Curcumin, a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound derived from Curcuma longa, has garnered substantial interest for its extensive pharmacological properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer effects. However, its clinical and nutritional applications are hindered by significant physicochemical challenges, including poor water solubility, rapid metabolic degradation, and low systemic bioavailability. Recent advances in nanotechnology have opened new pathways for enhancing curcumin's therapeutic potential through the development of biocompatible nanocarrier systems. These nanoformulations, including liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, dendrimers, and cyclodextrin complexes, offer improved solubility, protection from enzymatic and environmental degradation, targeted delivery, and controlled release profiles. This review critically explores the evolution and design of curcumin-based nanocarriers with applications spanning functional food systems and biomedical therapeutics. It provides a comprehensive synthesis of the formulation strategies. The integration of nano-curcumin into functional foods has also shown promising results in improvements of sensory acceptability across dairy, beverage, bakery, and nutraceutical products. In therapeutic applications, curcumin-loaded nanocarriers demonstrate superior efficacy in cancer therapy, neurodegenerative disorders, hepatoprotection, the management of metabolic syndrome, and wound healing, owing to their targeted delivery and controlled release mechanisms. The novelty of this review lies in its comprehensive and critical synthesis that brings together advances in nanocarrier design and application across both biomedical and functional food domains. By integrating evidence from pharmacology, materials science, and food technology, it highlights how nanocarrier strategies address the multifaceted limitations of native curcumin and identifies common principles guiding their translation. Future perspectives include the development of innovative and stimuli-responsive systems, the need for global standardization, expansion of clinical trials, and integration into personalized nutrition platforms.

The effects of certain nutrients on cognition in early life are hypothesized to be domain specific. Previous studies have examined the associations between child nutrition and cognitive, motor, or socio-emotional development, but the assessment methods are often insensitive to the specific functional domains affected by nutrition. This scoping review had 2 objectives: (1) to synthesize evidence on the impact of early life nutrition exposures on child cognition evaluated using eye-tracking assessment and (2) to describe the use of eye trackers for child cognitive assessment and to provide recommendations for eye-tracking implementation in future research. A systematic search was performed using the databases PubMed, Embase, and Food Science and Technology Abstracts, from database inception to April 2024. Additionally, we hand searched reference lists of eligible studies to identify additional relevant publications. We included studies of any nutrition exposures (intervention or assessment) involving pregnant or lactating mothers or children aged 0-5 years, with child cognitive outcomes assessed using eye-tracking assessments. The review was conducted following the PRISMA-ScR checklist. A total of 1140 article titles and abstracts were screened, with 9 articles included in this review (3 randomized controlled trials, 5 prospective cohort studies, and 1 cross-sectional and prospective cohort study nested in a trial). The majority of the studies were conducted in low- and middle-income countries. Despite the limited number of nutrition studies using eye-tracking assessments, 5 of the 9 studies demonstrated significant relationships between nutrition exposures and attention and memory outcomes. Eye-tracking assessments were also found to be feasible across multiple settings. Eye-tracking assessment is a feasible and promising method for evaluating the effects of early life nutrition exposures on attention and memory outcomes across settings. However, the selection of eye-tracking-based tasks should be tailored to the type of nutrition exposures, the desired long-term outcomes, and the feasibility of proper training for local staff.

Emerging trends and hotspots of the link between gut probiotics and obesity from 2000 to 2024: A bibliometric analysis.

Phospholipase C has become a pivotal biocatalyst in agricultural and food chemistry, enabling efficient degumming while producing diacylglycerol as a nutraceutical. Over the past two decades, more than 40 microbial, plant, and mammalian PLCs have been characterized, revealing conserved catalytic frameworks but broad diversity in regulatory domains and substrate scope. Advances in protein engineering have yielded thermostable variants active above 70 °C and pH 3.5 and 10.0, while enzymatic routes cut energy use by up to 70% compared with chemical methods. This Perspective presents a comprehensive synthesis that integrates food engineering, sustainability, and enzyme biotechnology. It summarizes PLC's evolutionary origins, structure-function relationships, and production strategies and highlights rational mutagenesis, directed evolution, and AI-guided redesign improving catalytic stability and process compatibility. Industrial applications─including oil refining, dairy optimization, and functional lipid generation, demonstrate measurable efficiency gains and environmental benefits, positioning PLC as a model enzyme for sustainable bioprocessing within a circular bioeconomy.

The global food supply chain is highly susceptible to spoilage and contamination risks, posing severe health hazards to consumers. This creates the need for preservation and safety-monitoring methods to reduce the exposure of both industries and consumers to these risks. Recent innovations using functional materials to construct nano- and microrobots of different shapes and sizes show substantial improvements in optimizing various food processes. Here we review the benefits of applying autonomous functional microrobotics to food science and technology, focusing on applications in food safety control, preservation and processing. We identify current limitations specific to each application and general constraints that must be overcome to transition from proof of concept to real-world implementation in the food industry.

ABSTRACTBackgroundHashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease and patients with HT may benefit from interventions that incorporate anti‐inflammatory components. This study aimed to assess the combined effects of an anti‐inflammatory diet and curcumin supplementation on thyroid hormones and lipid profile in patients with HT.MethodsThis randomised controlled clinical trial was conducted on 57 patients with HT. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either an anti‐inflammatory diet plus 1320 mg/day curcumin or an anti‐inflammatory diet plus placebo for 12 weeks. Anthropometric indices, anti‐thyroid peroxidase (anti‐TPO), thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3), and lipid profile parameters were assessed at baseline and after the 12‐week intervention. The trial was registered in the Clinical Trials Database (registration number NCT05975866).ResultsAfter 12 weeks of intervention, both groups showed reductions in waist circumference and waist‐to‐hip ratio, with greater changes observed in the curcumin group. However, between‐group differences were not statistically significant. A significant reduction in anti‐TPO levels was observed in the curcumin group compared to placebo (p = 0.006). Although TSH and T3 levels significantly decreased within the curcumin group (p = 0.014 and p = 0.001, respectively), between‐group differences were not statistically significant after adjustment. Additionally, HDL‐C levels showed a non‐significant trend toward improvement in the curcumin group (p = 0.053), whereas other lipid parameters remained unchanged.ConclusionCurcumin may have possible benefits for thyroid autoimmunity, but further studies are required before any clinical use.Trial RegistrationThe trial was registered in the Clinical Trials Database (Registration number: NCT05975866, 08 August 2023). National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute NCT0597586 https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05975866?term=NCT05975866&rank=1

Aims: Utilizing eggshell waste is a comprehensive solution that tackles the issues of waste accumulation in the environment, pollution, and financial resources allocated to its disposal while producing high-value goods. This study aims to repurpose this waste to produce nutritional supplements used in various industries, including calcium carbonate, calcium citrate, eggshell membrane protein, and hydrolyzed collagen powder. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Meat and Fish Technology Research, Food Technology Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Egypt, between August 2023 and July 2025. Methodology: In this study, eggshells were used to produce calcium carbonate and calcium citrate that can be used as supplements or food fortification. In contrast, eggshell membrane was employed to make a high-protein food supplement (eggshell membrane protein and hydrolyzed collagen powder). Results: The eggshell ash content represents 94.92%, while the eggshell membrane protein content represents 83.36%. Furthermore, the eggshell membrane contains a high content of amino acids proline, glutamic, glycine, and hydroxyproline, which represent 11.18%, 8.43%, 10.97%, and 7.17%, respectively. While, the hydrolyzed collagen powder produced was composed of 91.27% protein, with the predominant amino acids being glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, arginine, and glutamic acid, accounting for 10.87%, 8.59%, 6.25%, 5.7%, and 4.61%, respectively. The findings indicated that the hydrolyzed collagen powder had a total bacterial count of 3.6×102 cfu/g. No Salmonella or E. coli were detected. Eggshell powder was used to improve the calcium content of chicken meatballs. Sensory evaluation of chicken meatballs with different fortification (0, 3, 5 and 7%) indicate that samples contained 0% eggshell powder had higher texture followed by 3 and 5% while samples contained 7% eggshell powder was the lowest. The result showed that meatballs tell 5% fortification was acceptable to panelists splenic. Conclusion: The study's findings support the potential use of the nutritional supplements present in eggshell membrane and eggshells, which are made as hydrolyzed collagen powder and calcium carbonate and citrate. To improve their usefulness, future initiatives should concentrate on increasing production to integrate these supplements into functional foods.

Safety assessment of cold plasma technology in food: From molecular modification to toxicological analysis.

Aerogels in food technology: Revolutionizing quality, safety, and sustainability in bakery products and beyond

3D food printing technologies for functional foods: Applications and antioxidant integration

Abstract. Problem. The article is devoted to the study of the problem of reducing waste in traditional technologies of bread production, which are widely used in food industry enterprises. Despite the relatively small amount of organic waste, which, as a rule, is easily disposed of or recycled in the post-production period, energy waste remains a significant problem. Their volumes are extremely large considering the world's bread production volumes. This paper presents the results of a study aimed at determining the theoretically justified minimum of waste of a general type in bread production technology. An innovative methodology has been developed that allows using the principle of thermodynamic duality as a mechanism for reducing waste directly within the technological cycle itself. The article analyzes in detail the limits that exist in achieving the optimal result in terms of waste minimization, and also considers the distribution of the minimum possible waste between different stages of the technological process. A method for introducing modified energy of resonant vibrations into the technological process is proposed. This method allows not only to significantly reduce thermal energy losses, but also, due to resonant interactions with raw water molecules, to reduce organic waste losses to the maximum possible level - 3% of the total amount of raw materials used in the technological process. Goal. Develop and justify approaches to minimizing waste generation in the technological process, in order to reduce the need for its processing and disposal. Methodology. The research methodology consisted in determining the main thermodynamic coefficients for various bread production technologies, regardless of type, quality and recipe. The research covers only the traditional technology of baking bread obtained from dough previously prepared to achieve optimal organoleptic and physicochemical properties, in particular taking into account hydration, fermentation, thermal and other characteristics of the starting raw materials. Originality. An innovative methodology has been developed that allows using the principle of thermodynamic duality. According to this methodology, the principle is considered as a mechanism that is not only responsible for the formation of waste in the technological process, but also as a main factor that allows minimizing its formation directly within the technological cycle itself. The limits that exist in achieving the optimal result in terms of waste minimization have been analyzed in detail, and the distribution of the minimum possible waste between different stages of the technological process has been considered. Practical value. Referring to the theoretically justified minimum of waste formation, the authors propose a method of introducing modified energy of resonant vibrations into the technological process. This method, as the results of the study show, allows not only to significantly (by an order of magnitude) reduce thermal energy losses, but also, due to resonant interactions with molecules of raw water, to reduce losses of organic waste to the maximum possible level - 3% of the total amount of raw materials used in the technological process.

Response surface methodology in postharvest and food technology research: A bibliometric assessment

Opportunities for industrializing Chinese traditional Liangpi: Insights from starch structure and modification.

The article is dedicated to the memory of the scientist and teacher, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Prof. Valentina S. Kolodyaznaya (1937 - 2023). Preservation of quality, nutritional value, reduction of storage losses, increase of shelf life of raw materials and food products with the artificial cold is one of the main tasks of modern food technologies. The article presents a review of long-term researches of the V.S. Kolodyaznaya scientific school on the application of refrigeration technologies in ensuring food security: the formulations of food products for healthy nutrition, technological parameters of production and storage, new types of packaging and nanocoatings with barrier properties, which provide high quality and safety indicators, reduction of losses from microbial spoilage of food raw materials, technologies of freezing and low-temperature storage, methods of biocontrol on the basis of research of microbial communities , technologies of complex use of raw materials. The article gives a brief review of some results of studies led by V.S. Kolodyaznaya. Thus, it is shown that the rate of growth of sanitary-indicative microorganisms is significantly slowed down during storage of small lumpy semi-finished veal products with different coatings: solutions of organic acids and gelatin and chitosan, sodium alginate and chitosan, guar gum and chitosan in different ratios and in polyethylene packaging. The results on the development of biofungicide preparations, determination of a set of biocontrol agents for the creation of biopreparations to reduce the pathogenic load of plant products during storage at low positive temperatures are presented. Evaluation of antagonistic activity against phytopathogenic microorganisms of fruit and vegetable products revealed that a number of pseudomonad strains (RF13H, RF14J, RM14B, RF12C) exhibited biocontrol and adaptability characterised by metabolic and protective activity. Under the scientific supervision of V.S. Kolodyaznaya, various methods of the process of freezing plant products in air medium, liquid coolants and vapour nitrogen medium at different temperatures were studied. The results on partial dehydration by microwave vacuum dehydration method and freezing of garden strawberries, blackcurrants, chokeberries are presented. Graduates of the scientific school of V.S. Kolodyaznaya continue to work both in research and educational centres and in large industrial companies.

This community service program integrates food technology transformation with disaster mitigation systems in Selok Anyar Village, Lumajang Regency, located in the hazardous zone of Mount Semeru eruption. Through a participatory approach involving farmer groups (Kelompok Tani Mandira) and youth organizations (Karang Taruna Perwira), the program successfully implemented organic fertilizer production technology and Android-based eruption mitigation systems. The results showed significant increase in organic fertilizer production from 100 kg in September to 450 kg in November 2025, with high community satisfaction (N-gain 0.77-0.94). The program produced two intellectual property rights, international publications, and sustainable digital marketing systems.

Wild edible plants (WEPs) are integral to many local food systems. Historically, they improved the nutrition, dietary diversity and food security of indigenous communities. Integrating WEPs into local food systems represents a sustainable approach to reducing the carbon footprints of intensive farming and facilitating a shift toward more resilient food systems. Wild foods, rich in vitamins and minerals and a source of ethnomedicines, can enhance diets and promote health, longevity, and sustainability, especially among nutritionally disadvantaged groups. High biodiversity, local accessibility, cultural acquaintance, and low input needs are intrinsic features of wild foods. However, unsustainable harvesting and overexploitation, particularly in the tropical region, have led to depletion of these ecologically niche resources and their habitats, underscoring the need for conservation efforts to protect them. WEP research has gained momentum recently, with India and China emerging as forerunners in this domain. Considerable developments are also underway in the USA, Europe, and Africa. Such endeavors transect disparate fields, including food science and technology, plant sciences, sustainable agriculture, and phytochemistry. However, more efforts are essential in sustainable harvesting, plant domestication, valorization, and conservation.

Cultivated meat is intended to solve the current sustainability and environmental issues related to conventional animal farming by combining biomanufacturing, materials science, and food engineering. Both scaffolds and microcarriers could support cell adherence and proliferation, while more intricate scaffolds act as frameworks for cell maturation by promoting directional alignment into desired tissue and shaping its structure. However, the current primary challenges still reside in the selection of scaffolding materials that should conform to related safety requirements and accurately replicate natural meat. To address these challenges, this study systematically reviewed different fabricating strategies based on edible scaffold materials. Scaffolds featuring tailored shapes, structural integrity, and reinforced aligned structures to facilitate cell differentiation into tissues closely resembling muscle and fat in texture, flavor, and nutritional value were emphasized. This review provides a comprehensive overview of current scaffolding methods culturing muscle and adipocyte cells designed to achieve highly textural resemblance.

This study investigates the determinants influencing Malaysian consumers’ purchase intention toward heritage food processed using retort ready-to-eat (RTE) technology, with a specific focus on Malaysia Tok Beef Rendang. As demand for convenient and culturally authentic food grows, retort technology offers a viable solution by ensuring extended shelf life, safety, and preservation of sensory quality. The research examines five key determinants—quality, price, technology, convenience, and intention to purchase—within the context of RTE heritage food consumption. A cross-sectional quantitative method was employed using a structured questionnaire developed from established measurement items. A total of 150 prospective respondents assessed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to evaluate relationships between determinants and purchase intention. Findings highlight that perceived quality, affordability, technological assurance, and convenience significantly shape consumers’ behavioural intention toward retort-processed heritage foods. The results underscore the potential of retort technology in sustaining Malaysia’s culinary heritage while aligning with modern lifestyle demands. The study provides meaningful insights for food manufacturers, policymakers, and gastronomy stakeholders on enhancing product acceptance, improving market strategies, and promoting Malaysian heritage dishes internationally through innovative food technology.

Fig (Ficus carica L.) has been widely cultivated in temperate and subtropical regions for its nutritional and medicinal value. From October to December 2024 and June to August 2025, sooty spot disease (incidence 85%) was observed two days postharvest in fig fruits in a storage room (25°C, 80% relative humidity) at the experimental orchard of the Toyo Institute of Food Technology (34.81926°N, 135.40315°E) in Hyogo prefecture, Japan. The disease (incidence >80%) was also found in figs collected from 31 markets in major fig-producing prefectures. The symptoms appeared as necrotic lesions covered with dark-green mycelia. Tissue segments of symptomatic fruits were surface-sterilized with 70% ethanol, followed by three rinses with sterile water, and placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA). After three days of incubation at 25°C, 16 isolates were obtained from independent symptomatic fruits by hyphal-tip isolation. Each isolate colony was grayish-green to dark-green, exhibited a velvety texture with a white margin, and grew at an average rate of 2.85 mm daily at 25°C on PDA. Microscopic observations revealed that the conidiophores were solitary, erect, hyaline to light brown, straight or slightly flexuous, and septate. Ramoconidia were light brown, cylindrical to obovoid, aseptate, and 8.55 to 20.28 × 2.48 to 4.77 µm (12.01 × 3.25 µm, n = 50). Conidia were light brown, catenate in branched chains, 1 to 4 conidia in the unbranched part, obovoid to limoniform, aseptate, and 3.32 to 5.45 × 2.28 to 3.19 µm (4.36 × 2.77 µm, n = 50). The morphological characteristics corresponded to those of Cladosporium tenuissimum (Bensch et al. 2015). Three representative isolates, SHK1100 (from cv. Brunswick), SHK1110 (from cv. San Piero), and SHK1120 (from cv. Malta), were selected for molecular identification and deposited at the Research Center of Genetic Resources, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, with accession numbers MAFF248114–MAFF248116. The internal transcribed spacer of rDNA (ITS), translation elongation factor-1α (TEF1), and actin (ACT) were amplified using the primer sets ITS4/ITS5 (White 1990), EF1-728F/EF1-986R, and ACT-512F/ACT-783R (Carbone and Kohn 1999), respectively. The nucleotide sequences of ITS (LC880265–LC880267), TEF1 (LC880268–LC880270), and ACT (LC880271–LC880273) showed 100% (NR_119855), 97.98% (KU605782), and 100% (OQ185030) identity to the sequences of C. tenuissimum in the NCBI, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the isolates could be grouped into the same clade as other C. tenuissimum strains. To assess pathogenicity, unwounded and wounded fruits were sprayed with a conidial suspension (1 × 106 conidia/ml) or sterile water. The inoculated fruits were kept in a moist chamber (25°C, 80% relative humidity) for two days. All wounded fruits inoculated with fungal conidia exhibited necrotic symptoms identical to those observed in diseased postharvest fruits. No symptoms were observed in the unwounded fruits inoculated with fungal conidia or in the wounded fruits treated with the sterile water. C. tenuissimum was reisolated from the diseased fruits based on morphological and molecular identifications, fulfilling Koch’s postulates. Fruit diseases caused by C. tenuissimum have been reported on peach (Nativitas-Lima et al. 2023), melon (Gomes et al. 2023), and dekopon citrus (Xiao et al. 2023). To the best of my knowledge, this is the first report of C. tenuissimum causing sooty spot of F. carica fruit in Japan.

The Indigenous bread of the Amazon is an ancient food technology, with records dating back at least to 1,200 AD. This food technology survived the colonial period and was continuously produced by Amazonian Indigenous people until the 20th century. Accounts of these breads can be found in chronicles, travelers' records, and the oral traditions passed down by forest peoples. Previous studies rejected the oral history of different indigenous peoples and classified bread as a new species of fungus with a large mycelium. Recent research has reshaped this perspective by identifying a diversity of ingredients and production processes. These new insights reveal different recipes incorporating corn, chili pepper, palm fruits, mairá potato, and other tubers, while highlighting techniques such as fermentation and smoking. This study characterizes indigenous bread using a geo and microarchaeological approach including analytical imaging methods (petrography, stereoscopic mosaic, and micro-computed tomography–micro-CT), which were combined with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Multidimensional analyses identified two distinct bread microstructures: massive and spongy. Additionally, specific manufacturing characteristics were detailed, such as wrapping the bread in organic matter (e.g., leaves), for the massive bread, and in clay, for the spongy bread. Smoking was also used to create a hardened crust on the surface while preserving a soft interior. Analyses also revealed that massive bread contains clay, and clay consumption has been widely described in travelers' accounts and oral traditions in the Amazon. This study contributes to the efforts of archaeobotanical research in understanding the ancient food technology of Amazonian people.