Natural flavonoids are regularly consumed orally and are known to possess antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and analgesic properties. Yet, there is limited understanding of the role of organic functional groups in imparting these properties. This review paper suggests that several organic functional groups, including the hydroxyl, methoxy, glycosyl, prenylated, and flavonoid groups, play crucial roles in determining the antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and analgesic abilities of flavonoids. Of particular significance is the contribution of the prenylated group, which notably enhances the anti‐inflammatory and analgesic abilities of flavonoids. Among isoflavones, the prenylated groups are primarily situated at C6. Despite their importance, prenylated flavonoids have not received sufficient attention from researchers. Another crucial class of organic functional groups is glycosyl groups, with C3 being a key substitution site among anthocyanins because monosaccharides are commonly found at this position. Conversely, the presence of trisaccharides or a combination of disaccharides and monosaccharides within flavonoids appears to impede their anti‐inflammatory and analgesic properties. Additionally, the majority of biflavonoids, excluding polymerized flavanols, demonstrate either anti‐inflammatory or analgesic abilities. C8 holds paramount importance among flavanols as the main substitution site for flavonoid substitution. Examination of the significance of substitution sites in flavanones, flavonols, flavones, and chalcones, which possess antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and analgesic abilities, revealed the importance of total substitution with diverse organic functional groups. Insights from this review can provide the guiding light to the discovery of flavonoids with antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and analgesic abilities in the future.

The trend of global population aging is becoming increasingly evident, with the proportion of the elderly population continuously rising, making it one of the most profound demographic trends of the 21st century. As people age, their sensory functions generally decline, such as vision, hearing, smell, and taste, which not only affects their food choices and enjoyment but can also lead to health issues like malnutrition and weight loss. In addition, chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and the COVID‐19 pandemic can exacerbate sensory impairments in older adults. Currently, most sensory evaluation methods are designed for healthy adults and have limitations when applied to the elderly, such as visual impairment making it difficult to see scoring sheets or linear scales, and hearing impairment preventing understanding of questions and requests from sensory analysts, leading to potential biases and inaccuracies in data collection. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop sensory evaluation systems suitable for older adults to better understand and address their sensory changes due to aging and health conditions. This review summarizes the sensory abilities, cognitive functions, and physical health status of older adults; explores how to improve their food intake and appetite through flavor‐enhanced foods; and reviews current sensory evaluation methods, pointing out their limitations and the necessity for developing new approaches to meet the diverse needs of older adults. Future research should deepen the understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of sensory decline, develop implicit sensory evaluation methods based on EEG and facial microexpressions, and optimize personalized sensory compensation strategies that are safe and sustainable in order to improve the dietary health and quality of life of older adults.

The postharvest shelf life of fresh corn largely depends on the packaging method and storage temperature. This study investigated the effect of vacuum packaging (VP) with high-barrier (HB) or ordinary (OR) nylon/nylon/polypropylene (PP) composite films and the impact of storage temperature (4, 25, and 38 °C) on the shelf life of fresh corn. The sensory quality and color changes of the corn were evaluated, indicating a significant improvement in the glossiness (GL), sourness (SO), and color changes compared to corn packaged using OR films. The results showed that the HB films preserved corn freshness under refrigerated and normal temperature storage conditions, delaying color changes and SO development. A shelf-life model was established based on the Arrhenius equation. The predicted values of the corn at different temperatures were compared with the experimental data, indicating that the model could accurately predict the shelf life. The shelf life observed via sensory evaluation was more than 50% shorter than the results obtained by instrumental measurements. Therefore, sensory evaluation could be applied to determine shelf life and avoid food waste.

The odor of infant formula changes due to alterations in its volatile composition during the shelf life. However, there is currently a lack of research on whether the odor changes in infant formula during the secondary shelf life, which refers to the period of repeated opening and usage in daily life. This study used headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-electrostatic orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-Orbitrap-MS) to investigate the volatile composition changes in one-stage and three-stage infant formulas during different stages (0 day, 3 days, and 7 days during the secondary shelf-life, i.e. simulated daily use). A total of 32 volatiles were identified, including nine aldehydes, seven ketones, four alcohols, three furans, two sulfur compounds, two esters, and five terpenoids. Of these, 16 compounds changed significantly in one-stage samples and 23 compounds in three-stage samples within 7 days of the secondary shelf-life. Further the odor of the three-stage infant formula samples was found changed substantially after 3 days of simulated use by using the triangle test. This study highlighted the considerable alterations in volatile compound composition and sensory changes during the simulated daily use and provided valuable insights for consumers in selecting and using infant formula products, as well as a new perspective for enterprises to improve the sensory quality of their products.

This study combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and odor activity value (OAV) assessments to analyze the volatile ingredient changes in formula powder during 11 months of storage at room temperature. Orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and variable importance in projection (VIP) were also used to assess the potential indicators of aroma changes during storage. The aim was to expose the possible changes in the aroma profile and the substances that alter infant formula (IF) aroma during storage. The results showed that the aldehyde and ketone content in the milk formula increased as the storage time was extended, while the lactone and terpenoid levels decreased significantly. The OAV indicated the presence of various major aromatic substances at different storage times. Considering consumer concern regarding product flavor, this study ascertained that monitoring substance changes during storage showed that 2-heptanone was a good indicator of milk flavor, dimethyl disulfide was a suitable indicator of protein degradation, and 3-methylbutanal, heptanal, hexanal, pentanal, and octanal were all good indicators of fat oxidation. The results of previous related studies were used to supplement the data in this work regarding the changes in IF during product shelf life and to provide support for controlling the flavor substances and quality during new product development.

The growing demand for low‐alcohol and nonalcoholic wines has sparked significant interest in alcohol reduction methods within the wine industry. This review examines various techniques for reducing alcohol content in red wines, focusing on their impact on phenolic compositions, which are crucial for wine quality and health benefits. Alcohol reduction methods have been analyzed across viticultural processes, fermentation techniques, and postfermentation treatments including membrane separation, vacuum distillation, and supercritical extraction. Main findings indicate that while all alcohol reduction methods can lead to some degree of phenolic loss, certain techniques like osmotic distillation show promise in preserving phenolic compositions. The review explores strategies to compensate for phenolic loss through mechanical methods, blending techniques, and food additive additions. Notably, the loss of certain phenolic compositions, particularly volatile phenols associated with smoke taints and small‐molecular‐weight phenolics, can sometimes positively influence sensory attributes. The paper concludes by highlighting the need for a comprehensive sensory attributes database for dealcoholized wines to assist in selecting optimal methods for balancing sensory attributes and wine quality. Further research is needed to explore how available methods can improve the sensory attributes of dealcoholized wines.