Zanthoxylum bungeanum alkaloids have attracted considerable attention for their potential health benefits, yet systematic investigations into their extraction, purification, and comprehensive bioactivity remain scarce. In this study, an efficient extraction protocol was developed and scaled up, followed by purification using macroporous resin NKA-9 with 70% ethanol as the optimal eluent. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ion mobility quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-IM-QTOF/MS) identified 11 major alkaloids in the 70% ethanol eluate fraction. The antioxidant capacity of the 70% ethanol eluate fraction was evaluated through DPPH, ABTS⁺·, and Fe³⁺ reducing power assays, revealing a clear dose-dependent effect, albeit weaker than ascorbic acid. Antibacterial screening against four pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) via the Oxford cup method, macrobroth dilution, and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) determination demonstrated strain-selective activity. The strongest effect was observed against E. coli [minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) = 2 mg/mL, MBC = 8 mg/mL, MBC/MIC = 4, bactericidal], followed by moderate activity against B. subtilis (MIC = 4 mg/mL, MBC = 16 mg/mL), while only bacteriostatic effects were noted against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa within the tested range. These findings provide a robust foundation for further development of Zanthoxylum bungeanum alkaloids as natural functional ingredients or food-compatible bio preservatives.

Traditional oxidative dehydrogenation of n-butene has typically required relatively high operating temperatures (400–500 °C), which has driven increasing interest in the development of catalysts capable of delivering high activity at lower temperatures. In this study, zinc ferrite (ZnFe₂O₄-ST) was successfully synthesized via hydrothermal hydrolysis of Zn–Fe oleate and demonstrated remarkable catalytic performance for the oxidative dehydrogenation of n-butene under mild conditions. At 300 °C, ZnFe₂O₄-ST achieved a conversion of 72.9% with 92.1% selectivity toward 1,3-butadiene, a result that, to the best of our knowledge, ranks among the best reported in the literature. By contrast, ZnFe₂O₄ prepared by conventional coprecipitation (17.2% conversion with 91.3% selectivity) and sol-gel (10.1% conversion with 86.4% selectivity) methods showed much lower activities, highlighting the critical influence of synthesis strategy on catalytic performance. To better understand the origin of these differences, a detailed structural and physicochemical characterization was undertaken using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N₂ adsorption–desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H₂-temperature-programmed reduction (H₂-TPR), temperature-programmed re-oxidation (TPRO), and NH₃-temperature-programmed desorption (NH₃-TPD). These analyses revealed that the as-synthesized ZnFe₂O₄-ST possessed a significantly smaller average particle size, a larger specific surface area, and superior reducibility compared with the other samples. These properties are believed to be the key factors underpinning its outstanding catalytic behavior and provide important insights into the design of efficient low-temperature catalysts for selective oxidative dehydrogenation.