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. 2025 Jun 24;14(13):2225.
doi: 10.3390/foods14132225.

From By-Products to Promising Bifunctional Food Ingredients: Physicochemical Characterization and Antioxidant and Emulsifying Improvement Evaluation Based on the Synergy of Phenolic Acids, Flavonoids and Tannins with Bovine Liver Hydrolysates

Yufeng Duan  1 , Xue Yang  1 , Ruheng Shen  1 , Li Zhang  1 , Xiaotong Ma  1 , Yuling Qu  1 , Long He  1 , Lin Tong  2 , Guangxing Han  3
Affiliations

From By-Products to Promising Bifunctional Food Ingredients: Physicochemical Characterization and Antioxidant and Emulsifying Improvement Evaluation Based on the Synergy of Phenolic Acids, Flavonoids and Tannins with Bovine Liver Hydrolysates

Yufeng Duan et al. Foods. .

Abstract

In recent years, bifunctional ingredients extracted and utilized from waste by-products as raw materials have received significant attention in the food production process. Previous studies have found that bovine livers possess both antioxidant and emulsifying potential; therefore, enhancing these dual properties is a current research focus. In this study, three different types of polyphenols (epigallocatechin gallate [EGCG], gallic acid [GA] and tannin [TA]) provide a reference on how to achieve better complexation of polyphenols with bovine liver hydrolysates (BLHs). Based on the molecular weight results, it was shown that the bovine liver peptides bind to polyphenols to form complexes with higher molecular weights. Furthermore, the binding affinities among the three complexes were as follows: TA > EGCG > GA. The emulsions stabilized by the coupling compounds contained more homogeneous and dense droplets (optical microscopy). Both the antioxidant properties and the emulsifying activity of all complexes were superior to those of bovine liver hydrolysates (BLHs) (p < 0.05), confirming synergistic effects that either flavonoids, phenolic acids or tannins possess with bovine liver hydrolysates. This combination provides an effective strategy for developing novel foods with specific functions.

Keywords: binding laws; dual properties; emulsions; microstructure.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author Lin Tong was employed by the company Inner Mongolia Horqin Cattle Industry Co. He participated in Software, Investigation, Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—Review and editing in the study. Author Guangxing Han was employed by the company Han from Shandong Lvyrun Food Co., Ltd. He participated in Software, Investigation, Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—Review and editing in the study. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental design process chart (Notes: 1. Solutions of bovine liver hydrolysate and three polyphenols; 2. Preparation of the solutions of three complexes and their freeze-drying sample; 3. Preparation of three complex solutions into crude emulsions; Lowercase letters represent significant differences among samples).
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A). Molecular weight distribution of bovine liver hydrolysate and its three complexes. (B). Schematic diagram of the molecular structure of EGCG. (C). Schematic diagram of the molecular structure of GA. (D). Schematic diagram of the molecular structure of TA. (E). Optical microstructures of the bovine liver hydrolysate emulsion and its three complex emulsions.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A). DSC scanning result plot. (B). Fluorescence spectroscopy. (C). Ultraviolet spectroscopy. (D). Fourier infrared spectroscopy.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A). Schematic representation of the reducing ability of BLHs, BLHs-EGCG, BLHs-GA and BLHs-TA. (B). DPPH radical scavenging of BLHs, BLHs-EGCG, BLHs-GA and BLHs-TA. (C). ABTS radical scavenging of BLHs, BLHs-EGCG, BLHs-GA and BLHs-TA. (D). Schematic representation of the changes in surface hydrophobicity of BLHs, BLHs-EGCG, BLHs-GA and BLHs-TA. (E). Schematic diagram of changes in free amino acid content. (F). Differences in polyphenol content of the three complexes (Note: Lowercase letters represent significant differences among samples).
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A). Schematic representation of the reducing ability of BLHs, BLHs-EGCG, BLHs-GA and BLHs-TA. (B). DPPH radical scavenging of BLHs, BLHs-EGCG, BLHs-GA and BLHs-TA. (C). ABTS radical scavenging of BLHs, BLHs-EGCG, BLHs-GA and BLHs-TA. (D). Schematic representation of the changes in surface hydrophobicity of BLHs, BLHs-EGCG, BLHs-GA and BLHs-TA. (E). Schematic diagram of changes in free amino acid content. (F). Differences in polyphenol content of the three complexes (Note: Lowercase letters represent significant differences among samples).
Figure 5
Figure 5
(A). Emulsifying activity of four crude emulsions. (B). Schematic of the variation in viscosity with shear rate for four emulsions. (C). Schematic of the variation in energy storage modulus with angular frequency. (D). Schematic diagram of loss modulus variation with angular frequency (Note: Lowercase letters represent significant differences among samples).
Figure 6
Figure 6
(A). Microstructure of BLHs at 2kx\1kx magnification. (B). Microstructure of BLHs-EGCG at 2kx\1kx magnification. (C). Microstructure of BLHs-GA at 2kx\1kx magnification. (D). Microstructure of BLHs-TA at 2kx\1kx magnification.
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