To develop teff-based food products with acceptable quality, the composition, structure, and properties of teff protein fractions should be better understood. In this study, teff proteins were extracted, and their protein composition, structure, and properties were calculated, analyzed, and compared with those of wheat gliadin and glutenin. Results showed that teff flour contained 9.07% protein, with prolamin as its main protein fraction. The isoelectric points of albumin, globulin, prolamin, and glutelin were at pH 3.6, 3.0, 4.4, and 3.4, respectively. Teff prolamin and glutelin showed a significant difference in amino acids and free energy of hydration compared to wheat gliadins and glutenins. The protein chain length of teff prolamins was smaller than that of wheat gliadins, and teff glutelins lacked high molecular weight glutelin subunits. Teff prolamin had the highest α-helices content (27.08%), whereas no random coils were determined, which is different from wheat gliadin. Teff glutelin had a lower content of β-turn than wheat glutenin, and no α-helices were determined in it. Teff prolamin and glutelin had lower disulfide bond content and surface hydrophobicity. Teff prolamin had significantly higher thermal stability than wheat gliadin, whereas the thermal stability of teff glutelin was significantly lower than that of wheat glutenin.

Highland barley flour-based coating batter has rarely been reported, although highland barley flour is promising due to its high β-glucan and amylose content. In this study, highland barley flour was used to substitute 40% to 80% of wheat flour to form a highland barely-wheat composite flour used in the coating batter. The characteristics of the highland barley-wheat composite flour and its effect on the properties of coating batter and deep-fried meat were analyzed. Results showed that the composite flour significantly improved water holding capacity, oil absorbing capacity, and water solubility index. In contrast, no significant change was observed in the water absorption index or swelling power. The incorporation of highland barley flour significantly changed the pasting properties of the composite flour. Compared with the wheat flour, the viscosity and the pickup of the coating batter made with composite flour increased from 4905 Pa·s and 0.53% to more than 12,252 Pa·s and 0.63%, respectively, and its water mobility decreased. These changes were closely related to the substitution rate of highland barley flour. The composite flour significantly increased the moisture content from 27.73% to more than 33.03% and decreased the oil content of the crust from 19.15% to lower than 16.44%, respectively. It decreased L* and increased a* of the crust and decreased the hardness, adhesiveness, and springiness of the deep-fried meat. A spongy inner structure with a flatter surface was formed in all composite flour-based crusts, and the substitution rate influenced the flatness of the crust. Thus, highland barley flour could be used for batter preparation with partial substitution, enhancing the quality of deep-fried meat and acting as an oil barrier-forming ingredient for fried batter foods.

Sour cream is a functional dairy product with a unique taste and high nutritional value. In this study, Lactococcus lactis grx602, a strain capable of degrading milk fat, was used to produce sour cream (a fermented dairy-based emulsion, designated as Lg-sour cream). The preparation process was optimized and the quality stability during storage was evaluated. The optimal preparation parameters were identified as double-pass homogenization (15.0 MPa, 70 °C), a 1% inoculation level, and fermentation at 37 °C. During storage, Lg-sour cream exhibited acceptable fluctuations in fermentation characteristics (viable cell count, pH and acidity), continuous decreases in textural properties (hardness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, and elasticity), progressive declines in rheological properties (water-holding capacity, apparent viscosity and viscosity), and positive variations in free fatty acid composition (types and contents of fatty acids with different chain lengths). This study provides an in-depth exploration of the nutritional value, storage stability, and processing of Lg-sour cream fermented with L. lactis grx602, aiming to develop a novel sour cream with potential health benefits using L. lactis grx602 as the starter culture.

Chickpea is an important legume crop, characterized by its high nutritional value and abundant physiologically active compounds. Pulsed electric field (PEF), as an emerging non-thermal physical processing technology, has demonstrated unique advantages in regulating seed germination and the accumulation of secondary metabolites. In this study, chickpeas were subjected to germination combined with PEF treatment to optimize germination conditions, and the physiological and metabolic changes, as well as flavonoid biosynthetic patterns in chickpea sprouts under conventional germination and PEF-assisted germination were systematically investigated. The results showed that under the optimal conditions (12 h soaking, PEF treatment at 30 kV applied voltage, 6 µs pulse width, and 500 Hz frequency for 27 min, followed by 72 h germination), the total flavonoid content in chickpea sprouts reached a peak of 3025.27 ± 21.11 µg/g DW. Optimized PEF conditions markedly activated the enzyme activities of the phenylpropanoid pathway and induced the upregulated expression of their corresponding genes. Meanwhile, the activities of antioxidant enzymes and the expression levels of related genes in PEF-treated chickpea sprouts were also markedly enhanced. PEF can promote flavonoid accumulation and improve antioxidant capacity in chickpea sprouts by activating the phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway and the antioxidant system. This study contributes to the development of nutritious foods based on chickpea.

In fried food systems, the absence of gluten in rice flour-based coating batters results in low viscosity and poor structural integrity, thereby constraining their application. In this study, sanxan gum was incorporated into a rice flour-based batter to compensate for the viscosity deficiency, construct a denser gel network, and improve batter handling properties and oil reduction. The hydration properties, pasting behaviour, rheological characteristics, water mobility, and quality attributes of the fried products were evaluated. Results showed that sanxan gum increased batter viscosity and pick-up in a concentration-dependent manner and restricted starch granule swelling through competitive hydration. LF-NMR revealed no significant changes in water mobility, indicating that the oil-reducing effect of sanxan gum did not rely on water-state modulation. At 0.6% addition, the crust oil content (21.33%) decreased, meat tenderness (25.11 N) and moisture content (56.19%) improved, and the crust exhibited a continuous and homogeneous gel network. At 0.8% addition, although the crust oil content (15.07%) was the lowest, the total oil content per piece (0.69 g) was equivalent to that at 0.6% (0.70 g) due to moisture dilution and excessive crust thickness, accompanied by deteriorated microstructure and no further improvement in meat tenderness (24.05 N). These results demonstrate that sanxan gum effectively improves the functionality of rice flour-based coating batters and the quality of fried products by increasing viscosity, restricting starch swelling, and forming a continuous gel network, whereas excessive addition introduces structural drawbacks. This work provides a scientific basis for the application of sanxan gum as a functional hydrocolloid in deep-fried batter-coated food formulations.