Xingran Kou

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Shanghai Institute of Technology

In the process of ginger deep processing, a lot of waste is generated which is rich in biopolymers and active ingredients such as cellulose, starch, gingerol, and gingerol, but its low utilization rate leads to waste of resources. In this study, ginger waste residue, cellulose, and bioactive substances were spun into fiber materials by wet electros...

We previously found that host–guest interactions can drive gingerols (Gs) and cyclodextrins (CDs) together to form inclusion complexes (G/CD), which can further construct amphiphilic microcrystals and resultant Pickering emulsions through self-assembly. In this follow-up study, we explored the detailed formation processes and mechanisms of the 6-G/...

Food aroma molecules have the potential to influence people's emotions through the olfactory pathway and are anticipated to emerge as a new method for regulating emotional states, owing to their simplicity and high acceptance. Current research on food aroma predominantly centres on the physicochemical properties and formation mechanisms of aroma co...

Table of Contents, Issue 4, Volume 12, Journal of Renewable Materials

Sleep disorders are widespread. Inhaled aromatherapy has shown advantages over medication in treating insomnia. Daylily ( Hemerocallis fulva ) has been found to positively affect sleep either by ingestion or inhalation, but there is a lack of research on the sleep aid effect of its inhalation route. At present, the floral scent characteristics of d...

The daylily (Hemerocallis citrina Baroni) flower is a traditional raw food material that is rich in a variety of nutrients. In particular, the content of polysaccharides in daylily is abundant and has been widely used as a functional component in food, cosmetics, medicine, and other industries. However, studies on the structure-effective relationsh...

Citrus Pu-erh tea is a post-fermented tea that has both the flavor of citrus peel and the bioactive substances in tea, which may have many potential health activities. To investigate the effect of the intake citrus-Pu-erh tea before, with, and after meals on lipid digestion, the in vitro simulated digestion experiments in this study were conducted...

Previous lipase inhibitors studies mainly focus on the binding between inhibitors and lipase, ignoring the impact of inhibitors on the oil-water interface of lipid droplets. This study aimed to investigate the effect of nobiletin (NBT) from Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium on the oil-water interface properties and lipid digestion. Here, we found that...

Electrospinning is one of the most promising techniques for producing biopolymer nanofibers for various applications. Proteins and polysaccharides, among other biopolymers, are attractive substrates for electrospinning due to their favorable biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, there are still challenges to improve the mechanical propert...

Creaming could be generated during storage of the starch-based Pickering emulsions. And cellulose nanocrystals in the solution are usually dispersed by relatively strong mechanical force, otherwise they may appear in the form of aggregates. In this work, we investigated the effects of cellulose nanocrystals on the stability of the starch-based Pick...

Flavor molecules are commonly used in the food industry to enhance product quality and consumer experiences but are associated with potential human health risks, highlighting the need for safer alternatives. To address these health-associated challenges and promote reasonable application, several databases for flavor molecules have been constructed...

β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) can combine with oil and other guest molecules to form amphiphilic inclusion complexes (ICs), which can be adsorbed on the oil–water interface to reduce the interfacial tension and stabilize Pickering emulsions. However, the subtle change of β-CD in the process of emulsion preparation is easily ignored. In this study, β-CD and...

The Internet contains a wealth of public opinion on food safety, including views on food adulteration, food-borne diseases, agricultural pollution, irregular food distribution, and food production issues. To systematically collect and analyze public opinion on food safety in Greater China, we developed IFoodCloud, which automatically collects data...

Fragrance finishing of textiles is receiving substantial interest, with aromatherapy being one of the most popular aspects of personal health care. However, the longevity of aroma on textiles and presence after subsequent launderings are major concerns for aromatic textiles directly loaded with essential oils. These drawbacks can be weakened by inc...

Agglomeration is an undesirable phenomenon that often occurs in spray-dried microcapsules powder. The objective of this work is to determine the best solution for spray-dried hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) microcapsules from four anticaking agents, namely calcium stearate (CaSt), magnesium stearate (MgSt), silicon dioxide (SiO2), and mannit...

Eugenol has been used in dietary interventions for metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. However, the protective effect of eugenol on muscle function in diabetes is unclear. In this study, a high-fat diet (HFD) with a streptozocin (STZ) injection induced type II diabetes mellitus in a mouse model. Oral eugenol lowered blood glucose and i...

Many hydrophilic edible coating materials with antioxidant and antibacterial activities usually have weak adhesion on waxy hydrophobic surfaces of fruits and vegetables, seriously restricting the application of edible coating in food preservation. In this work, Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) was grafted with pectin by free radical mediated reactio...

In recent years, polymer gels have been been increasingly applied in food science and biomedicine fields. Proteins are nontoxic, biodegradable, and biocompatible; thus, they have become popular materials for building natural gel networks. Zein, a membrane-forming protein from maize, has been used to construct gel networks. Indeed, due to its unique...

Metal–phenolic networks (MPNs), which are formed by phenolic molecules and metal ions via coordination bonds, are emerging as highly templated functional metal–organic materials. These networks are mostly used in the form of particles for short-term in vivo drug delivery; however, there is a lack of research on durable and stable MPN hollow particl...

Microencapsulation can improve the thermal stability of a fragrance, and composite wall materials are one way to further improve the thermal stability of microcapsules. This paper presents a facile approach for cotton fabric coatings by using cellulose/silica hybrid microcapsules. Lavender fragrance oil-loaded cellulose/silica hybrid microcapsules...

This work is devoted to the preparation of self‐adhesive microcapsules and their mechanism of mutual sway with cotton fabrics. Chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) microcapsules were prepared by ionic gelation method and encapsulated with functional substances (lavender oils) to obtain microcapsules with multiple properties (aromatic). The textile auxili...

Aromatic leather products can cover the peculiar smell of traditional leather products. Microencapsulation is the main way of leather perfuming, but the interaction between microencapsulated fragrance and leather is lacking. This study mainly discussed the preparation of a silicon-based fragrance nanocapsules and their interaction with leather. (3-...

Adhesives are effective bridging substances with huge application and market demand. Their application areas are gradually expanding from the traditional wood and construction industries to light chemical engineering as well as medicine and textile industries. This review discusses the composition, bonding mechanisms, synthesis methods and applicat...

Disposable hygiene products have evolved into the important parts for millions of people around the world, enhancing the convenience of daily lives. However, development of the disposable hygiene products is restricted by unsustainable production technology, complicated operation process, and poor liquid absorption performance of the absorbent core...

In the work, a novel filamentou sodium alginate (SA) /ε-polylysine (PL) fiber with excellent mechanical properties and controllable sizes is prepared in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner via continuous pulling of an electrostatically assembled SA/PL composites at the contact interface of aqueous solutions of cationic polyelectrolyte...

The adsorption of particles on cotton affects its performance. Investigating the factors that affect particle adsorption on cotton can provide valuable insights into the adsorption process. By characterizing morphology, composition, structure, surface energy, and specific surface area, this study explores the adsorption of poly (butyl methacrylate)...

5-Demethylnobiletin (5-DMN), identified in the aged citrus peels, has received increasing attentions due to its outstanding bioactivity among citrus polymethoxyflavones (PMFs). However, the poor water solubility and high crystallinity limit its oral bioavailability. Besides, the solubility of 5-DMN in the oil is very limited, which restricts its lo...

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are edible and biocompatible natural cyclic compounds that can encapsulate essential oils, flavours, volatile aroma compounds, and other substances. Complexation with CD-based materials improves the solubility and stability of volatile compounds and protects the bioactivity of the core materials. Therefore, the development of CD...

As film-forming agents, fillers and adsorbents, microplastics are often added to daily personal care products. Because of their chemical stability, they remain in the environment for thousands of years, endangering the safety of the environment and human health. Therefore, it is urgent to find an environmentally friendly substitute for microplastic...

Essential oil products are often volatile, and their aromas cannot be effectively preserved over long periods of time. In this study, nanocellulose crystals were modified, and an amphiphilic copolymer was prepared by ring-opening polymerisation to produce wall materials. A nanocellulose crystal-grafted polylactic acid copolymer was successfully syn...

Double-encapsulated microcapsules (DEMs) were prepared and effectively adsorbed onto the cotton fabric surfaces during impregnation without crosslinking agents to obtain functional cotton fabrics. Specifically, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) showed two different molecules (lavender essen...

The Internet contains a wealth of public opinion on food safety, including views on food adulteration, food-borne diseases, agricultural pollution, irregular food distribution, and food production issues. In order to systematically collect and analyse public opinion on food safety, we developed IFoodCloud, a platform for the real-time sentiment ana...

Proanthocyanidin has attracted increasing attention in recent years due to its antibacterial and antifungal properties and other health benefits. In this study, we successfully generated a novel delivery system, hollow proanthocyanidin cube cages, for cargo molecule encapsulation. First, ZIF-8 particles were prepared and etched with proanthocyanidi...

This study aimed to reveal the interaction and inhibitory mechanisms of tangeretin (TAN), nobiletin (NBT), and their acidic hydroxylated forms, 5-demethyltangeretin (5-DT) and 5-demethylnobiletin (5-DN) on porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) using spectroscopic techniques and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. PPL inhibition assay showed that the inhi...

In this work, poly‐ (methyl methacrylate) microparticles were effectively adsorbed onto the paper cellulose fiber surfaces during impregnation without crosslinking agents. The adsorption behavior and mechanism of microparticles onto paper cellulose fibers were further examined by physical and chemical property characterization in combination with a...

In this study, the optimum preparation conditions for apple fragrance (AF)/β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) inclusion complex were determined by single-factor experiments with encapsulation efficiency (EE%) and loading capacity (LC%) as indicators. The results of particle size analysis indicated that the average diameter of the inclusion complex was 3.6 µm. D...

Compared to traditional emulsions, nanoemulsions offer tiny droplets which are of importance in various scenarios. However, the nanoscaled system is inherently difficult to prepare due to its high curvature and huge surface energy. In this study, robust Pickering nanoemulsions system with high loading capacity (up to 44.67%) was prepared using edib...

Microparticles encapsulated with orange essential oil were prepared by improved emulsifying solvent volatilization technology, and modified with chitosan to improve their loading and adhesion properties on paper. Characterization was performed by Zetasizer Nano ZS instrument, transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM...

Tangeretin (TAN) is a biologically functional polymethoxylated flavonoid, extracted from the Citrus Peel (Chenpi). Although 5-demethyltangeretin (5-DT) generated through hydrolysis using a TAN precursor has superior biological function to TAN, its traditional preparation methods are difficult due to environmental hazard and low efficiency processes...

Octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA)-modified starch and maltodextrins (MDs) are important carbohydrate polymers as wall materials. However, few studies have shown whether these two wall materials affect the composition of core materials. In this work, we investigated the effects of OSA-modified starch and MD on the release property of essential oils....

Encapsulation of flavors with cyclodextrins can improve their stabilities, sustained release properties, and shelf-lives. However, few studies have attempted to ascertain whether the aroma composition of the encapsulated flavor changes during preparation and release processes. This study investigated the inclusion and release behavior of a sustaine...

Simultaneous ultrasonic/microwave assisted hydrodistillation extraction (UMHE) was first employed to extract essential oil. Meanwhile, the effects of UMHE, hydrodistillation extraction (HE), microwave assisted hydrodistillation extraction (MHE) and solvent extraction (SE) on the yield, chemical composition, antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of...

Ginger is a commonly used spice around the world. Its bioactive compounds contain hydrophobic gingerols and hydrophilic polysaccharides. Huge physiochemical differences between these compounds and the thermal instability of gingerols impede fast and effective extraction of them using conventional methods. In this research, ionic liquid-based ultras...

As one of the main bioactive compounds of dried ginger, 6-shogaol has been widely used to alleviate many ailments. It is also the major pungent flavor component and its precursor prior to dehydration is 6-gingerol, which is reported to be responsible for the pungent flavor and biological activities of fresh ginger. Structurally, gingerols including...

There is a growing interest in screening α-amylase inhibitors from natural products for application in the development of new anti-diabetic drugs or functional foods. In this study, an UPLC-DAD-TOF-MS/MS-based metabolomic method for rapid screening α-amylase inhibitors from Rhodiola rosea was described. First, Rhodiola rosea preparation (ligand) re...

In this work, the nanoemulsion of essential oil from Citrus medica L. var. sarcodactylis was prepared using a spontaneous emulsification method. Meanwhile, the effect of nanoemulsification on the antioxidant, antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of essential oil was evaluated. GC–MS analysis indicated nineteen compounds in the essential oil, and...

Polyphenols have close relations with human health, however, their bioactivity in vivo is influenced and limited by bioavailability. In this review, factors affecting polyphenols oral bioavailability and enhancement strategies were combed by focusing on their absorption metabolism, and elimination processes in vivo. Based on the above progress, the...

First, the antibacterial, antibiofilm effect and chemical composition of burdock (Arctium lappa L.) leaf fractions were studied. Then, the efficiency of burdock leaf fractions in pork preservation was evaluated. The results showed that burdock leaf fraction significantly inhibited the growth and biofilm development of Escherichia coli and Salmonell...

6-Gingerol and 6-shogaol are the main bioactive compounds in ginger. Although 6-shogaol has more and better bioactivities than its precursor 6-gingerol, the low content of 6-shogaol in ginger restricts its bioactive effects in functional foods. The traditional preparation methods of 6-shogaol are defective because of the environmental hazards and l...