Journal of Food Bioactives

Japanese cuisine and its health benefits: food bioactives, dietary features, and public health

Klaus W. Lange — 2025-09-30

Japan has the highest life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the world. Interest in Japanese cuisine has increased globally due to its potential health benefits. The Japanese diet has been reported to reduce total mortality and extend disability‐free survival time. Epidemiological studies have shown that relatively high consumption of seafood, soy‐based foods, miso soup, and green tea in Japan may promote health and longevity. A low intake of red meat, milk, dairy products, sugar, and sweeteners is associated with low mortality rates from cancer and ischemic heart disease, as well as a low prevalence of obesity. Avoiding obesity appears to be a key factor in maintaining good health. Given the conflicting findings regarding the potential links between specific foods, dietary habits, and health and longevity, the composition of the typical Japanese diet may be of secondary importance, and its modest daily food energy intake may provide the greatest benefit. Japan's low incidence of chronic overeating, combined with a relatively high level of physical activity, is reflected in its low obesity rates. Japan has implemented various public health policies to support these lifestyle aspects.

Nutritional lipids: an overview of nutritional progress and market trends

Xuebing Xu — 2025-09-30

Nutritional lipids in this text are defined as lipids having nutritional concerns. They are vital components of human diets, delivering essential fatty acids, bioactive compounds, and fat-soluble vitamins that support metabolic health and disease
prevention. This review provides an overview of various fatty acids, fatty acid derivatives, and the typical oil-soluble nutrients (unsaponfiable matters) focusing on their nutritional advances and functional benefits. The overview covers all lipid categories existing in nature but with a focus on those having high nutritional concerns and progress. An updated nutritional discussion is given for each group but the latest review papers for the subject have been provided for further reading. An
overall picture of nutritional lipids in progress can be expected. For the application channels, functional foods, infant formulas, sport foods, medical foods, and personized nutrition are discussed besides supplementation capsules. The global
market is driven by consumers awareness, showing a steady increase. The market distribution is, however, uneven from region to region, indicating that a big market exists for future expansion. There are multiple challenges including oxidation, bioavailability, and regulations, as well as sustainable production technologies. This work integrates scientific insights and industrial trends, offering a scenario for future development.

Encapsulation strategies for dietary chlorogenic acid: advances in delivery systems and functional applications

Xin Guo — 2025-09-30

Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is a naturally occurring dietary polyphenol that has attracted significant attention due to its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, neuroprotective, and anti-cancer properties. These bioactivities highlight CGA’s potential applications across food, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. However, its application remains currently limited by low stability, poor physiological stability, and insufficient bioavailability. To address these challenges, diverse encapsulation systems including nanoparticles, micelles, gels, liposomes, and metal-organic frameworks have been developed to protect CGA and from degradation and improve its bioactive efficacy. This review systematically summarizes the state of art encapsulation system for CGA, highlighting their design principles, release characteristics, and therapeutic applications. We aim to compare the strengths and limitations of each system, and provide a comprehensive reference to guide future research and promote the industrial translation of CGA-based formulations.

Beyond Petri Dish: Small Animal Models Bridge In Vitro and In Vivo Antioxidant Assays

Amal Samarasinghe — 2025-09-30

Dietary antioxidants, derived mainly from plant-based foods contribute to health promotion by supporting the body’s defense against oxidative stress-related disorders. In vitro assays are widely employed to evaluate the antioxidant capacities of food-derived compounds, providing rapid and cost-effective insights into their radical scavenging and reducing potential. However, these methods do not account for factors such as digestion, absorption, metabolism, and tissue distribution, which determine the physiological relevance of antioxidants. Therefore, in vivo models are essential to complement in vitro findings, enabling a more accurate assessment of bioavailability, mechanisms of action, and health benefits in a biological context. Small animal models provide versatile platforms to bridge this gap, offering genetic tractability, conserved pathways, and cost-effective tools for functional validation of dietary antioxidants. In this review, we summarize the antioxidant defense mechanisms and experimental approaches utilized in zebrafish, C. elegans, and fruit fly to investigate the impact of dietary antioxidants. Key outcomes of antioxidative action in these models include the reduction of reactive oxygen species, upregulation of endogenous defense systems, protection of biomacromolecules from oxidative damage, and lifespan extension. Furthermore, this review outlines future directions for utilizing these small animals as translational models in the investigation of food-derived antioxidants.

An update on therapeutic potential of earthworm extract

Jie Pan — 2025-09-30

Earthworms have been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years. Current studies have revealed that they may offer therapeutic benefits for various diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. Current research primarily focuses on investigating the bioactivity of earthworm extracts and analyzing earthworm proteins, and earthworm peptides. This study summarized the bioactivities and mechanisms of these earthwormderived substances in diseases treatment over the past decades, aiming to provide directions for further in-depth research and the application of earthworm-derived bioactive substances in the biological and pharmaceutical fields.

Growth performance and hematological studies on albino rats fed with amylase-treated maize starch (Zea mays)

Oladipo Oladiti Olaniyi — 2025-09-30

Malnutrition and immune-related disorders remain major concerns in developing countries, where staple diets are dominated by starchy foods with limited digestibility. Developing functional ingredients from local grains may improve nutrient bioavailability. This study evaluated amylase-treated maize starch (MS) as a dietary component in rats. Yeast strains from palm wine were screened for amylase activity, and the most active strain (O1-8, identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae) produced 1.20 U/mL of amylase. The enzyme, partially purified by ethanol precipitation, was used to hydrolyze maize starch. In a 27-day feeding trial, rats fed enzyme-treated MS attained a mean weight of 79 g, compared with 69 g for untreated MS and 63 g (p < 0.05) for commercial feed. Hematological indices, including packed cell volume, hemoglobin, red blood cells, and white blood cells, improved significantly in the enzyme-treated group. These findings indicate that amylase-treated maize starch improves growth performance and hematological status in albino rats, providing a foundation for future studies, including human trials, to evaluate its potential as a functional dietary ingredient

Species differentiation and quality evaluation of the roots and flowers from two Pueraria species based on an integrated approach of UPLC-ESI-MS, molecular docking and QAMS coupled with multivariate statistical analysis

Ruiru Qian — 2025-09-30

Pueraria genus [Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi and Pueraria thomsonii Benth] are widely distributed and used as health food in China and other Asia countries. However, the root and flower of two Pueraria species are commonly used as substitutes for each other and may adversely affect consumer health, as it could cause efficacy instability or not have the intended effect. In the present paper, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS) with relative quantitative heatmap analysis and molecular docking experiment was established for simultaneous determination of eleven chemical markers (i.e., 3′-hydroxy puerarin, puerarin, 3′-methoxy puerarin, puerarin xyloside, daidzin, genistin, tectoridin, ononin, daidzein, genistein, and tectorigenin). Based on obtained data, a method based on quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker (QAMS) for quality evaluation of both species in detail has been developed. Then, a total of forty batches of roots and flowers covering two Pueraria species were processed using QAMS and multivariate statistical analysis. In conclusion, this study not only established a method of simultaneous determination of multiple bioactive constituents in the root and flower from different batches of Pueraria species, but also provided detailed profiles of their chemical differences of them.

Herbal formula volatile oil inhibit SARS-CoV-2 viral entry and replication in vitro

Huan Zhang — 2025-09-30

At present, coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variant virus are prevalent all over the world, taking a major toll on human lives worldwide. Oral mucosa and saliva are the high-risk routes of transmission. Inactivation of the virus in the mouth is one of the important strategies to reduce the source infectivity of the virus. However, the current preparations for inactivating oral virus are mainly aimed at ACE2 protein, and its effect needs to be improved. In this study, through literature mining, multi-target screening and other methods, we screened and optimized the volatile oil formula (Artemisiae argyi folium, Chrysanthemum morifolium, Trollii chinensis flos, Lonicerae japonicae flos) from the volatile oil of traditional Chinese medicine to inhibit the invasion and replication of SARS-CoV-2. A test using pseudotype virus with S glycoprotein confirmed that this formula could effectively bind to the S glycoprotein to prevent SARS-CoV-2 host cell entry. Molecular docking experiments showed that the m ultiple molecules in the formula might weakly bind to these targets including ACE2, cathepsin L, furin, mpro/3cl. In all, the volatile oil formula designed in this paper offers a general affordable strategy to protect patients from SARS-CoV-2 infections through debulking or minimizing transmission to others.

Anti-inflammatory effects of benzotropolone derivatives

Alexander Gosslau — 2025-09-30

Therapeutic effects of black tea theaflavines (TFs) containing the benzotropolone (BZ) core structure of polyphenols are well established. In our study, we synthesized nine different BZ derivatives and tested them for antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory bioactivities employing cell-based and in vivo models for inflammation. Three low molecular weight derivatives such as the natural-derived purpurogallin (BZ-5), 3, 4, 6-trihydroxy-5H-benzo[7]- annulen-5-one (BZ-6) and 3,4,6-trihydroxy-5-oxo-5H-benzo[7]annulen-1-yl)acrylic acid (BZ-7) showed strong antiinflammatory effects. TaqMan qPCR demonstrated a prominent downregulation of COX-2, TNF-α, ICAM-1, IL-1ß and IL-8. Intriguingly, the new described compound BZ-7 showed strongest anti-inflammatory effects and only mild toxicity as compared to the others. Structure-activity relationship analysis revealed that placement of functional groups around the benzotropolone core moiety strongly affected anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory bioactivities. Further analysis of BZ-6 representing the benzotropolone core moiety showed a significant downregulation of COX-2 in colonic carcinoma cells (Caco-2). Strong anti-inflammatory effects correlated in a mouse edema model where BZ-6 gave comparable effects to ibuprofen. In summary, our results indicate an inhibitory interaction of the BZ core moiety with cellular targets of inflammatory pathways as potential executioner of
theaflavins through biotransformation. Thus, specific benzotropolones might be good candidate compounds with a therapeutic potential against diseases associated with chronic inflammation.