Spice exosome-like nanovesicles for multi-target mitigation of thermal processing hazards: superior efficacy of isothiocyanate-enriched Armoracia rusticana ELNs in air-fried beef patties.

Thermal processing of meat inevitably generates hazardous heterocyclic amines (HAs) and advanced glycation end products (AGEs), posing health risks to consumers. Here, we isolated and characterized spice exosome-like nanoparticles (ELNs) from ginger, garlic, Armoracia rusticana, basil, onion, and scallion. Then evaluated their efficacy in inhibiting bound HAs and AGEs in air-fried beef patties. Among all treatments, Armoracia rusticana ELNs (ARELNs) exhibited the most potent and broad-spectrum inhibitory activity, reducing total HAs by 53.4% and total AGEs by 50.6% at 1.0% addition, significantly outperforming other spice ELNs. ARELNs also demonstrated superior free radical scavenging capacity and suppressed lipid/protein oxidation more effectively than other spice ELNs. Crucially, ARELNs preserved desirable sensory attributes with minimal adverse impact. Metabolomic profiling revealed that ARELNs are uniquely enriched in isothiocyanate precursors (sinigrin, gluconasturtiin, 3-methylsulfinylpropyl isothiocyanate), which may act as dual scavengers of reactive carbonyls and free radicals. These findings suggest spice ELNs, particularly those from horseradish, as a novel, nature-derived nanovehicle strategy to simultaneously mitigate multiple thermal processing hazards while maintaining product quality, offering a promising clean-label solution for the meat industry.