Honey, a natural sweetener has been used universally as a complete food and in complementary medicine since early antiquity. Honey contains over 180 substances, including sugars mainly fructose and glucose, water and a plethora of minor constituents such as vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. The chemical composition of honey varies depending on floral origin, environment and geographical conditions. The sugar components dominate honey composition and they are accountable for sensory and physicochemical properties in food industry. Although present in small quantities, non-sugar components are the major contributors to the health benefits of honey. Our review summarizes and discusses composition of honey, its protective effects and possible action modes on risk factors of atherosclerosis.

In the food industry, proteins are regarded as multifunctional systems whose bioactive hetero-polymeric properties are affected by physicochemical interactions with the surrounding components in formulations. Due to their nutritional value, plant proteins are increasingly considered by the new product developer to provide three-dimensional assemblies of required structure, texture, solubility and interfacial/bulk stability with physical, chemical or enzymatic treatment. This molecular flexibility allows them to form systems for the preservation of fresh food, retention of good nutrition and interaction with a range of microconstituents. While, animal- and milk-based proteins have been widely discussed in the literature, the role of plant proteins in the development of functional foods with enhanced nutritional profile and targeted physiological effects can be further explored. This review aims to look into the molecular functionality of plant proteins in relation to the transport of bioactive ingredients and interaction with other ligands and proteins. In doing so, it will consider preparations from low- to high-solids and the effect of structural transformation via gelation, phase separation and vitrification on protein functionality as a delivery vehicle or heterologous complex. Applications for the design of novel functional foods and nutraceuticals will also be discussed.

— Tofu is an oriental food that originated from China and later became a traditional cuisine in many South East Asia Countries, e.g. Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. The tofu was made by coagulating soy milk with salt to form curds, which further compress to form a solid block. Tofu usually uses soybeans as the main ingredients; however, in this experiment, the soybeans were partially replaced with chickpeas to increase the amount of dietary fibre and reduce fat levels in the final products. The tofu was made of soybean and chickpea at a ratio of 100:0 (control), 90:10, 80:20 and, 70:30. The products were evaluated based on their nutritional contents (crude protein, crude fat, and crude fibre), and textural properties using Texture Profile Analysis. Some analytical parameters, such as pH, moisture content, and colour were also studied. Partial replacement of soybean with chickpea decreased overall crude protein and fat content, whereas increased crude fibre. The presence of chickpea in the blends, up to 30% (w/w), had affected the tofu curd's protein stability, lowered their pH, and moisture content. A denser tofu curd was obtained by adding more chickpea to the product. The 70:30 blend has the highest hardness value compared to the other formulations. This low soy content mixture, however, can not produce a cohesive and springy tofu gel. The CIELAB colour space of the soybean/chickpea tofu cubes records a trend of increase in redness and yellowness values for tofu with chickpea.

A subject of increasing fundamental and technological interest is the techno- and bio-functionality of functional foods and nutraceuticals in high-solid gels. This encompasses the diffusion of natural bioactive compounds, prevention of oxidation of essential fatty acids, minimization of food browning, and the prevention of malodorous flavour formation in enzymatic and non-enzymatic reactions, to mention but a few. Textural and sensory considerations require that these delivery/encapsulating/entrapping vehicles are made with natural hydrocolloids and co-solutes in a largely amorphous state. It is now understood that the mechanical glass transition temperature is a critical consideration in monitoring the performance of condensed polymer networks that incorporate small bioactive compounds. This review indicates that the metastable properties of the rubber-to-glass transition in condensed gels (as opposed to the thermodynamic equilibrium in crystalline lattices) are a critical parameter in providing a fundamental quality control of end products. It appears that the “sophisticated synthetic polymer research” can provide a guide in the design of advanced biomaterials for targeted release or the prevention of undesirable byproducts. Such knowledge can assist in designing and optimizing functional foods and nutraceuticals, particularly those including vitamins, antioxidants, essential fatty acids, stimulants for performance enhancement, and antimicrobials.

Papain is a proteolytic enzyme extracted from plant latex. The protease has widely used in the meat industry and culinary work for a pre-tenderization step prior to further meat processing. The objective of this research was to evaluate the bioactivity of papain extracted from Chaya and papaya. The different levels of papain, casein substrate, temperature, and pH were set up in vitro conditions. Then, the fresh papain was used to digest raw beef and the beef was dried under solar process. The sun-dried beef was further analyzed of yield, moisture content, water activity, and tensile force. It was found that proteolytic activity from both plants was accelerated by a high level of papain or casein up to 2.0 (w/v). The best optimal proteolytic activity was recorded at 60oC and pH5. Later, the tenderized beef at pH6.5 was dried by a solar dryer, where an inside tunnel temperature was approximately 40oC, 40% relative humidity, and 187 Btu/ft2. hr solar radiation. The sun-dried beef had a 75% yield, a 32% moisture content, and 0.90 Aw. Despite the fact that the drying temperature and pH of beef were not optimal as given from the previous results, the tensile force and the work of tension of papain-treated beef both moist and dried states were lower than the non-treated beef.