Effect of subcritical water-mediated dual-protein conformational reconstruction on texture, digestibility, and...

The poor stability and bioavailability of curcumin (Cur) limit its application in functional foods. This study employed green subcritical water treatment (SWT) to reconstruct the wheat bran-textured soy protein matrix into an efficient delivery system for Cur. SWT transformed the proteins into a homogeneous porous network that, when applied to a Cur-loaded meat floss analogue, resulted in a high encapsulation efficiency (∼90%) and enhanced digestibility. At the molecular level, this restructuring created a favorable hydrophobic binding pocket for Cur (key residues, Ile48 and Phe12), with an exceptionally strong binding affinity driven by van der Waals forces. Consequently, Cur release followed diffusion-controlled kinetics, resulting in a higher release rate and the retention of more than 80% of its antioxidant activity after simulated digestion. This work demonstrates that SWT effectively engineers plant proteins from molecular conformation to macroscopic functionality, offering a sustainable strategy for designing high-performance functional foods with controlled nutrient delivery.