In the face of rigid food supply constraints, intensifying resource and environmental pressures, and rising demands for nutritional health, there is an urgent need for a sustainable, health-oriented modern food system. This review synthesizes key innovation trends in future foods, focusing on three major directions: (ⅰ) exploration of novel food resources such as alternative proteins and functional carbohydrates offers diverse new pathways for food supply and nutritional enhancement; (ⅱ) cutting-edge production and processing technologies, including synthetic biology and micro/nanotechnology, are driving food production toward efficient resource utilization and functional controllability; and (ⅲ) the deepening of the precision nutrition concept facilitates the shift of future food design from standardization to personalization. By summarizing emerging resources, technologies, and concepts in the field of future foods, this review aims to provide scientific insights for the sustainable and healthy development of the global food industry.

Soluble dietary fiber (SDF) was extracted from Herba Lophatheri by enzymatic extraction, ball milling-assisted enzymatic extraction, alkaline-assisted enzymatic extraction, and ball milling combined with alkaline-assisted enzymatic extraction. The yield of SDF was determined, the four SDFs were characterized by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), nano-laser particle size analyzer, rheometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and their water-holding capacity, oil-holding capacity, and antioxidant activity were analyzed and compared. The results suggested that all SDFs had the typical structure of polysaccharides and the same crystal types as cellulose, but their monosaccharide composition and microstructure were different. SDF extracted by ball milling combined with alkaline-assisted enzymatic extraction had the highest yield ((30.03 ± 1.03)%) and water-holding capacity ((4.86 ± 0.1) g/g), high viscosity, and the lowest zeta potential ((-22.83 ± 1.95) mV). Besides, it had a loose porous structure, and potent 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical cation scavenging activity ((49.40 ± 0.93)%), indicating strong water-binding capacity, antioxidant activity, and gel-forming capacity.