Physical Processing of Aquatic Gel Foods: From Protein Structure Regulation to Health, Sustainability, and Personalized Design.

Dual-Protein Systems in Foods: Structure-Function Relationships, Nutritional Impacts, and Applications.

Growing demand for sustainable, nutritious, and high-quality protein foods has highlighted limitations of single-source proteins and promoted interest in dual-protein systems (DPS). DPS are edible protein matrices intentionally formed from two distinct primary protein components, derived from different biological sources or complementary protein fractions, and processed within a shared physicochemical environment. This review integrates their definition, fabrication strategies, interaction mechanisms, functional properties, nutritional implications, and food applications. Protein-protein interactions, including electrostatic, hydrophobic, hydrogen-bonding, and disulfide-mediated interactions, regulate unfolding, aggregation, interfacial adsorption, and network formation. Processing methods such as blending, co-precipitation, ultrasound, microwave treatment, pH shifting, fermentation, germination, and enzymatic cross-linking further modify structure and functionality. These changes affect solubility, emulsification, foaming, gelation, rheology, digestibility, and storage stability. Nutritionally, DPS may improve amino acid complementarity, digestion behavior, and bioactive peptide release, but their benefits depend on protein source, ratio, processing conditions, and matrix. Applications in meat and seafood analogues, dairy-like systems, bakery products, beverages, and structured foods show potential for quality and sustainability improvement. However, sensory defects, allergenicity, limited digestibility evidence, and insufficient consumer studies remain challenges. This review provides a framework for designing stable, nutritious, sustainable, and acceptable dual-protein foods.

Multiscale structural modulation of plant proteins via ultrasound and electro-physical processing: from extraction to functional food matrices

The transition toward sustainable food systems has increased interest in plant proteins as alternatives to animal-derived proteins due to their lower environmental impact, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and resource demand. However, their broader application is constrained by structural characteristics that limit solubility, interfacial behaviour, digestibility, and sensory performance. Many plant proteins exhibit compact globular structures stabilized by strong intermolecular interactions, restricting their functionality in complex food systems. These structural constraints operate across a hierarchy of scales, from the molecular conformation of secondary and tertiary structures to the micro- and macro-structural organisation of protein aggregates, interfacial films, and gel networks, and it is this multiscale organisation that ultimately governs functional performance in complex food matrices. Non-thermal processing technologies, namely, ultrasound, pulsed electric fields (PEF), and cold plasma, together with the electro-thermal technique of ohmic heating, offer promising approaches for modifying protein structure without causing extensive thermal damage. These methods can induce partial unfolding, alter aggregation behaviour, and enhance the exposure of functional groups, thereby improving solubility, emulsification, and gelation properties. This review adopts an explicit multiscale framework to link molecular-level conformational changes to microstructural aggregation and macroscopic structure–property relationships. It summarizes the mechanisms, functional impacts, and industrial relevance of these technologies in plant protein processing. Building on this analysis, the review evaluates the principal technical bottlenecks, the economic and industrial scalability, and the priority directions for future research on non-thermal and electro-thermal processing of plant proteins.

Molecular Architecture and Predictive Performance of Polysaccharide Hydrocolloids in Sustainable Food Processing

Polysaccharide hydrocolloids are fundamental to modern food design because their molecular architecture dictates techno‐functional performance. This review synthesizes current knowledge on sources, structural features and functional roles, establishing clear links between monomer identity, substitution patterns (degree of esterification, sulfation, acetylation), molar‐mass distributions and hydration, rheology, gelation and interfacial behavior. Integrated characterization using SEC‐MALS, HPAEC‐PAD, 1D/2D NMR, scattering, rheology, tribology and interfacial measurements enables predictive performance specifications. Application spaces include beverages, cultured matrices, gel confectionery, emulsions, encapsulation and edible films. Performance is interpreted stepwise: viscosity facilitates product transport and stability during processing and storage, while gut fermentation of non‐digestible fractions produces short‐chain fatty acids with health implications. Stability and packaging are evaluated using accelerated protocols, acceptance criteria and barrier targets. Sustainability is assessed using life cycle metrics (ISO 14040/14044) and circular feedstocks from intensified extraction routes. Key industrial translation issues include mixing, heat transfer, fouling, membrane filtration, spray drying and biorefinery integration within techno‐economic reality. Cross‐cutting challenges encompass raw material variability, uneven reporting of analytical data, scale‐up limitations of intensified processes, interaction complexity in multicomponent food products and long‐term safety considerations for some modified polymers. Practical recommendations focus on performance‐based specifications, harmonized analytics, shelf‐life model integration with packaging, solvent loop closure verification for green processes and dataset standardization with sharing to enable predictive formulation and credible sustainability claims.

Methodological approaches to assess protein digestibility with an emphasis on plant-derived foods.

Pectin-Protein Complexes: A Design-Oriented Platform for Tailoring Food Texture Modification.

Pectin-protein complexes have emerged as promising functional ingredients in texture-modified foods (TMF) due to their multifunctional roles in gelation, emulsification, and water retention. These properties enable the design of customized textures for applications such as dysphagia-friendly products, plant-based meat analogs, and 3D food printing. However, their broader utilization remains limited by an incomplete understanding of formation mechanisms, regulatory factors, and challenges related to stability and industrial scalability. This review summarizes the formation mechanisms of pectin-protein complexes, including phase behavior, preparation approaches, interaction forces, and key factors influencing texture development. Their functional properties and applications in five representative areas (dysphagia-oriented foods, 3D printing structures, encapsulation systems, plant-based analogs, and fat replacers) are discussed. Recent advances highlighting structure-function relationships between molecular interactions and macroscopic textural properties are critically evaluated, along with the translational gap between fundamental research and scalable production. The formation of pectin-protein complexes is mainly governed by intermolecular forces such as electrostatic interactions, hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bonding, and covalent cross-linking. These interactions can be regulated by adjusting pH, ionic strength, temperature, enzymatic treatment, and processing conditions, thereby controlling supramolecular structure, stability, and sensory attributes. Although pectin-protein complexes offer significant potential for texture engineering, industrial application is hindered by raw material variability, limited processing control, and economic considerations. Future research should focus on clarifying molecular mechanisms, establishing selection criteria for pectin, and developing sustainable extraction strategies to facilitate large-scale implementation.

Pigmented cereals as functional food systems: Linking phytochemistry, processing, and health.

This review combines the chemistry, processing and health-related aspects of anthocyanins in a single structure-processing function paradigm, limited to wheat, rice and maize, and evaluates the in vitro to human evidence in a logical framework. These compounds exhibit cereal-specific structural signatures: cyanidin-3-glucoside predominates across cereals like wheat, while maize displays the most complex glycosylation and acylation patterns. Preclinical and limited human evidence link pigmented cereal consumption to improved glycemic modulation (via inhibition of carbohydrate-digesting enzymes), enhanced insulin sensitivity, attenuation of NF-κB-mediated inflammation, and activation of Nrf2 antioxidant pathways; neuroprotective associations are so far supported almost exclusively by cell and animal models. However, the inherent instability of anthocyanins during milling, thermal processing, and cooking substantially compromises bioactivity. Emerging strategies, including encapsulation, superheated steam treatment, and fermentation, offer promising routes to enhance pigment stability and bioaccessibility. Addressing critical gaps in methodological standardization, human intervention studies, and microbiome-mediated metabolism is essential to advance pigmented cereals as functional food ingredients. Future research should prioritize integrated multi-omics approaches and personalized nutrition strategies to fully elucidate the health potential of these cereals across diverse populations.