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The sugary drink boba milk tea has seen its popularity surge in recent years. However, the overwhelmingly trending boba milk tea is categorised as a sugar-sweetened beverage due to its high sugar content. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the sugar content of four brands of boba milk tea drinks (brand A, B, C, and D) available around Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The physico-chemical characteristics of each brand were evaluated comprising the pH level, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), conductivity value, and liquid density. In addition, the glucose content in the liquid milk and boba pearls were determined using the glucometer and gravimetric analysis, which were then used to estimate the total glucose content in the boba milk tea samples. Based on the results, there were significant differences between the pH value and glucose content (p < 0.05). The pH of brand A recorded the highest value of 8.23 ± 0.03 (slightly alkaline) compared to other brands. The liquid milk of Brand A also exhibited the highest glucose content value and the highest density value (p < 0.05) with a value of 23.4 ± 0.5 mmol/L and 1030 g/L, respectively. However, brand D possessed the highest TDS content and conductivity with values of 1912 ± 36 ppm and 3825 ± 71 µS, respectively. Meanwhile, the highest glucose content in the liquid milk and boba pearls were 23.4 ± 0.5 mmol/L (brand A) and 18.1 ± 0.4 (brand B), respectively. Overall, the study estimated that brand B has the highest total glucose content (38.6 ± 0.1 mmol/L) due to the significant glucose content from the boba pearls. Surprisingly, the overall glucose content in boba milk tea (milk tea solution and boba pearl) was approximately from 2-to 5-fold more than the recommended daily sugar (glucose) intake of 8.33 mmol/L (equivalent to 50 g/day) by the Ministry of Health (MOH), Malaysia. The lack of preventive measures to curb the overconsumption of boba milk tea would cause a long-term adverse health effect on individuals and increase the rate of patients suffering from diabetic-related diseases and other noncommunicable diseases (NCD). An intervention is required instantaneously from a public health perspective to regulate the consumption of sweetened and flavored beverages that is limitless added to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) without strict regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over recent years, more and more products with μ-glucan have appeared in the market. This study was conducted to determine the physical, sensory evaluation and glycemic index(GI)of selected popular beverages with μ-glucan in the Malaysian market, which were Biogrow Oat BG22 (from oats) and Biolife Barley BG25 (from barley). The physical parameters measured were colour, viscosity, and total suspended solid. Sensory analysis was conducted on 30 subjects using the 7-point hedonic scale. Attributes assessed were colour, aroma, viscosity, sweetness and overall acceptance. A total of 10 subjects were involved in the determination of GI value of these beverages. A total of 25 g glucose was used as the reference. Test meals also contained 25 g available carbohydrate and all beverages were mixed with 250 mL water. Blood samples (finger prick) were taken every 15 minutes (first hour) and 30 minutes (second hour) for the duration of 120 minutes after the food sample consumption. Test protocol was based on ISO26642:2010. Blood glucose values were determined using glucometer. A total of 30 subjects were chosen for the determination of satiety scores. Labelled magnitude satiety scale was used to measure satiety scores before and after test beverage consumption. Subjects were required to assess their perception of fullness or hunger by marking on the labelled magnitude satiety scale every 15 minutes for the first hour and 30 minutes for subsequent 2 hour for a total of 180 minutes. The colour analysis showed that BG25 and BG22 were slightly yellow due to positive b* value. The BG22 was more viscous and do not contain any sugar compared to BG25. Blood glucose level after glucose intake reached optimum level (9.9 mmol/L) at 30 minutes while BG25 and BG22 reached optimum level at 45 minutes with the value 7.9 mmol/L and 6.4 mmol/L respectively. Significant difference was found for attributes aroma, viscosity and overall acceptance of the two products. Our study found, BG22 from oats were has better physical attributes and is better accepted by the panelists. However, it is suggested that both products be taken together with milk or soy to improve the taste. The GI for BG25 was 79 (high GI) while BG22 was 32 (low GI). The BG22 with lower GI is significantly more satiating than BG25 and perhaps can be a choice of beverage for people who are managing diabetes and obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Papadum is one of the delicious and favourite snacks in Malaysia. In 2018, The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) claim that it has high sodium content. Therefore, this research was performed to verify the claim. A total of six different papadum brandswere fried and analyse for sodium concentration and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) value. Based on the results, The TDS also showed insignificant difference (p > 0.05) at both 0.02 g/mL and 0.01 g/mL for all brands with the range value of 1785.33 ± 15.20 to 1315.33 ± 15.60 ppm and 1232.33 ± 0.00 to 873.67 ± 0.00 ppm, respectively. The 0.1 g/mL papadum solution was considered undetectable due to analyser sensitivity limitation. Next, the sodium concentration for all brand ranged from 1120.83 - 1874.18 mg/100g (4 samples) which was within the daily intake limit of sodium at not more than 2,000 mg per day, as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, its sodium content is considered quite high as most consumer might consume other type of food. Papadum 1 and papadum 3 were significantly difference (p<0.05) with other types of papadum. Based on the Pearson correlation test, different papadum brands exhibited irrelevant correlation (r=0.033) with sodium concentration and TDS. In contrast, there was a strong inverse correlation (r=-0.926) between sodium concentration with TDS as the concentration of the papadum solution increased. In conclusion, this study agreed that papadum contains a significant amount of sodium that could affect human health when taken in a large amount daily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]