Saponins are an important class of active components in Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs), which are present in large quantities in Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Polygonati Rhizoma, etc., and have immune regulation, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-cardiovascular disease, and hypoglycemic activities. Storage and processing are essential processes in the production process of CHMs which affect the stability of saponin components and then reduce the medicinal and economic value. Therefore, it is of great importance to investigate the effects of storage and processing conditions on the content of saponin components in CHMs. In this paper, the effects of various storage and processing factors, including temperature, pH, enzymes, meta lions, extraction methods, etc., on the saponin content of CHMs are investigated and the underlying mechanisms for the quantitative changes of saponin are summarized. These findings may provide technical guidance for the production and processing of saponin-rich CHMs.

Extrusion cooking is an innovative, advanced processing technology widely used in the food and feed industries. With growing concerns over the health attributes of food, the effects of extrusion cooking on the functional characteristics of natural medicinal and edible plants (NMEPs) have attracted increasing attention from researchers. This review, based on recent literature on extrusion cooking, systematically summarizes its impact on the physical properties; functional components, such as total polyphenols, total flavonoids, total polysaccharides, and total saponins; and pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, and anti-inflammatory effects, of NMEPs. The aim is to provide a scientific basis for the application of extrusion cooking technology in the advanced processing of these resources.

Hypertension is a major public health problem worldwide, and high-salt diets are one of the main causes of hypertension. The intestinal mucosal immune system is the largest immune organ in vertebrates. Hypertension was associated with increased intestinal permeability and an inflammatory state. The bacterial communities attached to the intestinal mucosa played a significant role in the development and maturation of the autoimmune system, as well as inflammation and immunity to disease. In this review, we focused on the relationship between the impaired intestinal barrier and the development and progression of hypertension under the high-salt dietary pattern. We systematically reviewed how a high-salt diet caused hypertension by disrupting the intestinal mechanical, chemical, and microbial barriers, interacting with immunogenic isolevuglandin (IsoLG)-protein adducts and microbiota, and activating the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway. Meanwhile, this review also summarizes the dietary therapy for hypertension, which involves supplementing natural antihypertensive substances and adjusting dietary patterns to repair the intestinal barrier and assist in lowering blood pressure. Such measures included supplementing plant-based foods, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PFAs), probiotics, prebiotics, food–medicine homologous substances (FMHS), vitamins, and minerals, as well as transforming high-salt dietary patterns into the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH), the Mediterranean diet (MD), and the ketogenic diet (KD), with the aim of providing a reference for the occurrence, development, and dietary prevention and control of high-salt hypertension.

Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. (E. ulmoides), an endemic tree species in China, holds significant value in traditional Chinese medicine industry and health food. The plant is rich in diverse bioactive compounds, including lignans, iridoids, flavonoids, polysaccharides, E. ulmoides gum, amino acids, and minerals. These components contribute to a range of pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antihypertensive, immunomodulatory, and bone-protective effects, which support its long-standing traditional use and emerging clinical and adjunctive applications. While current research has predominantly focused on the bark and leaves, other parts, such as flowers, seeds, stems and roots, remain underexplored despite their substantial potential for medicinal and edible applications. Based on the recent literature, this paper systematically summarized the chemical composition, health benefits, and comprehensive utilization of different parts of E. ulmoides (bark, leaves, flowers, and seeds), aiming to provide a theoretical foundation for the high-value utilization of the entire plant resources of E. ulmoides. As a health-promoting plant resource, E. ulmoides has extensive development potential in applications such as health foods, natural medicines, and agricultural inputs. Future research should prioritize elucidating the synergistic mechanisms among different active compounds, advancing technologies for multi-part utilization, and establishing standardized quality evaluation systems to facilitate broader applications in functional foods, pharmaceuticals, and related interdisciplinary fields.

Shear emulsifying (SE), ball milling (BM), and autoclave treatment (AT) were utilized for the modification of lotus leaves, and the effects on in vitro gastrointestinal digestion and colonic fermentation of insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) from lotus leaves were compared. Compared with SEIDF and ATIDF, BMIDF released more polyphenols and exhibited better antioxidant capacity during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. The IDF of lotus leaves changed the gut microbiota composition during in vitro colonic fermentation. SEIDF was beneficial to the diversity of gut microbiota compared with BMIDF and ATIDF. Among the three IDF groups of lotus leaves, six significant differences of OTUs were all in ATIDF; however there was the highest relative abundance of Escherichia-Shigella in ATIDF. In addition, the concentrations of butyric acid and valeric acid produced by SEIDF were significantly higher than that of BMIDF and ATIDF. Overall, SE modification improved the colonic fermentation characteristics of IDFs in lotus leaves more effectively; while BM modification helped to promote the release of polyphenols from IDFs in lotus leaves during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. The research lays the foundation for the application of the dietary fiber of lotus leaves as a premium fiber additive in functional food.