Stingless bee honey: An overview of health benefits and main market challenges.

This review aimed to evaluate the nutraceutical and medicinal effects of stingless bee honey (SBH) by bringing a discussion focused on the main known in vitro/in vivo health-promoting effects. SBH has a high-water content, slight sweetness, acidic flavor, fluid texture, and slow crystallization. The type and concentration of phenolic compounds and consequent antioxidant activity were mainly associated with the floral sources, geographical location, bee species, and processing steps. SBH has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial (against spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms), anti-diabetic, and skin aging delay activities in in vitro tests. It has also shown antioxidant and hypolipidemic effects, can protect from injuries caused by dyslipidemia, possess anti-inflammatory activity against chronic subclinical systemic inflammation and anti-diabetic properties, and can control and prevent Staphylococcus aureus infection on infected wound healings in in vivo tests (rats). However, clinical trials are crucial for the probation of the medicinal and nutraceutical properties of SBH. Despite this, there are still no general norms and/or quality standards for this type of honey. The information summarized in this review is important to add value to this little-consumed food, providing helpful information to spread knowledge about its benefits, assisting future studies, and raising perspectives for its recognition as a functional food. Furthermore, it may encourage the creation of standard quality for the production and marketing of SBH. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Previous studies have already summarized the chemical profile and physicochemical properties of stingless bee honey (SBH) and its potential health properties. However, no study has performed an overview of the potential nutraceutical and medicinal effects of SBH, presenting results from in vitro and in vivo investigations. Therefore, this review is the first study to overview the potential nutraceutical and medicinal effects of SBH, showing results of in vitro/in vivo health-promoting effects. The bioactivity of SBH is related to bee species and floral sources. The SBH has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, and antioxidant in vitro activity. It has also shown hypolipidemic effects and protection from injuries caused by dyslipidemia in rats.

Vegan probiotic products: A modern tendency or the newest challenge in functional foods.

Vegan consumers represent an attractive economic target for the food industry with demand of products with health benefits, such as probiotic products. This review aimed to explore the so called vegan probiotic products by providing an overview of the commercial and studied products and their associated in vitro/in vivo health-promoting effects, and discuss the effect of probiotics on the technological and sensory properties in a range of products. The factors that impact on the probiotic survival, the main challenges and the trends of this market niche are presented. Vegan probiotic products may improve the lipid profile and the immune system, manage the diabetes, reduce Helicobacter pylori-associated diseases, have anticarcinogenic properties, and improve the general well-being. Fermented and non-fermented beverages are the main vegan probiotic products. The survival of probiotic cultures is dependent on the processing steps, food matrix, probiotic strain and the form of incorporation into the matrix, storage conditions, and addition of prebiotic components. Probiotics may alter the chemical composition, acidity, color, and acceptance of vegan foods and beverages but products with suitable probiotic survival, physicochemical characteristics, technological properties, and sensory acceptance can be obtained. However, the source of the strain may compromise the vegan status since most of those currently available are not isolated from vegetable matrices. Therefore, short-term marketing strategies should focus not only on the vegan public but also on those consumers that want to reduce the consumption of animal-derived products, besides seeking new non-animal derived strains.

Viscozyme L action on soy slurry affects carbohydrates and antioxidant properties of silken tofu.

This study investigated the enzymatic treatment of soy slurry using Viscozyme L to hydrolyze the carbohydrates. The optimum temperature of Viscozyme L action was 55 °C. The increase of glucose and galactose content in tofu (1.36 and 0.19 g/100 g, respectively) confirmed the Viscozyme activity on soy slurry when compared to the control. The treated tofu had more total phenolics than the control (173 and 161 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g freeze-dried tofu, respectively) and higher antioxidant activity by the 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl,2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl radical tests. Total reducing sugar (glucose equivalents) content in treated tofu was approximately four times higher than that in the control under the optimum conditions (30 Fungal Beta-Glucanase units/10 g solids, 55 °C, 30 min). The tofus differed in the sensory analysis for soy odor and surface uniformity, but there was no preference for one over the other.