Soybean protein hydrolysates were prepared using two proteolytic enzymes (Alcalase and Protamex) and the degree of hydrolysis (DH) and their functional and antioxidant properties were evaluated. The ...highest DH value was 20%, with a yield of 19.77% and protein content of 51.64%. The total amino acid content was more than 41% for all protein hydrolysates. The protein hydrolysates from Protamex at pH 2.0 had excellent solubility, emulsifying activity, and foaming capacity, at 83.83%, 95.03 m
/g, and 93.84%, respectively. The water-holding capacity was 4.52 g/g for Alcalase, and the oil-holding capacity was 4.91 g/g for Protamex. The antioxidant activity (62.07%), as measured by the samples' reaction with DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and the reducing power (0.27) were the strongest for Protamex. An ABTS activity rate of 70.21% was recorded for Alcalase. These findings indicated a strong potential for the utilization of soybean protein hydrolysates to improve the functional properties and antioxidant activity of soybeans as well as their nutritional values.
Introduction
As a crucial technological tool for ensuring the quality and safety of agricultural products, the traceability system is of great importance in the agricultural sector. However, farmers’ ...participation in the system, especially among small-scale farmers, remains relatively low.
Methods
This study investigates the factors that influence farmers’ intentions to participate in traceability systems by integrating moral norms and policy support into the technology acceptance model (TAM) and using a three-stage approach of structural equation modeling (SEM), artificial neural network (ANN), and necessary condition analysis (NCA).
Results
The findings indicated that farmers’ intentions were primarily influenced by perceived usefulness. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use were strongly affected by moral norms and policy support. To promote farmers’ intentions, it is necessary to achieve at least 75, 66.7, 45.5, and 50% of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, moral norms, and policy support, respectively.
Discussion
These findings provide valuable guidance to government agencies and technology developers in prioritizing adoption strategies. This study not only expands the scope of TAM research, but also represents an early application of a three-stage approach to agricultural technology adoption research.
Introduction
The primary objective of this study is to examine the factors that affect farmers’ willingness to engage in traceability systems. Traceability systems are widely promoted as technologies ...that ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products. However, the participation rate of farmers in developing countries remains low.
Methods
To empirically address this issue, the study analyzed structured interview data from 408 fruit farmers in Henan Province, Central China, using structural equation modeling and system dynamics.
Results
The results indicate that attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, moral norms, and safety awareness are crucial factors influencing farmers’ willingness to engage. It is particularly noteworthy that system dynamics simulations revealed the significant role of improving attitude and subjective norms in promoting farmers’ willingness. Moreover, subjective norms have a positive influence on moral norms. We also found that gender, education, orchard area, income and access to credit have a significant positive impact on farmers’ willingness to engage.
Discussion
By uncovering the internal decision-making mechanisms behind farmers’ engagement in traceability systems, this study extends the research scope of agricultural technology adoption. These findings can serve as a basis for formulating traceability system policies and interventions in China and other developing countries.
Total arsenic (As) and inorganic As (Asi) in milled rice (n = 1653) collected from China were studied to evaluate the contamination level, distribution, and health risks. The mean concentrations of ...the total As and Asi were 116.5 and 90.9 μg/kg, respectively. There were significant differences (P < 0.01) between the 11 provinces, and 1.1% of samples exceeded the maximum contaminant level established by Chinese legislation. According to the exposure assessment method of probabilistic simulation, all values of the target hazard quotients (THQs) for chronic noncarcinogenic risks (skin lesions as the point of departure) were below 1, suggesting that the Chinese population will not encounter a significant noncarcinogenic risk. However, the mean values of margin of exposure (MOE) for lung cancer risks ranging from 3.86 to 8.54 were under 100 for all age groups and genders of the Chinese population; moreover, MOE values for some major rice-producing and -consuming countries, such as Japan, Thailand, Bangladesh, and the United States, were all also below 100. More attention should be paid to carcinogenic risks from rice Asi intake, and some control measures to reduce rice Asi intake should be taken.
Brain-type glycogen phosphorylase (PYGB) inhibitors are recognized as prospective drugs for treating ischemic brain injury. We previously reported compound
as a novel glycogen phosphorylase inhibitor ...with brain-protective properties. In this study, we validated whether PYGB could be used as the therapeutic target for hypoxic-ischemic diseases and investigated whether compound
exerts a protective effect against astrocyte hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury by targeting PYGB. A gene-silencing strategy was initially applied to downregulate PYGB proteins in mouse astrocytes, which was followed by a series of cellular experiments with compound
. Next, we compared relevant indicators that could prove the protective effect of compound
on brain injury, finding that after PYGB knockdown, compound
could not obviously alleviate astrocytes H/R injury, as evidenced by cell viability, which was not significantly improved, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage rate, intracellular glucose content, and post-ischemic reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, which were not remarkably reduced. At the same time, cellular energy metabolism did not improve, and the degree of extracellular acidification was not downregulated after administration of compound
after PYGB knockdown. In addition, it could neither significantly increase the level of mitochondrial aerobic energy metabolism nor inhibit the expression of apoptosis-associated proteins. The above results indicate that compound
could target PYGB to exert its protective effect against cellular H/R injury in mouse astrocytes. Simultaneously, we further demonstrated that PYGB could be an efficient therapeutic target for ischemic-hypoxic diseases. This study provides a new reference for further in-depth study of the action mechanism of the efficacy of compound
.
Brain-type glycogen phosphorylase inhibitors are potential new drugs for treating ischemic brain injury. In our previous study, we reported compound 1 as a novel brain-type glycogen phosphorylase ...inhibitor with cardioprotective properties. We also found that compound 1 has high blood–brain barrier permeability through the ADMET prediction website. In this study, we deeply analyzed the protective effect of compound 1 on hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, finding that compound 1 could alleviate the hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury of astrocytes by improving cell viability and reducing LDH leakage rate, intracellular glucose content, and post-ischemic ROS level. At the same time, compound 1 could reduce the level of ATP in brain cells after ischemia, improve cellular energy metabolism, downregulate the degree of extracellular acidification, and improve metabolic acidosis. It could also increase the level of mitochondrial aerobic energy metabolism during brain cell reperfusion, reduce anaerobic glycolysis, and inhibit apoptosis and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins. The above results indicated that compound 1 is involved in the regulation of glucose metabolism, can control cell apoptosis, and has protective and potential therapeutic effects on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, which provides a new reference and possibility for the development of novel drugs for the treatment of ischemic brain injury.
As an essential trace element in the human body, selenium (Se) has various physiological activities, such as antioxidant and anticancer activity. Selenium-enriched proteins/peptides (SePs/SePPs) are ...the primary forms of Se in plants and animals, and they are the vital carriers of its physiological activities. On the basis of current research, this review systematically describes the extraction methods (aqueous, alkaline, enzymatic, auxiliary, etc.) and detection methods (HPLC-MS/MS, GC-ICP-MS, etc.) for SePs/SePPs in plants. Their bioavailability and bioactivity, and the effect of processing are also included. Our review provides a comprehensive understanding and theoretical guidance for the utilization of selenium-enriched proteins/peptides.
This study investigated the effect of oat β-glucan as a fat substitute on the structure formation, texture, and sensory properties of pea protein yogurt. The results showed that the incorporation of ...0.5% β-glucan significantly accelerated the lactic acid bacteria-induced fermentation, with the time for reaching the target pH of 4.6 shortened from 3.5 h to 3 h (
< 0.05); increased the plastic module (G') from 693 Pa to 764 Pa when fermenting 3 h (
< 0.05); and enhanced the water-holding capacity from 77.29% to 82.15% (
< 0.05). The identification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in low-fat pea protein yogurt by GC-IMS revealed a significant decrease in aldehydes and a significant increase in alcohols, ketones and acids in the pea yogurt after fermentation (
< 0.05). Among them, the levels of acetic acid, acetone, 2,3-butanedione, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, and ethyl acetate all significantly increased with the addition of oat β-glucan (
< 0.05), thereby providing prominent fruity, sweet, and creamy flavors, respectively. Combined with the results of sensory analysis, the quality characteristics of pea protein yogurt with 1% oil by adding 1% oat β-glucan were comparable to the control sample with 3% oil. Therefore, oat β-glucan has a good potential for fat replacement in pea protein yogurt.
To identify the ideal soybean protein isolate for texturized vegetable protein processing, the effect of different soybean protein isolates on texturized vegetable protein composition was studied. ...Three different types of soybean protein isolates were selected and analyzed for functional properties (water holding capacity (WHC), emulsifying properties, foaming properties), amino acid content, and protein secondary structure. Then, using the same formulation, the soybean protein isolates were extruded to produce texturized vegetable protein, and its textural properties, degree of texturization, microstructure, free sulfhydryl (free SH), and disulfide (S-S) content were determined. Lastly, a correlation analysis was performed to examine the connection between soybean protein isolates and texturized vegetable proteins. After correlation analysis, the soybean protein isolate functional properties that affect the textural properties of the texturized vegetable protein were as follows: the emulsifying property affected the hardness, adhesiveness, springiness, gumminess, and chewiness of the texturized vegetable proteins; and the foaming property affected the gumminess, chewiness, and the degree of texturization of the texturized vegetable proteins. In addition, 16 amino acids including threonine (Thr), methionine (Met), and arginine (Arg) affect texturized vegetable proteins, mainly with respect to adhesiveness, springiness, and free SH. The effects of secondary structure (α-helix, random coil) on texturized vegetable proteins were degree of texturization, resilience, and cohesion, respectively. Therefore, choosing the soybean protein isolate with better emulsifying and foaming properties provides a more suitable approach for processing texturized vegetable protein.
The “lemon effect,” which is the result of information asymmetry and barriers to trust, poses serious challenges to the sustainable development of green agricultural products. Therefore, enhancing ...consumers’ trust is critical to maintain sustainable purchasing behavior. Information transparency has been widely attention as a marketing tool, and previous research related to agricultural products has focused on the visible information. Based on signaling theory, this study takes an invisible information perspective and empirically investigates how production information transparency of green agricultural products affects consumer trust and online purchasing behavior. The results of structural equation modeling analysis show that production technology information transparency and production means information transparency have different effects on the dimensions of consumer trust (in competence and benevolence). Moreover, trust in competence has a significant positive impact on trust in benevolence; they both have significant impacts on consumers’ online green purchase behavior. The results of this study contribute to signaling theory and the product transparency literature, and offer significant implications to practitioners of the green agricultural sectors.
