Zhi Wang's research while affiliated with Northeast Agricultural University and other places

The potential of sodium alginate (SA) at different mass ratios to improve the emulsifying ability of soy protein isolate (SPI) in high internal phase Pickering emulsions (HIPPEs) was evaluated in this work. SPI-SA particles were used as a natural particle stabilizer of HIPPEs with 80 % oil phase. The properties of particles with varying SPI to SA ratios (10:0, 10:1, 10:3, 10:5, 10:10, and 10:15 w/w) were evaluated. HIPPEs with a 10:10 SPI to SA ratio exhibited the smallest droplet sizes. Both the storage modulus and loss modulus of the HIPPEs increased with increasing SA addition ratios, implying that HIPPEs with higher SA addition have stronger gel characteristics. In addition, super-resolution microscopy and cryogenic scanning electron microscopy indicated that SA addition strengthened the compactness of the interface film and increased the distribution uniformity of HIPPEs. In conclusion, the combination of SPI and SA is beneficial for improving the performance of HIPPEs.

This study evaluated the heterocyclic aromatic amine (HAA) content in chicken drumsticks smoked with different ratios of sucrose and green tea leaves (GT). The results revealed that water content was similar in all treatments (P > 0.05). The samples smoked with combined sucrose and GT showed significantly lower pH, L*-value, and b*-value than the control sample (smoked with sucrose only (P < 0.05), and color parameters L*-value and a*-value decreased and increased, respectively, as the proportion of GT increased (P < 0.05). Sensory evaluation results indicated that smoking with a high proportion of GT led to higher color and smoky scores than the other smoked samples (P < 0.05). The levels of IQx, 7,8-DiMeIQx, 4,8-DiMeIQx, PhIP, AαC, MeAαC in low GT sample were 2.99, 4.21, 1.69, 13.58, 1.93, 8.00 ng/g, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the other samples (P < 0.05). The levels of Harman and Norharman significantly increased from 5.76 ng/g to 18.88 ng/g and from 43.15 ng/g to 128.46 ng/g, respectively, with the increase in ratio of GT (P < 0.05). The contents of apolar HAAs and total HAAs significantly increased from 59.81 ng/g to 150.12 ng/g and from 84.96 ng/g to 160.71 ng/g, respectively, as the proportion of GT increased. Overall, the chicken drumsticks smoked with combined sucrose and GT have an improved sensory profile but increased HAA content. Therefore, a low ratio of GT to sucrose may be more appropriate for smoked chicken.

The effects of l-glycine (Gly) and l-glutamic acid (Glu) on oxidative damage induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in Pediococcus pentosaceus R1 were investigated. Gly and Glu significantly reduce the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species and the levels of malondialdehyde and carbonylated proteins and concomitantly increase ATP levels in P. pentosaceus R1 under H2O2-induced stress (P < 0.05). Transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy of bacteria under H2O2-induced stress revealed that Gly and Glu suppress bacterial membrane deformation and cell damage. Gly exhibited stronger ferrous ion-chelating ability, whereas Glu has higher radical scavenging activities and reducing power (P < 0.05). The abilities of Gly and Glu to inhibit lipid peroxidation are comparable. Gly and Glu significantly enhance the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, respectively, and increase the total antioxidant capacity of bacteria (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that Gly and Glu alleviate H2O2-induced oxidative stress via direct antioxidant effects and increase the activities of bacterial antioxidant enzyme.

This study was aimed at evaluating the potential of high-intensity ultrasound (HIU, 450 W for 10 min) combined with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) having various concentrations (0, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 μmol/g protein) to inhibit the thermal aggregation behavior of myofibrillar proteins (MPs) in water. The results indicated that the addition of H2O2 interfered with the intermolecular sulfhydryl-disulfide interchange and inhibited the disulfide bond cross-linking. The H2O2-mediated conversion of cysteine to thiol derivatives appeared to be the primary mechanism of this effect. The HIU combined with H2O2, especially at the H2O2 concentration of 200 μmol/g, corresponded to a more significant inhibitory effect than that of only H2O2, which attributed to the dissociation of the filamentous myosin structure that led to an enhanced accessibility of the buried sulfhydryl groups. In conclusion, these findings provide direct evidence for the role of HIU combined with H2O2 in improving the thermal stability of MPs.