With the continuous technological innovation in the high-value utilization of rice bran byproducts, rice bran oil retains a higher concentration of beneficial components such as a well-balanced composition of fatty acids and abundant phytosterols. This makes it a highly nutritious and healthy vegetable oil. This review provides an overview of the advancements made in separating, purifying, and processing phytosterols in rice bran oil. The review also introduces techniques for assessing the stability of rice bran oil. Moreover, the review emphasizes the nutritional value of phytosterols found in rice bran oil, highlighting their various health benefits, including their anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, antibacterial, cholesterol-lowering, skin-protective, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, neuroprotective, gastroprotective, and immune-enhancing effects. Attaining a comprehensive understanding of the research progress made in phytosterols derived from rice bran oil can offer valuable guidance for the efficient utilization of rice bran.

Introduction: Oxidative stress plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases. Disrupting the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway by binding Keap1 is identified as a potential strategy to prevent oxidative stress-related chronic diseases. Therefore, of special interest is the utilization of dietary antioxidations from citrus, including narirutin, naringenin, hesperetin, hesperidin, naringin, neohesperidin dihydrochalcone, neohesperidin, and nobiletin, has been exploited as a prospective way to treat or prevent several human pathologies as Keap1-Nrf2 inhibitors for modulation of antioxidant properties.Methods: To probe into the structural foundation of the molecular identification of citrus-derived antioxidations, we calculated the antioxidant responsive element activation ability of citrus-derived flavonoids after binding with Keap1. Also, the quantum chemistry properties and binding mode were performed theoretically with frontier molecular orbitals, molecular electrostatic potential analysis, molecular docking, and absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion (ADME) calculation.Results and discussion: Experimental findings combining computational assays revealed that the tested citrus-derived flavonoids can be grouped into strong agonists and weak agonists. The citrus-derived antioxidations were well housed in the bound zone of Keap1 via stable hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction. Eventually, three of eight antioxidations were identified after ADME and physicochemical evaluations. The citrus-derived flavonoids were identified as potential dietary antioxidants of the Keap1-Nrf2 interaction, and can be used to improve oxidative stress-related chronic diseases.

As a natural pentacyclic triterpenoid, oleanolic acid has hepatoprotective, anti‐inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. This work performed the in vitro experiments and animal assay to explore whether oleanolic acid alleviates lipid accumulation induced by high‐fat diet by mediating PPARγ. Oil red O staining showed that oleanolic acid can reduce lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells, which were treated with oleic acid and palmitic acid. Immunofluorescence, western blot analysis, and RT‐qPCR showed that oleanolic acid could promote nuclear translocation of PPARγ and reduce the expression level of PPARγ, C/EBP‐β, and SREBP‐1c. The results of in vivo experiments indicated that dietary intervention with oleanolic acid can effectively improve the fat accumulation in liver tissue and attenuate the level of IL‐6 and TNF‐α in serum caused by high‐fat diet. Meanwhile, oleanolic acid did not cause lesions in vital organs at the experimental concentrations. In addition, the computer simulation indicated that oleanolic acid could directly bind to PPARγ with a reasonable and stable docking conformation. The above research results can provide new evidence for oleanolic acid to prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Nickel-induced contact dermatitis is a severe allergic reaction to objects or environments that contain nickel. Many nanomaterials have been developed to reduce skin allergies by capturing nickel, but few agents are effective and safe. In this work, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) were synthesized and decorated with hexa-histidine peptides (denoted as MSN-His⁶), making it a strong nickel chelator. Subsequently, a dietary polyphenol, chlorogenic acid, was loaded into the mesopores of MSN (denoted as MSN-His⁶@CGA), realizing the potential of its anti-inflammatory properties. In vitro and in vivo experiments revealed that the synthesized MSN-His⁶@CGA nanoparticles exhibited more stable and stronger chelation, better biocompatibility, and ideal allergy-relieving ability, whether for environmental metal contamination or for allergic contact dermatitis caused by prolonged nickel exposure. Thus, the application of mesoporous silica-based nanoparticles may represent an ideal approach to alleviate skin allergies by capturing nickel, which would benefit people who suffer from metal-induced contact dermatitis.

Star anise has been used for a long time in improving human health and curing diseases, owing to its unlimited components with complex chemical structures and a wide range of bioactivities. This study is aimed to investigate the influence of extraction methods (steam distillation, ethanol Soxhlet extraction, supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, subcritical n‐butane extraction) on the yield, aroma properties, chemical composition, and bioactivity of star anise essential oils. Electronic nose detection revealed the essential oils from subcritical extraction exhibited the most intense aroma, while the essential oils from ethanol Soxhlet extraction had a more complex aroma profile. Fourier‐transform infrared analysis showed the presence of benzene rings, carbonyl groups, C=C, and aromatic ether bonds in the essential oils extracted through different methods. The major components were heterocyclic olefins, heterocyclic oxygenates, and aromatic oxygenates, as well as certain amounts of flavonoids and polyphenols. Correlation analysis revealed the relative contents of volatile trans ‐anethole, wormwood, d ‐limonene, cineole, and trans ‐α‐citronelene were strongly associated with the antibacterial activity of the essential oils. Similarly, the contents of volatile components ( d ‐limonene, cineole) and non‐volatile components (total flavonoids and total polyphenols) were strongly correlated with the DPPH scavenging activity of the essential oils. These results confirm the effectiveness of the ethanol Soxhlet extraction method in retaining the bioactivity of the essential oils. Finally, with a Box–Behnken central composite design of response surface and single‐factor experiments, the optimal extraction conditions for the ethanol Soxhlet method were determined: ultrasonic frequency of 80 kHz, crushing particle size of 60 meshes, liquid–material ratio of 8:1 (mL:g), and ultrasonic time of 35 min. Under these conditions, the essential oil yield was 25.51% ± 0.21%. Overall, these findings highlight the significance of extraction methods in obtaining high‐quality star anise essential oils with desirable aroma properties and potent bioactivities.