The present study is designed to evaluate the effect of infrared assisted spouted bed drying (IR-SBD) on the product quality and energy consumption of whole peanut fruits (including peanut kernels and shells). The dehydration of whole peanuts by means of hot-air drying (HD) and infrared drying (ID) were used as the control groups, and the drying characteristics, energy consumption, microstructure, porosity, hardness and fatty acid content were compared. The results showed that, compared to HD and ID, IR-SBD could reduce the drying time by 40% and 33%, respectively, and reduced energy consumption by 66% and 32%, respectively. During the drying process, the structures of both the peanut shells and peanut kernels underwent significant deformation; specifically, the porosity gradually increased gradually. The maximum porosity value was obtained by the samples dried by means of IR-SBD. Under the three drying conditions, the hardness of the peanut shells first decreased and then increased, while the hardness of the peanut kernels showed a trend of first increasing, then decreasing and finally increasing. Compared to the fresh whole peanuts, the IR-SBD dried samples exhibited a 4.07% decrease in fatty acid. This study shows that IR-SBD is a suitable application for the dehydration process of whole peanuts for the purposes of achieving high-efficiency and -quality production in the industrial sector.

Obesity is a multi-factorial metabolic disease for which safe, food-compatible interventions remain of interest. This narrative review evaluates the leaf-specific evidence for Eriobotrya japonica in obesity-related metabolic dysfunction and examines its bioactive constituents, extraction technologies, and combination research. Direct studies of loquat leaf preparations were distinguished from indirect evidence obtained with isolated compounds or other plant matrices. Preclinical studies indicate that loquat leaf extracts and triterpenoid-acid fractions can reduce lipid accumulation, body-weight gain, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and inflammatory markers in cell and rodent models; however, clinical evidence for obesity is not yet available. Loquat leaves contain triterpenic acids, flavonoids (including flavonols and flavan-3-ols), and phenolic acids, although reported contents vary with origin, harvest stage, and extraction method. Among the technologies reviewed, subcritical water extraction has direct leaf-specific evidence for concentrating corosolic and ursolic acids, whereas evidence for microwave- and enzyme-assisted extraction is less mature or concerns other compound classes. A 1:1 mixture of loquat- and lotus-leaf extracts produced stronger preclinical anti-obesity effects than either extract alone, but formal synergy was not tested; proposed combinations with curcumin or epigallocatechin-3-gallate remain hypotheses. Future work should standardize extracts, link composition to activity, test physical compatibility, and use factorial preclinical designs before clinical translation. Overall, loquat leaf is a promising but still preclinical resource for obesity-related metabolic dysfunction.