Oil from woody plants: Bridging Sustainability and Nutrition in Future Food Systems

• The woody VOs can alleviate the dependence of herbaceous oil on cultivated land. • Woody VOs are rich in unsaturated fatty acid and a variety of bioactive substances. • Woody VOs have great potential applications in future foods. • Woody VOs exploitation brings economic, ecological, and social benefits. Future food systems require sustainable lipid sources that provide superior nutrition, high functional performance, and low environmental burden. Woody vegetable oils (VOs), derived from perennial species, present a potential alternative to conventional herbaceous oils due to their land-use efficiency and diverse fatty acid profiles. This review critically synthesizes current advances from four dimensions: (i) biodiversity and compositional variability, highlighting key bioactive like polyphenols and squalene while acknowledging interspecies differences; (ii) emerging modification technologies and their impacts on oil functionality and stability; (iii) potential health benefits (e.g., neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory), with a distinction drawn between well-established preclinical mechanisms and the currently limited clinical evidence; and (iv) emerging applications in future food manufacturing. In plant-based meat analogues, preliminary studies suggest that lipid–protein interactions of specific modified woody VOs may improve texture and juiciness, though efficacy is highly formulation-dependent. In specialized nutrition, precision delivery systems, and sustainable packaging, nanoencapsulation and 3D printing show proof-of-concept potential for enhancing bioaccessibility and oxidation stability, yet challenges regarding scale-up and digestion stability remain. Critically, widespread adoption is currently hindered by significant gaps. Future research must prioritize rigorous clinical validation and techno-economic assessment to substantiate the translational relevance of woody VOs in next-generation food systems.