There is significant evidence that double emulsion has great potential for successfully encapsulating anthocyanins. However, few research studies are currently using a protein-polysaccharide mixture as a stable emulsifier for double emulsion. This study aimed to improve the stability and in vitro digestibility of mulberry anthocyanins (MAs) by employing a double emulsion composed of pea protein isolate (PPI) and xanthan gum (XG). The influence of various XG concentrations (0%, 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, 1.0%) and different temperatures (5 °C, 25 °C, 45 °C, 65 °C) on the physical stability and the thermal degradation of MAs from double emulsions were investigated. In addition, the physicochemical properties of double emulsions and the release performance of MAs during in vitro simulated digestion were evaluated. It was determined that the double emulsion possessed the most stable physical characteristics with the 1% XG addition. The PPI-1% XG double emulsion, when compared to the PPI-only double emulsion, expressed higher thermal stability with a retention rate of 83.19 ± 0.67% and a half-life of 78.07 ± 4.72 days. Furthermore, the results of in vitro simulated digestion demonstrated that the MAs in the PPI-1% XG double emulsion were well-protected at oral and gastric with ample release found in the intestine, which was dissimilar to findings for the PPI-only double emulsion. Ultimately, it was concluded that the double emulsion constructed by the protein-polysaccharide system is a quality alternative for improving stability and absorption with applicability to a variety of food and beverage systems.

Anthocyanins (ACNs), characterized by their polyhydroxy structures, exhibit high susceptibility to external environmental factors, which significantly limits their application in the food and industrial sectors. To enhance the stability of anthocyanins, anthocyanin nanoliposomes (ACN-NLs) were developed, with encapsulation efficiency, particle size and zeta potential serving as key evaluation parameters. Furthermore, through layer-by-layer self-assembly and electrostatic interactions, ACN-NLs were modified using synanthrin (SY) and pea protein isolate (PPI). Consequently, PPI-modified ACN-NLs (PPI-ACN-NLs) and SY-PPI-modified ACN-NLs (SY-PPI-ACN-NLs) were successfully synthesized. In this study, the structural characteristics of liposomes were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), their in vitro digestibility was evaluated, and their stability under different temperatures, light conditions, and simulated food system conditions was assessed. The results demonstrated that when the mass ratio of soybean lecithin to cholesterol, soybean lecithin to anhydrous ethanol, and drug-to-lipid ratio were set at 5:1, 3:100, and 3:10, respectively, with an ACN concentration of 4 mg/mL, a pea protein solution with pH 3.0, a PPI concentration of 10 mg/mL, and an SY concentration of 8 mg/mL, the prepared ACN-NLs, PPI-ACN-NLs, and SY-PPI-ACN-NLs exhibited optimal performance. Their respective encapsulation efficiencies were 52.59 ± 0.24%, 83.80 ± 0.43%, and 90.38 ± 0.24%; average particle sizes were 134.60 ± 0.76 nm, 213.20 ± 0.41 nm, and 246.60 ± 0.24 nm zeta potentials were −32.4 ± 0.75 mV, −27.46 ± 0.69 mV, and −16.93 ± 0.31 mV. The changes in peak shape observed via X-ray diffraction (XRD), in vitro digestion profiles, and alterations in anthocyanin release rates under different conditions collectively indicated that the modification of ACN-NLs using SY and PPI enhanced the protective effect on the ACNs, improving their biological activity, and providing a robust foundation for the practical application of ACNs.

Pharmaceutical plants contain several phytochemicals that are sources of myriad biological activities. These biological activities can be explored in multiple fields for the benefit of mankind. Pharmaceutical plants with high ethnobotanical indices (i.e., use value and relative frequency of citation) were reported with the potential to inhibit lettuce elongation through leachates and volatiles. The focus of the study was to assess Chinese pharmaceutical plants for both antioxidants, as well as allelopathic potentials to explore any underlying relationship. The estimation of antioxidative capacity and content of total phenolics (TPC) for the 55 Chinese pharmaceutical plants was conducted by the assays of DPPH radical scavenging activity (DPPH-RSA), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and the means of Folin–Ciocalteu. The estimation of the activity of allelopathy for collected medicinal plants was done by adopting the sandwich method for plant leachates and the dishpack method for volatile constituents, respectively. The fruits of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) had the most remarkable ORAC value (168 ± 7.04 μmol TE/g) and DPPH radical scavenging activity (440 ± 7.32 μmol TE/g) and contained the highest contents of total phenolic compounds (236 ± 7.62 mg GAE/g) in the 55 pharmaceutical plant species according to the results. In addition, sea buckthorn showed dominant allelopathic potential through plant leachates evaluated by using the sandwich method. Star anise (Illicium verum Hook. f.) showed conspicuous allelopathic activity through plant volatiles assessed by the dishpack bioassay method. Among the same plant species, antioxidative ability and total phenolics, in comparison with potential allelopathy of medicinal herbs indicated that volatile allelochemical had a weak active effect (r = 0.407 to 0.472, p < 0.01), with antioxidant capacity by the dishpack method. However, the evaluation by the sandwich method showed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.718 to 0.809, p < 0.001) with antioxidant capacity. Based on these results, a new hypothesis is that the antioxidant activity of plants may have an involvement with the potential allelopathic activity.

Anthocyanin (ACN) is a natural pigment with various biological activities, but their stability is compromised by external environmental factors, which limits their practical application in food processing. To enhance the stability of anthocyanin, double-layer-modified anthocyanin nanoliposomes (ACN-NLs) were prepared in this study using pea protein isolate (PPI) and inulin (IN) through layer-by-layer assembly in this study. The preparation conditions of unmodified, single-modified, and double-layer-modified nanoliposomes (ACN-NLs, PPI-ACN-NLs, and IN-PPI-ACN-NLs) were optimized via analysis of their average particle size, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency (EE). In addition, the structure of the nanoliposomes was characterized via transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. Furthermore, the thermal stability of nanoliposomes in hot cocoa and their release behavior during in vitro simulated digestion were evaluated. The results indicated that the optimal formulation for IN-PPI-ACN-NLs was 6% PPI and 2% IN. Under these conditions, the IN-PPI-ACN-NLs had a particle size of 270.2 ± 0.66 nm, a zeta potential of −15.76 ± 0.81 mV, and a high EE of 88.6 ± 0.71%. TEM analysis revealed that IN-PPI-ACN-NLs exhibited a spherical core–shell structure, while FTIR confirmed the interaction between ACNs and the encapsulating materials (PPI and IN). Compared with unmodified or monolayer-modified nanoliposomes, IN-PPI-ACN-NLs exhibited thermal stability in beverage systems and enhanced DPPH radical scavenging activity. During in vitro digestion, IN-PPI-ACN-NLs demonstrated a sustained-release effect and improved the digestive stability of ACN. These properties make it a promising functional additive for applications in the food and pharmaceutical industry.