In this study, we addressed various challenges associated with the consumption of functional lipids from the Ericerus pela (Chavannes), including unfavorable taste, insolubility in water, difficulty in oral intake, low bioavailability, and low psychological acceptance. Our study focused on the microencapsulation of policosanol, the key active component of insect wax, which is a mixture of functional lipids secreted by the Ericerus pela (Chavannes). We developed two innovative policosanol products, microcapsules, and effervescent tablets, and optimized their preparation conditions. We successfully prepared microcapsules containing insect wax–derived policosanol using the spray-drying method. We achieved 92.09% microencapsulation efficiency and 61.67% powder yield under the following conditions: maltodextrin, starch sodium octenyl succinate, and (2-hydroxy)propyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) at a ratio of 1:1:1, core-to-wall materials at a ratio of 1:10, 15% solid content, spray dryer feed temperature at 60 °C, inlet air temperature at 140 °C, and hot-air flow rate at 0.5 m³/min. The microcapsules exhibited a regular spherical shape with a minimal water content (1.82%) and rapid dispersion in water (within 143.5 s). These microcapsules released policosanol rapidly in simulated stomach fluid. Moreover, effervescent tablets were prepared using the policosanol-containing microcapsules. The tablets showed low friability (0.32%), quick disintegration in water (within 99.5 s), and high bubble volume. The microcapsules and effervescent tablets developed in this study presented effective solutions to the insolubility of policosanol in water. These products were portable and offered customizable tastes to address the psychological discomfort related to insect-based foods, thus providing a novel strategy for the consumption and secondary processing of insect lipids.

Photo-grafting is a gentle, simple, and precise approach to incorporating specific functional molecules for the surface functionalization of substrates. In this work, ultraviolet (UV)-induced tannic acid (TA) grafting onto the surface of bamboo was proposed as a viable strategy for functionalizing bamboo. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) clearly indicated that TA was successfully introduced to the bamboo’s surface. The optimal conditions for the grafting reaction were determined to be 15 mM Methyl-2-benzoylbenzoate (BB), 30 mM TA, 20 min, and a pH = 8. Under these conditions, the amount of TA grafted onto the bamboo’s surface was measured to be 19.98 μg/cm². Results from Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) and Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) analyses showed that the silver ion loading capacity of tannic acid-grafted bamboo was significantly improved compared to that of raw bamboo and tannic acid-impregnated bamboo. Furthermore, the presence of TA grafted on the bamboo’s surface exhibited a positive correlation with the loading of silver ions, indicating that grafted TA plays an important role in the surface functionalization of bamboo. We believe that photo-grafted TA may help generate multifunctional bamboo with diverse properties.

Bamboo is a renewable and fast-growing biomass resource with limited utilization and service life owing to its susceptibility to mold. Conventional nano-modification methods, particularly two-step approaches, are limited by weak interfacial bonding between nanoparticles and the bamboo substrate, complex processing, and an inability to simultaneously enhance antimildew performance and dimensional stability. To address these limitations, we developed a one-step hydrothermal method involving the use of tannic acid (TA) for in situ fabrication of ZnO/TA/Ag composite particles on bamboo surfaces. Process parameters were optimized to 100 °C, 10 h, and a zinc acetate-to-tannic acid molar ratio of 20:1. The modified bamboo was characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. We demonstrated that ZnO/TA/Ag composite particles were successfully loaded onto the bamboo surface, thus improving the all-around performance of the bamboo simultaneously. Antimildew activity against Aspergillus niger and Penicillium citrinum increased from grade 4 in untreated bamboo to grades 1 and 0, respectively; water absorption decreased by 52.85%, and anti-swelling efficiency reached 30.41%, indicating improved mold resistance and dimensional stability. Thus, our technique could serve as a green and efficient one-step in situ modification strategy for high-performance functionalization of bamboo, making it suitable for applications in humid outdoor and indoor environments.

Background: Leaves of Rhus punjabensis var. sinica, Rhus potaninii, Caesalpinia spinosa (Tara), and Phyllanthus emblica (Indian gooseberry), and other species are rich in tannic and gallic acids, which are polyphenols widely used in the pharmaceutical, food, and chemical industries. Conventional quantification involves tedious solvent extraction and chemical assays, which are time-consuming, costly, and incapable of simultaneous multicomponent analysis. Objective: To enable rapid, nondestructive detection, Fourier transform near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) was used to establish quantitative models for synchronous determination of tannic acid, gallic acid, and moisture in polyphenol-rich plant leaves. Methods: Eighty-five leaf samples from six species were collected; reference values were obtained by chemical methods. NIR spectra of plant leaves were fitted to traditional chemical values. Synergy interval partial least squares (SIPLS) selected characteristic intervals to build a partial least squares (PLS) model; performance was assessed by correlation and error metrics. Results: Optimal pretreatments were First Derivative (FD)+multiplicative scatter correction (MSC; moisture), MSC (tannic acid), and FD (gallic acid) with number of principal factors 4, 9, and 6. Characteristic bands: moisture 9403.7–6098.1 and 5450.1–4597.7 cm−1; tannic acid 9403.7–7498.2 and 6102–4246.7 cm−1; gallic acid 9403.7–8451 and 6102–5446.3 cm−1. For moisture, tannic acid, and gallic acid, Rc2 = 0.9574, 0.9595, 0.9115; RMSECV = 0.433%, 1.47%, 0.362%; RPD = 4.81, 4.96, 3.36; Rp2 = 0.9669, 0.9792, 0.9443; RMSEP = 0.274%, 1.25%, 0.241%. Bias was not significant (P > 0.05), and average RSD < 2%. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that NIR spectroscopy combined with chemometric methods demonstrates high predictive capability and practical application value for the quantitative determination of tannic acid, gallic acid, and moisture in polyphenol-rich plant leaves. Highlights: A rapid, nondestructive NIR spectroscopy method was developed for simultaneous quantification of tannic acid, gallic acid, and moisture in polyphenol-rich plant leaves. Optimized chemometric modeling (SIPLS–PLSR) achieved high prediction accuracy (Rp2 > 0.94, RPD > 3.0), demonstrating strong robustness and suitability for practical applications.