Abstract Diabetes is a common and frequently occurring endocrine and metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycemia with genetic tendency. At present, the drugs for diabetes include metformin, glimepiride, and acarbose. Although these drugs are effective, long‐term usage will produce secondary symptoms, such as Cushing's syndrome, limb hypertrophy, and even the risk of hypoglycemia. Many natural products have been found to treat diabetes, among which oligosaccharides are the most valuable. Oligosaccharides are low‐level oligosaccharides formed by the linkage of 2–10 monosaccharides through glycosidic bonds. Common oligosaccharides include chitosan oligosaccharides, xylooligosaccharides, konjac glucomannan, and brown algae oligosaccharides. It has the effects of reducing blood glucose, blood pressure, antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, immune regulation, antiallergy, promoting the growth of bifidobacteria, and improving body health. With the continuous exploration of the medicinal value of natural oligosaccharides, more and more attention has been paid to their research. This review introduces some representative oligosaccharides with hypoglycemic effects, including their structural characteristics and hypoglycemic mechanism, as well as the application status and future development trend of oligosaccharides.

Abstract Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by hyperglycemia. Insulin resistance (IR) and insufficient insulin secretion are important pathophysiological basis and significant characteristics of diabetes. At present, animal is still the main model for investigation of Antidiabetic activity of bioactive substances, however, in vivo models always has the problems of long experimental cycle, complicated experiment, and high cost. Compared with the animal models, cell culture could avoid some impossible or difficult to eliminate under natural conditions, and observe the experimental results more simply, economically, quickly, and objectively. In this case, the establishment of in vitro diabetic cell model has gradually developed. Recently, cell models are more widely used in high‐throughput screening, metabolism analysis, molecular pharmacology investigation, pharmacodynamics evaluation of natural product, cell function, interaction between receptors and cytokines, and so on. These guidelines will point out and discuss to help researchers to choose cell model that are truly reliable and can be successfully applied for their intended investigation of antidiabetic activity.

Abstract This paper studied the effects of sericin‐based edible coating material on the quality and shelf‐life of tomatoes over 40 days of storage at 25°C and relative humidity of 70%. The key constituents of the coating material are sericin (1.5%), chitosan (1.0%), Aloe vera (1.0%), and glycerol (1.5%) in an aqueous solution and applied onto tomatoes in a simple dip‐coating technique. Weight loss, firmness titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS), pH, and lycopene content were investigated and scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the semipermeable nature and the thickness of the coating layer. The results stated that the developed coating material reduced weight and firmness losses in tomatoes. With increased storage time, fruit TA content was increased and the values of pH, TSS, lycopene content, total phenolic content, and total antioxidant concentration stood low in comparison with uncoated tomatoes. With no evidence of wrinkles (up to 21 days), visible cracks, or deterioration on coated fruits during the study period, the application of sericin‐based coating might be useful commercially for maintaining the postharvest quality control of tomatoes and even other fruits as well.

Abstract An optimal mixture design was employed to optimize flour combination consisting of refined wheat flour (50%–75.9%), malted proso millet flour (20%–45.7%), and gluten (2%–5%) on responses, namely bread volume, hardness, springiness, L* value of crust, L* value of crumb, and overall acceptability of malted millet bread. The optimum level was found to be 73.3% of refined wheat flour, 24.7% of malted proso millet, and 2% of gluten, resulting in bread volume (773.33 cm3), hardness (79.08 N), springiness (0.054 mm), L* value crust (58.16), L* value crumb (64.08), and overall acceptability (7.89), respectively. The optimized bread showed significantly higher protein, ash, crude fiber, dietary fiber, and antioxidant activity than the control refined wheat flour bread. Therefore, optimized bread exhibited higher nutritional properties, making it appropriate for large‐scale production to improve consumers' nutrient delivery and protein requirements.

Abstract The occurrence and development of insulin resistance (IR) are usually related to the change of gut microbiota. Our previous study showed that arabinogalactan (AG) could selectively increase the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium longum and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in in vitro fermentation. However, their effect on IR remains unclear. In the current study, we investigated the effects of AG, B. longum, F. prausnitzii and their combinations on insulin‐resistant mice. Intake of AG and those two strains reduced the body weight, fat accumulation, and homeostasis model assessment of IR of the mice with IR, and decreased the level of serum glucose, insulin, and lipids. Meanwhile, they could alleviate the injury of the liver. Moreover, AG, B. longum, and F. prausnitzii regulated the production of short‐chain fatty acids and elevated the abundance of gut probiotics such as Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Bifidobacterium. However, the effect of giving only AG or a single strain was weaker than the combination of AG, B. longum, and F. prausnitzii. Our study attempted to find a new way to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes in the early stage and provided evidence for new therapy against IR with a combination of prebiotics and two bacterial strains of gut origin.

Society’s latest lifestyle has developed to a more rapid mobilization and advanced technology which makes people’s daily needs of nutrients have altered as well. This phenomenon comes to consequences where healthy diet has been neglected and people consume food only to fulfill the calories—which can be supplied by consumption of macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. To reach good health status, intake of micronutrients is also important to maintain biological process occurred inside human’s body as the deficiency of them may interfere the continuity of metabolic regulation of the body. Carotenoids have been known as pigments that are synthesized only in plants. The roles of carotenoids for the improvement of health have been investigated by numerous research reports, and they are highlighted in this review paper, especially their role for pregnancy and also, growth and development of infants and children. Readers will be able to read recommendation of carotenoid sources and their carotenoid composition that can be consumed periodically. Furthermore, several techniques on processing technology were also elaborated to improve people’s knowledge to preserve carotenoids in the ingredients.

Health consciousness and the need to maintain immune system have increased the demand for fresh fruit and vegetable juices due to the presence of nutritional benefits including colorful pigments such as chlorophylls, carotenoids, and anthocyanins. Besides providing green, yellow, and red color in fruits and vegetables, these phytochemical compounds play an important role in health maintenance through their antioxidant activity. However, natural pigments have been known to be susceptible to adverse conditions including pH and temperature. Heat treatment is commonly applied in the processing of fresh juices in order to extend shelf-life. Nevertheless, thermal treatments have been reported to cause detrimental impacts on the quality of juices. Thus, non-thermal treatments such as high pressure processing (HPP) and ultraviolet (UV) light have become alternative methods to preserve the juices without high impact on nutritional and sensory characteristics. This review underlines the chlorophyll, carotenoid, and anthocyanin pigments in green, yellow, and red fresh juices obtained from several fruits and vegetables, with the influence of pH and non-thermal treatments (HPP and UV) on the color and stability of pigments in the fresh juices.