Abstract This study was designed to evaluate the changes number of cells of the two selected probiotic bacteria, B. longum TISTR2195 and L. plantarum TISTR1465, and yeast S. cerevisiae TISTR8656. The microorganisms were cultured in two types of media, namely selective media and protein base model. Selective media were divided into 4 sub-groups: with 2% glucose added as a positive control (i), inulin (ii), fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS) (iii), and without added carbon source as negative control (iv). Protein base media had chicken egg and coconut juice, baker’s yeast and potassium chloride (i), with 9% FOS (ii), or inulin (iii), or 7.34% whey protein (iv) to verify growth. All the probiotics were able to utilize inulin and FOS to growth. The numbers of cells increased with incubation time. However, L. plantarum produced an acidic in the selective culture medium significantly. Protein based with FOS and inulin added supported all probiotics growth. In addition, acetic acid content was the highest among short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced. B. longum produced acetic acid very fast within 24 h. L. plantarum cultured in inulin added provided the peak level of acetic acid at 72 h. However, S. cerevisiae tended to decrease the SCFAs with incubation time.

Abstract Porang glucomannan is a polysaccharide extracted from Amorphophallus oncophylus and its degradation product is porang oligo-glucomannan (POG). It contains glucomannan, which has been used as an emulsifier, thickener, or as a nutritional supplement to counter many diseases. While it is believed to have health benefits, there are only limited studies exploring this aspect of porang glucomannnan (PGM). It was hydrolyzed using β-mannanase to obtain POG under optimal conditions: reaction temperature of 37 °C, reaction time of 4 h, pH 5.5 and E/S of 1:1,000 (w/w). The study aimed to evaluate the fermented POG, which might also generate short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and to estimate the prebiotic activity score of POG fermented in vitro. The results show that SCFA profiles of POG fermentation gave a high acetic acid concentration (32.64 mM) and butyric acid (6.68 mM) at 12 h, having butyrogenic effects after a rapid fermentation. Mostly the beneficial bacteria grew faster on POG and KOG (konjac oligo-glucomannan) than on PGM or control at the beginning of incubation. Among the substrates screened, POG showed a highly positive prebiotic index of 10.29, increasing bifidobacteria and lactobacilli but reducing bacteroides population. So, POG is a candidate prebiotic since it has bifidogenic, butyrogenicity, and fermentability.

Abstract The functional properties, resistant starch (RS), and glycemic index (GI) of fresh noodles substituted with banana flour (BF) were investigated. When the substitution with BF was increased from 0 to 40%, the viscoelastic properties increased, while tensile strength and elasticity decreased from 53.23 to 26.84 gf and 44.65 to 15.04 mm, respectively. GI was reduced from 77.05 to 62.62 while RS content increased from 5.56 to 23.31%. This is considered a very high RS content and the modified noodles are classified as intermediate GI food. Furthermore, the effects of xanthan gum (XG), guar gum (GG), and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) individually at 1.0% and 1.5% levels on quality of dried noodles substituted with 30% BF (DBF30) were investigated. DBF30 with XG had the shortest rehydration time (6.5 min), while DBF30 with CMC had the slowest rehydration (8.5 min). The added hydrocolloids increased rehydration and decreased the cooking loss of DBF30, also increasing tensile strength and elasticity of DBF30. Furthermore, the hydrocolloids increased RS content and reduced GI of DBF30. The results reveal that adding BF and hydrocolloids to noodle products provides high nutritional quality with enhanced quality characteristics.

Abstract This review article is focused on the nutritional constituents and functional properties of Gnetum gnemon Linn. Among the various plant parts, fruit or seed have been utilized and intensively investigated for food products in India and Indonesia. While the leaves may not be as popular as seeds, they protein sources with complete amino acids and high branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). In addition, the plant has high contents of vitamin A, dietary fiber, minerals (potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus) and high chlorophylls, which are related to chlorophyllin synthesis, antioxidant activity, anti-diabetes activity, and health benefits against various diseases. Therefore, G. gnemon is considered a candidate plant with high nutritional potential providing a wide range of essential nutrients and health benefits, and can be used safely as raw material for food, nutraceuticals, and medicinal products.