Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) emerge as innovative 21st-century solvents, supplanting traditional ones like ethanol and n-hexane. Renowned for their non-toxic, biodegradable, and water-miscible nature with reduced volatility, DESs are mostly synthesized through heating and stirring method. Physicochemical properties such as polarity, viscosity, density and surface tension of DESs influenced their application. This review paper gives the overview of application of eco-benign DESs in fruits, vegetables, cereals, pulses, spices, herbs, plantation crops, oil seed crops, medicinal and aromatic plants, seaweed, and milk for the extraction of bioactive compounds. Also, it gives insight of determination of pesticides, insecticides, hazardous and toxic compounds, removal of heavy metals, detection of illegal milk additive, purification of antibiotics and preparation of packaging film. Methodologies for separating bioactive compounds from DESs extracts are systematically examined. Further, safety regulations of DESs are briefly discussed and reviewed literature reveals prevalent utilization of DES-based bioactive compound rich extracts in cosmetics, indicating untapped potential of their application in the food industry.

Smoothies are claimed to be an effective way of promoting fruit and vegetable consumption. They are a rich source of bioactive compounds and provide numerous health benefits. Strawberries and apples are among the most popular smoothie ingredients. Additionally, chokeberry presents antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. Another interesting fruit with a wide range of health benefits is the honeysuckle berry. In this study, a dry extract from the mentioned fruit was combined to produce a smoothie enriched in bioactive compounds of unique health-promoting properties. The smoothies were rich in anthocyanins, flavonols, phenolic acids, flavan-3-ols and iridoids. Smoothies with higher concentrations of a polyphenol-iridoid honeysuckle berry extract (0.50%) were the products of a greater content of bioactive compounds and higher antioxidant activity compared to those with no extract or a lower amount (0.25%). However, the sensory evaluation showed that, according to customers, the least attractive smoothies are those with the greatest amounts of the honeysuckle berry extract. Therefore, the correct balance between taste and bioactivity should be sought in order to obtain an innovative product showing characteristics of functional food.

Health food has become a prominent force in the market place, influencing many food industries to focus on numerous bioactive compounds to reap benefits from its properties. Use of these compounds in food matrices has several limitations. Most of the food bio-additives are sensitive compounds that may quickly decompose in both food and within the gastrointestinal tract. Since most of these bioactives are highly or partially lipophilic molecules, they possess very low water solubility and insufficient dispersibility, leading to poor bioavailability. Thus, various methods of microencapsulation of large number of food bioactives have been studied. For encapsulation of hydrophobic compounds several lipid carriers and lipid platforms have been studied, including emulsions, microemulsions, micelles, liposomes, and lipid nano- and microparticles. Solid lipid particles (SLP) are a promising delivery system, can both deliver bioactive compounds, reduce their degradation, and permit slow and sustained release. Solid lipid particles have important advantages compared to other polymer carriers in light of their simple production technology, including scale up ability, higher loading capacity, extremely high biocompatibility, and usually low cost. This delivery system provides improved stability, solubility in various matrixes, bioavailability, and targeting properties. This article reviews recent studies on microencapsulation of selected bioactive food ingredients in solid lipid-based carriers from a point of view of production methods, characteristics of obtained particles, loading capability, stability, and release profile.

Roasting is a food processingtechnique that employs the principle of heating to cook the product evenly and enhance the digestibility, palatability and sensory aspects of foods with desirable structural modifications of the food matrix. With the burgeoning demand for fortified roasted products along with the concern for food hygiene and the effects of harmful compounds, novel roasting techniques, and equipment to overcome the limitations of conventional operations are indispensable. Roasting techniques employing microwave, infrared hot-air, superheated steam, Revtech roaster, and Forced Convection Continuous Tumble (FCCT) roasting have been figuratively emerging to prominence for effectively roasting different foods without compromising the nutritional quality. The present review critically appraises various conventional and emerging roasting techniques, their advantages and limitations, and their effect on different food matrix components, functional properties, structural attributes, and sensory aspects for a wide range of products. It was seen that thermal processing at high temperatures for increased durations affected both the physicochemical and structural properties of food. Nevertheless, novel techniques caused minimum destructive impacts as compared to the traditional processes. However, further studies applying novel roasting techniques with a wide range of operating conditions on different types of products are crucial to establish the potential of these techniques in obtaining safe, quality foods.

Many studies have associated the consumption of (poly)phenol-rich diets with health benefits. However, accurate high-throughput quantitative methods for estimating exposure covering a broad spectrum of (poly)phenols are lacking. We have developed and validated a high-throughput method for the simultaneous quantification of 119 (poly)phenol metabolites in plasma and urine using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, with a very fast sample treatment and a single run time of 16 min. This method is highly sensitive, precise, accurate, and shows good linearity for all compounds (R2 > 0.992). This novel method will allow a quantitative assessment of habitual (poly)phenol intake in large epidemiological studies as well as clinical studies investigating the health benefits of dietary (poly)phenols.

Urolithin A and B are gut metabolites of ellagic acid and ellagitannins associated with many beneficial effects. Evidence in vitro pointed to their potential as estrogenic modulators. However, both molecular mechanisms and biological targets involved in such activity are still poorly characterized, preventing a comprehensive understanding of their bioactivity in living organisms. This study aimed at rationally identifying novel biological targets underlying the estrogenic-modulatory activity of urolithins.
The work relies on an in silico/in vitro target fishing study coupling molecular modeling with biochemical and cell-based assays. Estrogen sulfotransferase and 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase are identified as potentially subject to inhibition by the investigated urolithins. The inhibition of the latter undergoes experimental confirmation either in a cell-free or cell-based assay, validating computational outcomes.
The work describes target fishing as an effective tool to identify unexpected targets of food bioactives detailing the interaction at a molecular level. Specifically, it described, for the first time, 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase as a target of urolithins and highlighted the need of further investigations to widen the understanding of urolithins as estrogen modulators in living organisms.

Food protein-derived bioactive peptides, particularly antihypertensive peptides, are important constituents of functional foods or nutraceuticals. Most antihypertensive are identified as the inhibitors of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), a key enzyme responsible for the generation of angiotensin II (Ang II), which is a vasoconstricting peptide. Hence, ACE has long been used as a universal target to identify antihypertensive peptides. Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), is a homolog of ACE but uses Ang II as its key substrate to produce angiotensin (1-7), exerting vasodilatory activity via the mas receptor (MasR). Therefore, ACE2 functions in the opposite way as ACE and is an emerging novel target for cardiovascular therapy. The potential of food protein-derived bioactive peptides in targeting ACE2 has been rarely explored. While, recently we found that IRW, an egg white ovotransferrin-derived antihypertensive peptide, reduced blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats via the ACE2/Ang (1-7)/MasR axis, indicating a new mechanism of food protein-derived bioactive peptides in reducing blood pressure. The objectives of this review are to summarize the functions of the ACE2/Ang (1-7)/MasR axis and to examine its potential roles in the actions of food protein-derived antihypertensive peptides. The interaction between antihypertensive peptides and the ACE2/Ang (1-7)/MasR axis will also be discussed.

Several food-derived molecules, including proteins and peptides, can show bioactivities toward the promotion of well-being and disease prevention in humans. There is still a lack of information about the potential effects on immune and inflammatory responses in mammalian cells following the ingestion of seed storage proteins. This study, for the first time, describes the potential immunomodulation capacity of chenopodin, the major protein component of quinoa seeds. After characterizing the molecular features of the purified protein, we were able to separate two different forms of chenopodin, indicated as LcC (Low charge Chenopodin, 30% of total chenopodin) and HcC (High charge Chenopodin, 70% of total chenopodin). The biological effects of LcC and HcC were investigated by measuring NF-κB activation and IL-8 expression studies in undifferentiated Caco-2 cells. Inflammation was elicited using IL-1β. The results indicate that LcC and HcC show potential anti-inflammatory activities in an intestinal cell model, and that the proteins can act differently, depending on their structural features. Furthermore, the molecular mechanisms of action and the structural/functional relationships of the protein at the basis of the observed bioactivity were investigated using in silico analyses and structural predictions.

Microgreens are an emerging functional food crop with promise for sustainably diversifying global food systems, facilitating adaptations to urbanization and global climate change, and promoting human health. Previous work suggests microgreens have high nutritional quality, low environmental impacts, and broad consumer acceptance. For better reception into the global food system and increased per capita consumption, research is needed to elucidate consumer acceptance of various microgreens species, including factors contributing to their acceptance or lack thereof. Using a consumer panel (n = 99), this study evaluated consumer sensory perception and acceptability of six microgreens species (arugula, broccoli, bull\'s blood beet, red cabbage, red garnet amaranth, and tendril pea), and potential drivers and barriers to consumer acceptance. All microgreens species received high mean liking scores for acceptability by consumers (means ranged from highly acceptable to slightly acceptable), with more distinct differences across microgreens species for flavor and overall acceptability, which appeared to be driven by specific sensory properties. Data from principal component analysis demonstrated that high acceptability scores were associated with higher intent to purchase microgreens and negatively associated with food neophobia. Participants indicated that factors such as knowledge and familiarity of microgreens, cost, access/availability, freshness/shelf life, among other factors, influence their intention to purchase microgreens. These findings suggest that further integration of microgreens into the global food system will be met with high consumer acceptability, but needs to be aligned with enhanced consumer education regarding microgreens, as well as considerations of cost, availability/access, and freshness/shelf life. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Researchers investigated consumer sensory perception and acceptability of six microgreens species (arugula, broccoli, bull\'s blood beet, red cabbage, red garnet amaranth, and tendril pea), and potential drivers and barriers to consumer acceptance. All microgreens tested had high consumer acceptability, but certain factors such as sensory perception and food neophobia impacted their acceptability. Additionally, participants indicated that factors such as knowledge, access and availability, cost, freshness, and shelf life may impact the purchasing of microgreens and thus are important factors to consider for further integration of this emerging functional food crop into the global food system.

Neonatal supplementation with resveratrol (RSV) or nicotinamide riboside (NR) programs in male mice brown adipocyte-like features in white adipose tissue (WAT browning) together with improved metabolism in adulthood. We tested the involvement in this programming of long-term epigenetic changes in two browning-related genes that are overexpressed in WAT of supplemented mice, Slc27a1 and Prdm16. Suckling mice received orally the vehicle, RSV or NR from postnatal days 2-to-20. After weaning (d21) onto a chow diet, male mice were habituated to a normal-fat diet (NFD) starting d75, and split on d90 into continuation on the NFD or switching to a high-fat diet (HFD) until euthanization on d164. CpG methylation by bisulfite-sequencing was analyzed on inguinal WAT. Both treatments modified methylation marks in Slc27a1 and Prdm16 and the HFD-dependent dynamics of these marks in the adult WAT, with distinct and common effects. The treatments also affected gene expression of de novo DNA methylases in WAT of young animals (euthanized at d35 in independent experiments). Studies in 3T3-L1 adipocytes indicated the direct effects of RSV and NR on the DNA methylation machinery and favoring browning features. The results support epigenetic effects being involved in WAT programming by neonatal RSV or NR supplementation in male mice.