Honey, propolis, and royal jelly, products originating in the beehive, are attractive ingredients for healthy foods. Honey has been used since ancient times as part of traditional medicine. Several aspects of this use indicate that it also has functions such as antibacterial, antioxidant, antitumor, anti-inflamatory, antibrowning, and antiviral. Propolis is a resinous substance produced by honeybees. This substance has been used in folk medicine since ancient times, due to its many biological properties to possess, such as antitumor, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects, among others. Royal jelly has been demonstrated to possess numerous functional properties such as antibacterial activity, anti-inflammatory activity, vasodilative and hypotensive activities, disinfectant action, antioxidant activity, antihypercholesterolemic activity, and antitumor activity. Biological activities of honey, propolis, and royal jelly are mainly attributed to the phenolic compounds such as flavonoids. Flavonoids have been reported to exhibit a wide range of biological activities, including antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, and vasodilatory actions. In addition, flavonoids inhibit lipid peroxidation, platelet aggregation, capillary permeability and fragility, and the activity of enzyme systems including cyclo-oxygenase and lipoxygenase.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an ancient fruit that is widely consumed as fresh fruit and juice. The use of pomegranate fruit dates from ancient times and reports of its therapeutic qualities have echoed throughout the ages. Both in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated how this fruit acts as antioxidant, antidiabetic, and hypolipidemic and shows antibacterial, antiinflammatory, antiviral, and anticarcinogenic activities. The fruit also improves cardiovascular and oral health. These beneficial physiological effects may also have preventive applications in a variety of pathologies. The health benefits of pomegranate have been attributed to its wide range of phytochemicals, which are predominantly polyphenols, including primarily hydrolyzable ellagitannins, anthocyanins, and other polyphenols. The aim of this review was to present an overview of the functional, medical, and physiological properties of this fruit.

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The increase in consumers demand for high-quality food products has led to the growth in the use of new technologies and ingredients such as RS. RS occurs basically in all starchy foods and has a long history as food source for humans. RS includes the portion of starch that can resist digestion by human pancreatic amylase in the small intestine and thus, reach the colon. His great nutritional interest is associated with his physiological effects, similar to those of dietary fibre. The regular consumption of certain subclasses of highly fermentable dietary fibre sources result in gut associated immune and microbiota modulation as well as a significant production of SCFAs. Among the different physiological roles of RS, its prebiotic effect is of great interest. RS can be considered prebiotic and it is not absorbed in the intestine. The best approach of prebiotic-probiotic symbiosis is achieved by encapsulation. But other food biocompounds can be encapsulated too using RS.

Tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus) is a weed plant (yellow nut sedge) of tropical and Mediterranean regions.