Self-aggregates of octenylsuccinate oat β-glucan (A_OSG) have been verified as nanocapsules to load curcumin, a representative of hydrophobic phytochemicals. This study primarily investigated the stability of curcumin-loaded A_OSGs over food processing, storage and digestive fluids. Curcumin in A_OSGs showed better stability over storage and thermal treatment than its free form. Curcumin loaded in A_OSGs stored at 4 °C in the dark exhibited higher stability than that at higher temperatures or exposed to light. Approximately 18% of curcumin was lost after five freeze–thaw cycles. Curcumin in A_OSG was more stable than its free form in mimetic intestinal fluids, attesting to the effective protection of A_OSG for curcumin over digestive environments. When curcumin-loaded A_OSG travelled across mimetic gastric and intestinal fluids, curcumin was tightly accommodated in the capsule, while it rapidly escaped as the capsule reached the colon. Interestingly, the curcumin loaded in A_OSG generated higher values of C_max and area under the curve than did its free counterpart. These observations showed that A_OSG is a powerful vehicle for stabilizing hydrophobic phytochemicals in food processing and storage, facilitating their colon-targeted delivery and enhancing their bioavailability.

Gelatin coating is an effective way to prolong the shelf life of meat products. Aiming at solving the problem of flavor deterioration during the storage of pork at room temperature, pork coating technology was developed to preserve the pork at 25 °C, and the comprehensive sensory analysis of vision, touch, smell, and taste was used to study the effect of coating on preservation of pork flavor. Herein, uncoated (control) and coated pork samples (including gelatin coating and gelatin coating incorporated with ginger essential oil) were analyzed to investigate the integrity of pork periodically during storage at 25 °C for weight loss, color, texture (springiness, chewiness, cohesiveness, gumminess, and hardness), microstructure, odor (electronic nose), taste (electronic tongue), volatile flavor substance, and taste ingredients. The results suggested that ginger essential oil (GEO) gelatin coating and gelatin coating can effectively inhibit the loss of water dispersion and slow down the oxidation reaction, coating treatments could significantly (p < 0.05) retarded the weight loss of pork slices, with values of 20.19%, 15.95%, 13.12% for uncoated, gelatin coated, and GEO-gelatin coated samples during 24 h of storage, respectively. Compared with control group, the color, texture, smell, and taste evaluations demonstrated that coating treatments had improved sensory and texture attributes during the storage period. Furthermore, the comprehensive results from the physical property assays (especially the texture), morphological assay and volatile odor assays showed that the GEO-fish gelatin composite coating had better preservation effect on pork flavor than the fish gelatin coating. The study suggests that the gelatin composite coating could be developed as a prospective active packaging to preserve pork meat at room temperature.