Bee propolis has been touted as a natural antimicrobial agent with the potential to replace antibiotics. Numerous reports and reviews have highlighted the functionalities and applications of the natural compound. Despite much clamor for the downstream application of propolis, there remain many grounds to cover, especially in the upstream production, and factors affecting the quality of the propolis. Moreover, geopropolis and cerumen, akin to propolis, hold promise for diverse human applications, yet their benefits and intricate manufacturing processes remain subjects of intensive research. Specialized cement bees are pivotal in gathering and transporting plant resins from suitable sources to their nests. Contrary to common belief, these resins are directly applied within the hive, smoothed out by cement bees, and blended with beeswax and trace components to create raw propolis. Beekeepers subsequently harvest and perform the extraction of the raw propolis to form the final propolis extract that is sold on the market. As a result of the production process, intrinsic and extrinsic factors, such as botanical origins, bee species, and the extraction process, have a direct impact on the quality of the final propolis extract. Towards the end of this paper, a section is dedicated to highlighting the antimicrobial potency of propolis extract.

Rice starch is a common functional ingredient used in various food applications. The drying regime to obtain dry starch powder is an important processing step, which affects the functional properties of the starch. The application of extreme thermal treatment during the conventional drying process tends to elicit irreversible changes to the rice starch, resulting in the loss of desired functionalities. In a previous study, we reported the development of a novel low temperature spray-drying based process which efficiently dries waxy rice starch, while preserving its physicochemical properties and functionalities. This study, a follow-up to the previous report, evaluated the effect of different spray-drying inlet temperatures on the production yield, physicochemical properties, and functionalities of waxy rice starch. Increasing the inlet temperature from 40 °C to 100 °C resulted in an increase in the process yield from 74.83% to 88.66%, respectively. All spray dried waxy rice starches possessed a low moisture content of less than 15%, and a consistent particle size (median ~6.00 μm). Regardless of the inlet temperatures, the physicochemical functionalities, including the pasting characteristics and flowability, were similar to that of the native waxy rice starch. The molecular and A-type crystalline structure of the waxy rice starches were also conserved. An inlet temperature of 60 °C represented the optimum temperature for the spray-drying process, with a good yield (84.55 ± 1.77%) and a low moisture content (10.74 ± 1.08%), while retaining its native physicochemical functionalities and maximizing energy efficacy.

This study focuses on understanding the effect of ionic strength on the mechanical and microstructural properties of novel composite gels containing 13% whey protein isolate (WPI) and 4% de-structured waxy potato starch (DWPS). The DWPS is a physically modified waxy potato starch treated at 140 °C for 30 min under constant shear. Thermodynamic incompatibility between WPI and DWPS was observed upon the addition of NaCl (~75 mM) or CaCl₂ (10–75 mM). The combined effects of such thermodynamic incompatibility with the changes in protein connectivity induced by varied ionic strength led to the formation of distinctive gel structures (inhomogeneous self-supporting gels with a liquid centre and weak gels with paste-like consistency) that were different from thermodynamic compatible homogeneous self-supporting gels (pure WPI and WPI + maltodextrin gels). At ≥ 250 mM NaCl, instead of a paste-like texture, a recovered soft and creamy self-supporting gel structure was observed when using DWPS. The ability to generate a range of textures in WPI gelation-based foods by using DWPS under different ionic conditions, is a feasible strategy for formulating high-protein foods for dysphagia—aimed to be either thickened fluids or soft solids. Additionally, this acquired knowledge is also relevant when formulating food gels for 3-D printing.

White bread contains a high proportion of easily digestible starch, which contributes to an undesirable rapid increase in blood glucose concentration. This study investigated the effects of nonstarch polysaccharides (NSP) -xanthan gum, lambda-carrageenan and psyllium husk on the physical functionality and glycaemic potency of white bread. The amount of water for each formulation was adjusted based on DoughLab set at a target torque value of ~500 FU for sufficient dough development. Adding NSP generally resulted in significantly increased loaf volumes and decreased hardness. The glycaemic potency (glycaemic glucose equivalents (GGE) g) of bread was found to be reduced with the addition of NSP at all levels (1, 3 and 5% w/w based on flour weight). Increasing the concentration of xanthan gum and lambda-carrageenan did not show any further decrease in the glycaemic potency. Notably, adding 5% w/w psyllium husk significantly reduced the glycaemic potency from ~49 GGE/100 g in the reference bread to 32 GGE/100 g. The reduction in the glycaemic potency was attributed to viscosity effects (for xanthan) and starch–NSP interactions (for psyllium husk). Overall, the 5% w/w psyllium husk bread sample was most promising in terms of both physical characteristics and its effect on in vitro glucose release.