Two polysaccharides from Carthamus tinctorius L. (CTLP-1 and CTLP-2) were purified, and their structures were analyzed by physical and chemical testing. CTLP-1 had a mass of 5900 Da that was composed of arabinose, glucose, and galactose with a mass molar ratio of 6.7:4.2:1. The backbone of CTLP-1 was →1)-α-GalAp-(1→4)-α-Arap-(1→2)-α-Glup-(4→. CTLP-2 had a mass of 8200 Da that was composed of arabinose, glucose, and galactose with a mass molar ratio of 16.76:4.28:1. The backbone of CTLP-2 was →1)-α-Galp-(2,6 →1)-α-Arap-(4,6 →1)-α-Glup-(3→. Both of them exhibited a high reducing power, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, DPPH radical scavenging activity and ABTS radical scavenging activity, moderate Fe²⁺ chelating activity and superoxide anion scavenging activity, implying that they might be potential antioxidants.

This study investigated aroma changes in Hui Li red Sichuan pepper across five different harvesting times within their typical optimum period based on 24 traditional solar terms, employing sensory evaluation, electronic nose (E-nose), gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) combined with relative odour activity value (ROAV) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Sensory analysis indicated that peppers were characterised by green, citrus, minty, sweet, woody, and peppery numbing aroma attributes. E-nose revealed the greatest aroma difference in peppers occurred between the early and late optimum harvest stages. GC-IMS identified 71 volatile compounds, with esters being the most abundant. Six key compounds identified were crucial for distinguishing peppers harvested at different times. Findings provided a valuable contribution to decide the optimal harvest window for Hui Li red Sichuan peppers, maximising their applications in the seasoning industry.

Kung Pao Chicken (KPC) is a famous traditional Chinese dish that has garnered widespread acclaim and popularity globally. The main purpose of the study was to develop a convenient and delicious KPC, thus the impact of different irradiation doses of sterilization and retort sterilization on the quality of KPC was assessed through sensory quality, texture, color, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values and microbial properties. The shelf-life of KPC subjected to 15 kGy irradiation was predicted using an Arrhenius model based on total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) at storage temperatures of 35 ℃, 45 ℃, and 55 ℃. The results indicated that KPC irradiated at 15 kGy achieved the highest sensory score, exhibited the highest colorimetric a* value, but maintained a TBARS value within the upper limit of 1.5 mg/kg. During the storage, it was concluded that the sensory scores of KPC stored at different temperatures decreased with the extension of the storage time, while the TVB-N value and TBARS content increased significantly. The shelf-life prediction model was established based on TVB-N. The predicted shelf-life of microwave KPC at temperature of 25 ℃ was 26 days, and that at temperature of 4 ℃ was 61 days. Gamma-ray irradiation is an effective method for extending the storage period of KPC, and irradiation at dosage of 15 kGy was demonstrated to be an effective sterilization method. The shelf-life of microwave KPC at different temperatures can be calculated by this prediction model.