Limpet, Patella vulgata is an underutilized gastropod mollusc. In this study, the nutritional and techno-functional properties of limpets, found attached to rocks on the shores of Cornwall, Wales and Scotland were explored for the first time. P. vulgata flesh had a high percentage of protein (15%) with a well-balanced amino acid composition. Fat content was about 3%, comprising saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the ratio of 1:1:2. SDS-PAGE characterisation showed the main myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic protein bands from limpet flesh. More importantly, our study showed that limpet had good gelling properties with a high elastic modulus (Gʹ) of 50.79 kPa and a low gelation temperature of 55.7^oC. The limpet protein can therefore be used in a food system together with tapioca starch (TS) and whey protein isolate (WPI) to improve the gel texture via various interactions with other components in the food model systems. Our study highlighted that the addition of limpet protein improved the rheological properties and gel strength of the TS and WPI-based composite gel. The present study clearly indicated that limpet, an underutilized shellfish source can benefit the food industry to make novel products and provide alternative diets such as meat free food.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an essential crop that is a dietary staple for more than half of the world's population. There is currently a movement in consumer behaviour toward healthier food consumption, which is fuelling interest in functional diets like coloured rice. Sembada 188 and Keladi rice are underutilised in Brunei Darussalam and are expected to have functional qualities. A comparison of antioxidant properties between Sembada 188 and Keladi rice was performed in this study. This research produced puffed rice treats prepared by steaming rice, washing, drying for 6-8 hours at 60℃, deep frying for 25 seconds at 180℃, and then mixing with Nypa Fruticans Wurmb sugar. The result showed that Keladi rice has high anti-radical activity with 92.62% RSA detected, which has the potential to be a functional ingredient. Due to high-temperature treatment, the production process has decreased in % RSA in Keladi rice by 6.83%. The addition of Nypa fruticans Wurmb sugar has increased the cumulative antioxidants value in Sembada 188 rice significantly (p < 0.05) by 43.9% whilst significantly (p < 0.05) decreased in Keladi from 92.62% to 85.79%. These findings indicate that the underutilised Keladi and Sembada 188 rice can contribute to antioxidant properties in novel food production.

Yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), the larva stage of darkling beetle, confers high nutritional and functional protein and it can serve as a sustainable protein source. The present study therefore evaluated the effect of replacing the egg yolk as emulsifier with yellow mealworm protein hydrolysate powder (YMPH) (0-100%) at 20% increment levels on the rheological and textural properties, colour attributes, emulsion microstructure and storage stability of mayonnaise. The emulsion stability results demonstrated that mayonnaise with up to 60% substitution of YMPH displayed excellent storage stability for 3 weeks (<2% phase separation). In terms of textural properties, all samples showed no significant difference () in firmness whereas consistency decreased steadily with increasing YMPH concentration levels. Microstructure observation of all mayonnaise formulations demonstrated a gradual increase in oil droplet size in parallel with the increase in YMPH concentration. For rheological properties, all mayonnaise exhibited similar gel-like behaviour with greater storage modulus (G’) than loss modulus (G”) and loss tangent (tan δ) less than 1.0. For the colour attributes, increasing YMPH level led to significant decrease () in the L* and b* factors from 73.0 to 27.2 and 23.9 to 8.1, respectively. However, the overall a* factor value increased significantly () from 1.11 to 5.10 as the YMPH concentration increased. This study revealed that insect-based protein hydrolysate has a good potential to serve as an emulsifier.

Oleogels have emerged as promising alternatives to conventional solid fats by structuring liquid oils without increasing trans or saturated fat levels. This study therefore aimed to develop rice bran oil (RBO)-based oleogels using beeswax (BW), carnauba wax (CW), and their combinations, and to compare their physicochemical properties with commercial margarine. Thirteen formulations with varying wax concentrations were prepared and analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry, microscopy, rheology, texture profile analysis, oil binding capacity, slip melting point, peroxide value, color analysis, and fatty acid profiling. Our results demonstrated that the thermal behavior of the oleogels is dependent on the type and concentration of the wax, with CW oleogels exhibiting higher crystallization and melting temperatures than BW, while hybrid systems displayed intermediate and synergistic properties. Distinct crystal morphologies were observed, with BW forming needle-like and CW forming spherulitic structures, while the hybrids created interconnected networks. All samples exhibited shear-thinning and gel-like behavior, with greater viscosity and gel strength observed at increasing wax concentrations. The hybrid oleogels achieved hardness comparable to higher CW levels and approached margarine texture, while maintaining high oil binding capacity (>94%). The RBO oleogels contained higher unsaturated fatty acids but showed lower oxidative stability than margarine. Overall, BW–CW hybrid oleogels demonstrated strong potential as healthier, solid fat alternatives with improved structural and thermal characteristics.