Aliah Zannierah Mohsin

Type V resistant starch (RS5), produced through amylose–lipid complexation, provides important functional and nutritional benefits. However, its formation in rice cooked with coconut milk, a key component of Malaysia's nasi lemak, remains poorly understood. This study examined RS5 formation in three rice varieties of differing amylose levels (Commercial variety, UPM Putra 2, and NMR 152) cooked with and without coconut milk using steaming and boiling. The most significant findings show that amylose level and cooking method strongly influenced complex formation. Although Commercial variety contained 26.38 ± 1.52 ^a highest amylose content, the medium‐amylose UPM Putra 2 with amylose 21.50 ± 0.62 ^b unexpectedly exhibited the highest complexing index under both steaming (30.39% ± 0.45%) and boiling (26.01% ± 0.19%). Steaming consistently produced higher complexing indices than boiling across all rice types, demonstrating its superior efficiency in promoting amylose–lipid interactions. Thermal analysis showed that samples cooked with coconut milk displayed a characteristic high‐temperature dissociation peak (118°C–131°C), demonstrating amylose–lipid complex presence. Commercial variety exhibited the highest enthalpy values during complex dissociation in both steaming (104.05 ± 1.87 J/g) and boiling (38.20 ± 1.39 J/g), indicating greater thermal stability and suggesting that, despite its lower complexing index, it formed more stable complexes structurally. Notably, steamed samples with lipid consistently showed higher enthalpy changes than boiled samples. X‐ray diffraction data revealed increased intensity at the 19.8° peak in all rice samples cooked with coconut milk, suggesting RS5 formation. Commercial variety demonstrated the sharpest and most defined peak, reflecting higher crystallinity and a more ordered starch–lipid structure. Overall, the study demonstrates that coconut milk enhances RS5 formation in white rice, with steaming outperforming boiling in promoting amylose–lipid complex development. While medium‐amylose rice showed the highest complexing index, high‐amylose rice produced the most thermally and structurally stable complexes. These findings offer practical implications for optimizing rice preparation to improve functional and nutritional qualities in traditional and modern food applications.

Goat's milk is increasingly considered an alternative to cow's milk for infants due to its potential health benefits. However, casein allergenicity and antigenicity, including potential cross‐reactivity with cow's milk, remain important public health concerns. Although goat's milk has been reviewed, few studies have specifically addressed strategies to reduce allergenicity or integrated the diverse approaches required for comprehensive assessment. This review examines allergenicity and antigenicity of goat's milk protein and identifies key gaps in developing hypoallergenic infant formulas. It synthesizes current knowledge by combining in silico epitope prediction, structure–activity relationship (SAR) analyses, enzymatic hydrolysis strategies, and advanced analytical methods. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)‐based immunoassays and peptide bioefficacy, including bioaccessibility and bioavailability, are also discussed, providing a holistic perspective for profiling allergenic potential. Enzymatic hydrolysis can markedly reduce goat's milk allergenicity and antigenicity, whereas integrated computational and experimental approaches enable identification of bioactive and allergenic peptides. By consolidating these strategies into a unified framework, this review provides a roadmap for designing safer, hypoallergenic goat's milk products and guides future research in infant formula development and broader dairy applications.

The composition of resistant starch (RS) in high glycemic index food like white rice could contribute to altering its dietary glycemic load, which would be a promising strategy in managing obesity and improving dietary fiber intake. Heat pre-treatment, cooking methods and temperatures are among the key factors to impact RS content. This study aimed to investigate the effect of pre-treatment (oven heating) at different temperatures with different cooking techniques (steaming or boiling) on RS, physicochemical and thermal properties, and crystallinity of white rice. The study demonstrated steam-cooked rice with pre-treatment at 55, 75, and 95 °C increased RS to 5.96%, 5.99%, and 5.48%, and amylose content increased to 34.18%, 37.87%, and 21.59% respectively. In contrast, rice cooked with boiling method after pre-treatment at 55, 75, and 95 °C decreased RS to 4.13%, 5.54%, and 3.66%, and amylose content decreased to 22.91%, 25.35%, and 21.55% respectively. Thermal properties and crystallinity of treated rice were analyzed via differential scanning colorimetry and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The gelatinization temperatures of all treated rice had significantly decreased because of reduced amylose content and slightly weakened starch crystalline structure. The XRD analysis revealed a V-type pattern and a slightly weak A-type pattern for all treated rice. Overall, rice treated at 75 °C followed by steam cooking performed the best in terms of amylose, RS contents, and textural properties (hardness and stickiness), hence can be suggested for obese people to improve their dietary fiber intake in their daily diet.

Bananas rank among the most widely consumed fruits globally. However, their cultivation generates substantial waste, including peels, leaves, inflorescences, and pseudostems, with up to 80 % of the plant's biomass being discarded. This waste not only poses considerable environmental and economic challenges but also represents an underutilized resource rich in unique nutritional and bioactive compounds, such as neurotransmitters, essential fatty acids, enzymes, and flavor constituents that are common in other agricultural byproducts. In this review, we present recent statistics on banana production and waste generation, alongside an examination of the potential applications of banana waste. These applications include direct consumption to combat malnutrition, incorporation into functional foods, the development of innovative food packaging, and contributions to sustainable agriculture. Additionally, we address the cultural significance of banana waste, review current life cycle analysis studies that highlight its environmental benefits, and outline the strategies for its valorization, addressing commercial viability, technical challenges, and regulatory considerations. By elucidating the processing challenges and multifunctional potential of banana waste in food science and technology, this study provides a comprehensive roadmap for leveraging this abundant resource to advance sustainable development goals, minimize agricultural waste, enhance global nutrition, and promote eco-friendly technological innovations.

Gouda is a semi-hard Dutch cheese and can be made from cow, buffalo, and goat milk. This study was performed to investigate the effect of different fat levels on the physicochemical and sensory properties of Gouda cheese. Buffalo milk with two different fat contents (55.40 and 3.37%) and one control sample from cow milk were used to prepare Gouda cheese. Different formulations showed a significant effect on the proximate analysis except for ash content in pasteurised milk and protein content in Gouda cheese. For TPA, hardness showed a significant effect on day 0 and day 15 but insignificant on day 30, while springiness showed a significant effect on day 0 until day 30. Sensory evaluations show that taste and overall acceptance attributes were significant, while aroma, colour, and texture were insignificant. Based on the TPA analysis and sensory evaluation, it can be concluded that Gouda cheese from buffalo milk with 3.37% fat content is the best formulation and showed the lowest deviation from control (gouda cheese from cow milk).

The development of new rice varieties in Malaysia (NMR and Putra 2) has presented the need to characterize their techno-functional properties in food production. Starch, a main component of rice, has been applied in developing plant-based cheese analogs to mimic the textural characteristics of conventional dairy cheese. This study aimed to determine the effect of different types of starch on the physicochemical, textural, and thermal properties of palm milk cheese analog (PMCA). A total of 4 samples were produced with 0% starch as negative control (Sample A), 2% Putra 2 rice starch (B), 2% NMR rice starch (C), and 2% corn starch as positive control (D). The samples were subjected to physicochemical analyses of water activity, pH, titratable acidity, colour. Results indicated that PMCA showed greater storage moduli than the loss moduli representing dense interlinked weak gels supported by a less compact structure, and a rough surface was observed in the microstructure of samples with starch. In conclusion, the incorporation of different types of starches had a significant effect on the rheological properties of the PMCAs while having no significant differences on their physicochemical properties.

Starch consists of amylose and amylopectin polysaccharides that vary in different rice varieties. The development of new rice varieties has presented the need for characterization to determine their applications. This study aims to determine rice flours' physicochemical and rheological properties and starches from two Malaysian varieties, UPM Putra 2 (P2) and NMR 152 (NMR). P2 and NMR flours and starches were analysed for proximate amylose content, pasting, and rheological properties with commercial white rice (JM) as control. P2 and NMR starches had lower amylose contents than JM; meanwhile, their flours contained higher fat, total dietary fiber, and ash than JM flour. Based on thermal analysis, P2, and NMR exhibited similar peak viscosity but differed in breakdown and setback temperatures and final viscosity. Starch gels exhibited solid-like behaviour as their G' was greater than G", and tan δ values were smaller than unity. In conclusion, pasting and rheological properties of rice flours and starches varied for different rice varieties even though both P2 (23.1%) and NMR (23.4%) are medium-amylose starches, while JM (26.6%) is high-amylose starch. The characterization of these rice and starch is essential for them to be further processed into various food products.