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

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

This review synthesizes recent advances in physical processing of aquatic gel systems from a process-structure-function perspective, comparing the mechanisms, benefits, and limitations of major technologies.

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

Plant Protein–Polyphenol Interactions in Functional Food Systems: Processing Stability, Digestive Fate, and Antioxidant Performance in Food Matrices

Wheat germ protein in functional foods: structure, processing, applications, and mechanistic insights.

As a sustainable plant protein resource, wheat germ protein (WGP) has attracted increasing attention because of its high digestibility, balanced essential amino acid profile, and broad potential in functional food development. However, its industrial application remains limited by processing bottlenecks and an incomplete understanding of its structure-function relationships and molecular mechanisms of action. This review systematically summarizes the structural characteristics, digestion behavior, and functional properties of WGP, and further evaluates its incorporation into diverse food matrices, particularly bakery products, meat analogues, and other functional formulations. In addition, current evidence on the physiological activities of WGP and its derived bioactive peptides is critically examined, with emphasis on antioxidant, antihypertensive, immunomodulatory, neuroprotective, and metabolic regulatory effects, together with the signaling pathways involved. Available studies indicate that WGP-derived peptides exert health-promoting effects not only through activation of key pathways such as Nrf2 and AMPK, but also through modulation of systemic homeostasis via the gut-brain and gut-liver axes. Overall, this review highlights the need to move beyond conventional nutritional fortification toward a mechanism-oriented design strategy, and provides a theoretical basis for the development of next-generation functional foods and specialized medical nutrition products based on WGP.

Protein-Based Probiotic Delivery Systems: Structural Basis, Functional Roles, and Food Applications.

Probiotics have considerable potential in regulating gut microbiota, improving metabolic health, and enhancing host immunity. However, during food processing, storage, and gastrointestinal digestion, they are susceptible to stresses including heat, acidity, oxygen exposure, moisture changes, and digestive fluids, leading to reduced viable cell counts and impaired functionality. Developing delivery systems that integrate protective capacity, processing adaptability, and food compatibility is, therefore, an important direction for advancing probiotic applications in foods. Food proteins possess favorable nutritional properties, biocompatibility, and structural design flexibility. They can undergo self-assembly driven by non-covalent interactions and further co-assemble with second components such as polysaccharides and polyphenols, thereby forming diverse delivery materials. Starting from protein assembly behavior, this review summarizes representative formation pathways of protein-based probiotic delivery materials and clarifies how different pathways lead to delivery structures, such as nanoparticles, nanogels, hydrogels, nanofibrils, microcapsule shells, nanocoatings, and nanofibers. On this basis, the three major functional roles of protein materials in probiotic delivery systems are summarized, namely, encapsulation, scaffold construction, and interfacial regulation. Their adaptability to different food matrices in food applications and the safety issues requiring attention are further discussed. This review aims to clarify the structural evolution of protein-based probiotic delivery systems from the origin of material formation, providing a reference for their structure-guided design, processing-pathway optimization, and expanded food applications.

Beyond Polysaccharides: Multifunctional Roles of Plant-Derived Conjugates in Sensory Enhancement and Food Quality Improvement.

In plant-based foods, polysaccharides rarely exist in isolation. During plant growth, processing, and storage, they can bind to or associate with proteins, polyphenols, lipids, metal ions, and small molecules via covalent or non-covalent interactions, forming plant-derived polysaccharide conjugates (PPCs). These conjugates play important roles in determining food structure, sensory attributes, and nutritional functionality. Although many studies have focused on purified polysaccharides or model biopolymer systems, naturally occurring PPCs in plant-based foods and their multifunctional roles remain insufficiently explored. This review discusses PPCs formed within plant tissues or generated during food processing, summarizing their major types, structural features, and formation pathways, and highlighting how conjugation modulates conformation, charge distribution, hydration, and self-assembly. Particular attention is given to their roles in regulating color stability, aroma generation and retention, taste perception (including bitterness masking and astringency reduction), and texture formation in foods such as wines, yogurts, low-fat creams, plant-based meat analogs, and active packaging films. In addition, their contributions to oxidative stability, gut microbiota modulation, glycemic response, and antitumor potential are discussed from a food science perspective. Finally, current analytical challenges, regulatory considerations, and technological limitations that hinder scale-up and industrial application are critically evaluated. By linking PPC structure with effects on taste, nutrition, and processing behavior, this review highlights their potential for developing foods that are healthier, more stable, and more palatable.