These results showed that T. molitor and B. magna chitosan films could be used as a packaging material in several food products.Yellow horn (Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge) is a oil-rich, woody deciduous shrub with exceptional economic and ecological values. Basic Helix-Loop-Helix (bHLH) transcription factor (TF) family fulfills crucial biological functions in plant. However, genome-wide survey of the bHLH genes in yellow horn has not been performed. In this study, 136 putative XsbHLH genes were identified from yellow horn genome which were divided into 26 subfamilies according to the sequence similarity and phylogenetic relationships. 130 XsbHLH genes were unevenly distributed on 15 chromosomes, with six XsbHLH genes locating on the scaffolds. learn more The similar structural compositions of XsbHLHs in the same subfamily suggested that they were relatively conserved and therefore exhibited similar molecular functions. Cis-regulatory elements analysis revealed that most XsbHLH genes had many stress-responsive elements, such as MYB, ARE, ABRE and LTR. In addition, XsbHLHs showed differential expression profiles under various abiotic stresses. Transcriptome analysis revealed that three XsbHLH genes, including XsbHLH 59, XsbHLH 71 and XsbHLH 102, were significantly up-regulated under salt, ABA and low temperature stresses over time, demonstrating their key roles in stress responses. The current study would provide a comprehensive information for further functional research on the stress-responsive bHLH gene candidates in yellow horn.Sweet potato is attracting increased research attention because of its high nutritional value (e.g., carotene, anthocyanin, and minerals) and the wide application of its starch in foods and nonfoods. Herein, eight Chinese sweet potato varieties were investigated in terms of the physicochemical properties of starches. The lightness values of the eight sweet potato starches were higher than 90, which was satisfactory for starch purity. The average molecular weight (MW) and amylopectin average chain length (ACL) of sweet potato starches ranged from 6.93 × 107 g/mol to 16.57 × 107 g/mol and from 21.85% to 23.00%, respectively. Su16 starch with low amylose content and a large amount of short chains exhibited low crystallinity and thermal properties. These results suggested that the molecular structure of amylose and amylopectin was the main influencing factor in determining sweet potato starch physicochemical properties. The swelling power and water solubility of the starches ranged within 20.14-30.51 g/g and 5.28%-11.71% at 95 °C, respectively. Regarding pasting properties, all the starch samples presented high peak viscosity (>5500 cP) and peak temperature (>78 °C), indicating that sweet potato starch can be used as a thickener. All eight sweet potatoes varieties showed great application potential in the food industry.The influence of a wide spectrum of water-miscible organic cosolvents at different concentrations on the denaturation of hen egg-white lysozyme is studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and circular dichroism (CD). The denaturing ability of cosolvents is characterized with the parameter -∂Td∂x1 reflecting the change in the denaturation temperature with increasing cosolvent concentration. A series of cosolvents according to their denaturing ability is established glycerol less then ethylene glycol less then pure water less then dimethyl sulfoxide less then methanol less then ethanol less then formamide less then acetonitrile, dimethyl formamide, acetone less then 2-propanol less then 1,4-dioxane less then tert-butanol less then 1-propanol less then tetrahydrofuran less then 2-butanol less then 1-butanol. The link of the -∂Td∂x1 parameter to the m values obtained in isothermal studies of chemically induced denaturation and to the solvation properties of aqueous-organic mixtures is demonstrated. Near-UV CD measurements indicate that changes in the tertiary structure occur at slightly lower temperature than the DSC peak in some of the mixtures with high organic cosolvent content. Far-UV CD measurements in the mixtures containing alcohols or tetrahydrofuran confirm non-simultaneous disruption of the tertiary and secondary lysozyme structure. Organic cosolvents induce formation of the molten globule state with preserved and even increased secondary structure, which gradually disrupts at higher temperatures.Amino acids are the structural units (monomers) that make up proteins and play many critical roles in human diets with or without food processing. In this study, corn starch (CS) mixed with Lys, Ser, Ala, or Asp were subjected to heat moisture treatment (HMT) or annealing (ANN). We evaluated the morphological properties, swelling power, pasting properties, thermal properties, crystallinity structure, and in vitro digestibility of CS and CS-AA complexes. HMT increased the gelatinization temperatures and retarded the retrogradation for CS with or without AAs, while ANN had little impact on gelatinization temperature and promoted the recrystallization. Generally, HMT samples were more enzyme resistant than the ANN samples. For the uncooked samples, the addition of Ser, Ala, and Asp decreased rapidly digestible starch (RDS) and slowly digestible starch (SDS) contents, but increased resistant starch (RS) content. Compared with the control (CS without AA), CS-AA complexes had lower contents of RDS following HMT. Under ANN, CS-AAs had higher content of RDS compared with the control. In all groups (physically mixed, HMT, and ANN) with cooked samples, the addition of different AAs decreased the contents of RDS and increased RS contents to varying degrees.Silk fibroin (SF) is a promising biomaterial with attractive properties, however, the practical applications of pure regenerated SF materials were severely restricted by their poor water retention and low elasticity. In this study, a tyramine-modified hyaluronic acid (mHA) was introduced to SF chains, followed by constructing double-network hydrogels via laccase-mediated crosslinking of SF and mHA. Mechanism of the enzymatic coupling reaction between SF and mHA was investigated using the model compounds. The morphology, mechanical property, and swelling behavior of SF-g-mHA hydrogel were evaluated. The results reveal that combination use of SF and mHA endowed the obtained hydrogels with high structural stability, improved mechanical properties and drug release behavior, which overcame the intrinsically poor formability of the pure fibroin hydrogels. This work provides a novel method to construct a double-network hydrogel with high flexibility and toughness, and expands the application range of the SF-based materials in biomedical fields.