Caulerpa lentillifera is a type of green seaweed widely consumed as a fresh vegetable, specifically in Southeast Asia. Interestingly, this green seaweed has recently gained popularity in the food sector. Over the last two decades, many studies have reported that C. lentillifera is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, and bioactive compounds that contribute many health benefits. On the other hand, there is currently hardly any article dedicated specifically to C. lentillifera regarding nutritional composition and recent advancements in its potential health benefits. Hence, this study will summarise the findings on the nutritional content of C. lentillifera and compile recently discovered beneficial properties throughout the past decade. From the data compiled in this review paper, it can be concluded that the nutrient and phytochemical profile of C. lentillifera differs from one region to another depending on various external factors. As a result, this paper will offer researchers the groundwork to develop food products based on C. lentillifera. The authors of this paper are hopeful that a more systematic review could be done in the future as currently, existing data is still scarce.

The effect of the addition of three types of tropical edible seaweeds, Kappaphycus alvarezii (KA), Sargassum polycystum (SP), and Caulerpa lentilifira (CL), on sausages were studied. Nine sausage formulations with three levels of inclusion (2%, 4%, and 6%) of each seaweed were prepared, analysed, and compared with the control sample (without seaweed) in terms of their physicochemical properties, total phenolic content, and lipid oxidation. The modified sausages had low moisture and fat content (p < 0.05) but high ash and dietary fiber content (p < 0.05) compared to the control sausage. The addition of seaweed powder changed the texture of the sausages, mainly its hardness and chewiness (p < 0.05), but no significant difference in cohesiveness and springiness was found (p < 0.05). The modified sausages were shown to have high water holding capacities and cooking yields. The different types of seaweed modified the colour of the chicken sausages differently. In general, the L* (brightness) and b* (yellowness) values was low for all sausage samples containing seaweed powder (p < 0.05), while the a* (redness) value increased with the addition of the KA and SP seaweed powder but decreased for the sausage sample with added CL seaweed powder (p < 0.05). Moreover, the modified sausages have higher total phenolic contents and high antioxidant capacities, which contributed to slowing the oxidation of lipid in sausages during storage (p < 0.05). Sensory evaluation showed that the panellists found up to 4% of KA and 2% of SP to be acceptable. Overall, the seaweeds, especially KA and SP, could potentially be developed as excellent additives for the manufacture of highly technological high-quality meat products.

This study investigates the effect of salt reduction through the inclusion of seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii) on the physicochemical and sensory qualities of chicken patties. A control sample (1.5% salt and without seaweed) and four chicken patty formulations were used with two levels of salt (1% and 1.5%) and two levels of seaweed (2% and 4%). Adding seaweed improves water holding capacity and minimized cooking loss in reduced-salt patties. In addition, adding seaweed decreases the shrinkage of the diameter and thickness of chicken patties (p > 0.05). However, adding seaweed made the patties darker, as shown by lower L* values (p > 0.05). Additionally, the incorporation of seaweed significantly increased (p < 0.05) the hardness, chewiness, cohesiveness, and elasticity of patties. Reduced-salt chicken patties with the addition of 2–4% of seaweed showed lower extracted water than 1.5% salt chicken patties with seaweed (p < 0.05), indicating a higher water holding capacity. The sensory evaluation showed that the chicken patty with 1.5% salt and 4% seaweed had the highest overall acceptability. However, the overall acceptability of the chicken patties with 1% salt and 4% seaweed was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the control. In conclusion, the addition of Kappaphycus alvarezii to reduced salt patties improved textural properties with acceptable taste profiles.

Egg white is the most commonly used foaming agent in various aerated foods. Malaysia has been experiencing an egg crisis due to lower production and increased egg consumption rates since the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. Thus, finding an alternative functional ingredient to address the egg shortage is essential. Liquids discarded from commercially plant-based canned foods have the potential to replace eggs in food products as an alternative foaming agent. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the physicochemical and sensory properties of bahulu and chocolate mousse using canned liquids of green peas (pulses N and P), lentils (pulse R), chickpeas (pulse X), button mushrooms (vegetable A), and straw mushrooms (Vegetable D). Canned liquids were incorporated into bahulu and mousse formulations to replace egg whites. The developed bahulu and mousse were baked for 25 min at 180 °C and chilled for 3 hours at 4 °C, respectively. The texture profile of bahulu and the viscosity properties of the chocolate mousse were determined in this study. Furthermore, the research examines the proximate analysis and sensory acceptance of both products. According to the findings, bahulu A, produced from canned vegetable liquids, had the lowest hardness, springiness, and chewiness (p < 0.05) levels. In contrast, canned pulse liquid, which was used in bahulu N, produced comparable hardness, fracturability, adhesiveness, springiness, cohesiveness, and chewiness with the control sample (p > 0.05). Moreover, the viscosity values of mousses A (2238.33 ± 2.89 cP) and D (2778.33 ± 2.89 cP) were lower than the control mousse (8005.00 ± 0.00 cP) (p < 0.05). Bahulu and mousse contain 6.58–6.83% and 1.52–1.90% of protein, respectively. The protein content of canned pulse liquid products was higher than that of canned vegetable liquids (p < 0.05). The lowest taste acceptance was observed in samples Bahulu N and P as well as mousses N and P (p < 0.05). This outcome could be due to the saltiness derived from the canned green pea liquid. The appearance, odor, and overall acceptability of the bahulu and mousse were comparable to the control samples and well-accepted by the panelists (p > 0.05). The findings demonstrate that canned pulse liquids (green peas, lentils, and chickpeas) can potentially mimic egg white in the development of bahulu and chocolate mousse.

The model in vitro protein digestion technique has received greater attention due to providing significant advantages compared to in vivo experiments. This research employed an in vitro infant digestive static model to examine the protein digestibility of whey proteins isolate–lactose (WPI–Lac). The polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) pattern for alpha-lactalbumin of WPI at 60 min showed no detectable bands, while the alpha-lactalbumin of the WPI–Lac was completely digested after 5 min of gastric digestion. The beta-lactoglobulin of the WPI–Lac was found to be similar to the beta-lactoglobulin of the WPI, being insignificant at pH 3.0. The alpha-lactalbumin of the WPI decreased after 100 min of duodenal digestion at pH 6.5, and the WPI–Lac was completely digested after 60 min. The peptides were identified as ~2 kilodalton (kDa) in conjugated protein, which indicated that the level of degradation of the protein was high, due to the hydrolysis progress. The conjugated protein increased the responsiveness to digestive proteolysis, potentially leading to the release of immunogenic protein by lactose, and to the creation of hypoallergenic protein.