroscopy, endogenous fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and rheometry, and the effects of polyphenol addition on the structure and properties of the hydrogel were evaluated. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) was used to test the stability of ferulic acid loaded in the hydrogel under thermal and light conditions. A simulated digestion system was established to investigate the in vitro slow release profile of ferulic acid from the hydrogel network. The results indicated that the optimum preparation conditions that provided maximum ferulic acid loading of 6.99% were determined as 70 g/L, 0.6% and pH 5 for concentration of amylose fibril, addition of ferulic acid and pH, respectively. Moreover, the hydrogel could effectively reduce the degradation of ferulic acid under different thermal and light conditions. Compared with lysozyme, the proportion of α-helix and β-sheet in the amyloid fibril increased and the tertiary structure formed an aggregation precursor state, which was more favorable for binding to polyphenols to form structurally stable hydrogels. The amyloid fibril-based hydrogel loaded with 0.6% ferulic acid had the gelation performance, tightest intermolecular structure, highest storage modulus (1655.5 Pa), and lowest swelling rate (160%), and best slow-release performance in vitro.

To investigate the inhibitory effect of hydrocolloids on the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), four chemical models, bovine serum albumin (BSA)-fructose (Fru), BSA-glucose (Glu), BSA-methylglyoxal (MGO), and BSA-glyoxal (GO), were used to evaluate anti-glycation capacity of nine hydrocolloids. Alginic acid (ALA) and xanthan gum (XG) were selected as the best inhibitors to investigate the effects of hydrocolloid addition (0.25%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0%) as well as baking temperature and time on the quality properties, AGEs formation and protein oxidation products in sponge cakes. Under the optimum baking conditions (180 ℃/40 min), the addition of 0.5% ALA or 2.0% XG significantly reduced the formation of fluorescent AGEs, non-fluorescent AGEs and protein oxidation products. At the same time, ALA and XG improved the texture and increased the moisture contents of the cakes. ALA and XG are promising natural AGEs inhibitors to reduce AGEs generation in bakery products.

The intake of dietary advanced glycation end products (AGEs) is closely related to a variety of chronic diseases, especially diabetes and kidney disease. In this study, 13 amino acids were screened for their inhibitory activity on AGEs, revealing that tryptophan (Trp) was selected to evaluate its mechanism of action against the formation of AGEs in bovine serum albumin (BSA)-fructose, BSA-methylglyoxal (MGO), BSA-glyoxal (GO) and arginine (Arg)-MGO models. The inhibitory effect of Trp on fluorescent AGEs was concentration dependent. In BSA-MGO model, the inhibitory effect of Trp on the formation of AGEs was the best, followed by BSA-GO and Arg-MGO models, and Trp had little effect on BSA-fructose mode. The inhibition of different concentrations of Trp on N^ε-carboxymethyl lysine (CML) and N^ε-carboxyethyl lysine (CEL) showed a bell-shaped curve with the highest inhibition efficiency being observed at 1000 μg/mL concentration. Moreover, it was found that Trp could capture MGO by aromatic electron affinity substitution and the Pictet Spengler reaction, with a maximum trapping capacity of 3 molars.

In this study, β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) nanoparticles loaded with three polyphenols were prepared by emulsification-evaporation method. Ferulic acid, quercetin and vanillic acid were combined with heat-treated β-LG to form a three-ligand complex, and then the emulsification-evaporation method was used to reduce the particle size of the complex. The structure and morphology were investigated by dynamic light scattering, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The polyphenol loading efficiency and stability were studied by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). The results showed that the particle size of the β-lactoglobulin-polyphenol complex was reduced from the submicron level (100–200 nm) to the nanometer level (< 100 nm) by the emulsification-evaporation method. Fluorescence, infrared and CD spectra showed that the addition of polyphenols changed the microenvironment and secondary structure of β-LG. TEM images showed that the composite was approximately elliptical in shape and evenly distributed. The loading efficiencies of ferulic acid, quercetin and vanillic acid in the composite nanoparticles were 86.78%, 75.00% and 86.40%, respectively, which were 60.11%, 37.09% and 68.93% higher than those in the three-ligand complex, respectively and the former had better stability.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of treatment with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma followed by complexation with resveratrol on the physicochemical properties and digestibility of green banana starch. The results showed that DBD plasma treatment improved the complexation between banana starch and resveratrol. Compared with unmodified banana starch, the solubility, retrogradation properties, oil-holding capacity, gelatinization temperature (the onset gelatinization temperature (T_o), peak gelatinization temperature (T_p) and conclusion gelatinization temperature (T_c) increased from 64.10, 71.14 and 73.92 ℃ to 70.18, 75.79 and 82.53 ℃, respectively) and digestibility of the complex were significantly improved, while the swelling power and freeze-thaw stability were reduced. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that DBD plasma treatment produced more starch fragments and etched the starch surface. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that resveratrol combined with banana starch through CH-π bond, which made the structure of the complex more compact and orderly, forming a non V-type inclusion complex with high crystallinity. Therefore, plasma treatment and then complexation with polyphenols can improve the processing properties of banana starch, which will contribute to the development of new health foods.

In recent years, the interactions of various food components have often been used to improve the functional properties of food systems. Proteins, polyphenols, and starches are widespread and play crucial roles in food systems. Their ternary systems are usually accompanied by complex reactions. The interactions of these components can endow foods with excellent properties and produce functional effects. Understanding the interaction mechanism of proteins, polyphenols and starches is of great significance to the development and application of their ternary systems in foods. Their interactions play a positive role in the development and modification of resistant starch, the development of emulsion-based delivery systems and the preparation of nanoparticle complexes. This paper discusses and summarizes the interactions between proteins, polyphenols, and starches in food systems and their effect on the functional properties of these components, which may provide theoretical guidance for the application of protein-polyphenol-starch ternary food systems.

The effects of different temperature-time regimes of enzymatic retrogradation on the particle size, microscopic morphology, crystal structure, functional groups and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG)-loading capacity of debranched starch nanoparticles (DBS-NPs) prepared with green banana starch were investigated. Meanwhile, the stability, antioxidant properties and in vitro release behavior of EGCG@DBS-NPs were investigated. It was shown that compared with green banana starch, the particle size of DBS-NPs decreased from (23.4 ± 7.3) μm to (208.5 ± 2.7) nm, and the crystal structure changed from type C to C→B or C→A. Besides, the relative crystallinity and the hydrogen bonding force between molecular chains were enhanced. EGCG showed the highest loading capacity (4.34%) and encapsulation efficiency (86.89%) in DBS-NP50-12, and their combination exhibited synergistic antioxidant activity. EGCG@DBS-NP50-12 was found to be more stable in a near neutral environment than in an acidic environment, and significantl more stable than free EGCG during storage. EGCG@DBS-NP50-12 exhibited excellent slow release behavior in vitro, which was fitted to a first-order kinetic equation. This study provides a reference for the preparation and application of starch nanoparticles, which has potential value in the construction of starch-based bioactive carriers.

In this study, a passion fruit seed oil Pickering emulsion stabilized by β-lactoglobulin nanoparticles loaded with a ternary mixture of ferulic acid, quercetin and vanillic acid (β-LGCNPs) was prepared by an ultrasonic method. The particle size, stability, and microstructure, and antioxidant, digestibility, rheological properties and lipid oxidation products of Pickering emulsions prepared under varying conditions of nanoparticle concentration and oil phase ratio were investigated. The results showed that the Pickering emulsion was a stable oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion with β-LGCNPs adsorbed at the oil-water interface. The particle size of the emulsion was directly proportional to the particle concentration and inversely proportional to the oil phase ratio. The average particle size of the Pickering emulsion prepared at β-LGCNP concentration of 1.5% and 30% oil phase was (5.78 ± 0.10) μm. The emulsion had good stability under different ionic strength and pH conditions, showing stronger antioxidant properties than passion fruit seed oil. The free radical scavenging capacity was dependent on β-LGCNP concentration. After intestinal digestion for 2 h, the release rate of free fatty acids from the Pickering emulsion was (65.17 ± 1.52)%, which was 26.65% higher than that from passion fruit seed oil. The rheological results showed a shear-thinning phenomenon, indicating that the emulsion is a non-Newtonian fluid, and the elastic and viscous moduli increased with the increase in shear frequency. During 15 days of storage, the amount of lipid oxidation products including hydroperoxide and malondialdehyde (MDA), and the rate of lipid oxidation in the Pickering emulsion decreased. In summary, the Pickering emulsion stabilized with β-LGCNPs improved the stability, antioxidant activity, digestibility and lipid oxidation of passion fruit seed oil, which is conducive to expanding the application of passion fruit seed oil in the food field.