In today's market environment, an aging society is recognized as one of the megatrends in the world. The demographic change in the world population age structure has driven a huge demand in healthcare products as well as services that include the technological innovation for the health and wellness of the elderly. Dysphagia or swallowing difficulty is a common problem in the elderly as many changes in swallowing function come with aging. The presence of a strong relationship between swallowing ability, nutritional status, and health outcomes in the elderly leads to the importance of dysphagia management in the population group. Modification of solid food and/or liquid is a mainstay of compensatory intervention for dysphagia patients. In this regard, texture‐modified foods are generally provided to reduce risks associated with choking, while thickened liquids are recommended for mitigating risks associated with aspiration. In this review, we discuss thickened liquids and other issues including the importance of their rheological and tribological properties for oropharyngeal dysphagia management in the elderly. The review focuses on both commercial thickeners that are either based on modified starch or xanthan gum and other potential polysaccharide alternatives, which have been documented in the literature in order to help researchers develop or improve the characteristic properties of thickened liquids required for safe swallowing. Furthermore, some research gaps and future perspectives, particularly from the nutrition aspect related to the interaction between thickeners and other food ingredients, are suggested as such interaction may considerably control the rate of nutrient absorption and release within our body.

In this study, native lotus seed flour (N-LSF) was modified by different methods, namely, partial gelatinization (PG), heat–moisture treatment (HMT), or pullulanase treatment (EP). Their composition, functional properties, starch composition, and estimated glycemic index (eGI) were compared. PG contained similar protein, soluble dietary fiber, and insoluble dietary fiber contents to N-LSF, while those of HMT and EP differed from their native form. PG increased rapid digestible starch (RDS) but decreased resistant starch (RS); while HMT and EP increased amylose and RS contents to 34.57–39.23% and 86.99–92.52% total starch, respectively. Such differences led to the different pasting properties of the modified flours rather than PG, which was comparable to the native flour. HMT had limited pasting properties, while EP gave the highest viscosities upon pasting. The eGI of all samples could be classified as low (<50), except that of PG, which was in the medium range (60). It was plausible that lotus seed flour modified either with HMT or EP could be used as carbohydrate source for diabetes patients or health-conscious people.

To investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with different levels and molecular weights of fungal β-glucan on productive performances, health, carcass traits and meat quality in broilers. Two hundred and ten of one-day-old chicks with equal sex were assigned to seven experimental groups in 2×4 factorial arrangement. These groups were supplemented with (0, 10, 30 and 60 ppm) of molecular weight 1-3, 1-6 β-glucan (low or high). High molecular weight β-glucan (H: 943 kDa) was obtained from Ophiocordyceps dipterigena BCC 2073, whereas H with -Irradiation treatment was performed to achieve low molecular weight β-glucan (L: 8 kDa). There was no statistical significance in productive performances, apparent digestibility and interaction between fixed factors along 42 days of experiment (P>0.05). A higher caecal amylase activity was present in the group that received L, while there was a dramatic decrease in H and the control groups, respectively (P0.05). The supplementation of L at 30 ppm was suggested to achieve benefits of immune modulation without adverse effects on other parameters.

Pectin-derived oligosaccharides (POS) are emerging as promising functional prebiotics with growing industrial interest. This study reports a synergistic fungal pectinolytic biocatalytic system comprising endopolygalacturonase (EndoPG) and pectin methylesterase (PET11) from Aspergillus aculeatinus BCC 17849 for the controlled depolymerization of pomelo (Citrus maxima) albedo pectin. PET11-mediated demethylation increased substrate accessibility, thereby enhancing EndoPG-catalyzed hydrolysis and resulting in higher POS yields than those obtained with single-enzyme systems. The highest production of short-chain POS, comprising GalA, di-GalA, and tri-GalA (681 mg/g substrate), was achieved at an EndoPG:PET11 dosage ratio of 15:5. The resulting POS fraction significantly promoted the growth of five probiotic strains, including Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria species, and enhanced probiotic adherence to intestinal epithelial cells. In particular, Lactobacillus acidophilus TBRC 5030 exhibited the highest adhesion level (35.24 ± 6.43%) in the presence of 2.0 mg/mL POS. Overall, this work demonstrated that enzyme-assisted demethylation coupled with targeted endo-hydrolysis enables effective tailoring of POS chain length, providing a promising biocatalytic strategy for pectin valorization into prebiotic ingredients.