Guest Contributor

Serai kayu – remedy for treating hypertension in East Coast of Malaysia

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A young serai kayu tree. Its leavers are used as condiments in local dishes

Syzygium polyanthum, common names Indonesian bay leaf in English, serai kayu in Malay is a mildly aromatic species of a wild flowering plant native to South East Asia under the Myrtaceae family. The plant is called by various names in Indonesia and Malaysia. In Indonesia its other names are daun salam, meselengan, ubar serai, gowok, manting and kastolam. In Malaysia the name serai kayu is more widely used in the east coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu in Peninsular Malaysia. In the west coast it is often call daun samak or daun salam. Used as food seasoning, serai kayu is often confused with Mediterranean bay laurel (Laurus nobilis, Lauraceae) which is used as food seasoning and flavoring. Serai kayu may to a certain extend has similar foliage and aroma to bay laurel but is from a different family.

The serai kayu plant or tree can grow to a height of 30 metres. The leaves are elliptic of 5 to 13 centimeters long and 3 to 6 centimeters wide. They are dark green in color and have a distinct aroma when crushed. The leaves contain citral and eugenol oil, tannin and flavanoid. The tree bears clusters of small, cream-colored flowers which attract bees, butterflies, wasps and other insects for nectar (good news for all beekeepers). The flowers produce whitish green drupes (small single seed fruits like berries) that turn to pink and dark red when fully ripe which attract birds, squirrels et cetera. The tree is of medium hardwood and suitable for making furniture and other house items. The leaves are the most important and sought after part of the plant, while the barks, roots and fruits are less frequently used though has medicinal value as well. The plant is easy to propagate, either from fruits (seeds) or cuttings.

Serai kayu trees used to be quite common in the country but with the flow of time, many were discarded and replaced with other more commercially valuable trees and somewhat forgotten. Nowadays, except in Kelantan and Terengganu, they are quite hard to find in the peninsular. The trees are relatively easy to find in these two states as their leaves feature prominently in many local dishes. Also in the two states their uses in traditional medicine are better known, hence are often kept or even planted at the back of the house for future uses when the need arises.

Use of serai kayu for cooking

In the states of Kelantan and Terengganu, in certain dishes the leaves are used more than just for seasoning. In dishes such as nasi kerabu, laksa and laksam for example, serai kayu leaves are such important ingredients that without them the dishes are considered incomplete. The leaves are also taken with rice as salads or ulam with or without sambal belacan (a side dish of blended or pounded chilly, shrimp paste, salt and squeezed lime juice taken with rice to complement the fish or ulam) or budu (fermented anchovies). In Indonesia the leaves are used as seasoning in cooking, usually in chicken, meat, fish and vegetable dishes. They give out a distinct pleasant aroma, much in the same way as bay leaves (bay laurel) are used in Mediterranean dishes.

Use of serai kayu in folk medicine

In the east coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu, the leaves of serai kayu are used to treat hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, gastritis, and diarrhea among others.

As for hypertension it has been a subject of study by a team of researches from the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Kubang Krian campus in Kelantan. The team had done a laboratory study on the treatment for hypertension using serai kayu on rats. In the study it was found that serai kayu was effective in lowering the blood pressure of the rats by as much as 30%. This research by the USM team was conducted in relation to the findings obtained from the National Health Morbidity Surveys (NHMS) done in 1996 and 2006. The findings revealed inter alia, a much lower than expected incidence of hypertension in Kelantan vis-à-vis the national average. The figure for Kelantan was only 13.9% while national average was 40.5%. (In the first NHMS conducted in 1996, 32.4% or 2.6 millions of Malaysian above 30 years old had hypertension. In the second survey done ten years later, the percentage of Malaysian above 30 that had hypertension had jumped to 40.5%. Ironically however for the state of Kelantan, from out of 2,508 subjects surveyed, only 13.9% had hypertension). This revealing article had appeared in the online version of Berita Harian, a Malaysian newspaper on 30th, September 2014.

From the research conducted one can surmise that consuming serai kayu on a regular basis, as well as taking serai kayu as remedy for hypertension were likely factors that contributed to the lower incidence of hypertension recorded in the state. It is common knowledge that many people in Kelantan and Terengganu took to serai kayu as a remedy for hypertension. Serai kayu features prominently in many foods there as well.

Awareness is on the rise

People are now rediscovering serai kayu as a prized plant, not just as a food seasoning but also as a remedy for various illnesses. Its medicinal value has long been known in traditional medicine but the knowledge was not widespread and developed enough to gain wider acceptance. This could be due to the lack of Research and Development (R&D) as well as communication limitation. However, with the digital technology and the widespread use of social media, time is changing and the futures looks brighter. Now, more and more people are talking and discussing about the subject in blogs and facebooks. Even universities and other research institutions are undertaking various researches on this subject. All aimed at either to unearth more of its secrets, to confirm what has already been known or to commercialize the findings.  It is interesting to see that serai kayu saplings are now easily available in nurseries, both conventional and online, and people are buying them. Serai kayu products in powder and extract forms are also already on the market.

Besides uses in culinary and medicine the plants have the potential to be used as ornamental trees and beautify the landscape. They have nice foliage and crowns to do the job especially when they bloom. They can also be grown to provide shades in gardens, parks, parking lots et cetera.

Comments by Dato’ Dr Anuar Md Nor

The serai kayu is a multi-purpose tree. Its leaves and fruits are used in dishes and treatment of various aliments. Its fruits feed various birds. Unfortunately, the serai kayu tree has been abandoned for more commercial trees.

Everyone must plant the serai kayu tree to sustain its species for our future generation.

About the guest contributor

Mr Ahmad Rozi is a stingless bee farmer in Terengganu, Malaysia. He writes on interesting topics about foods, places and traditional medicines in his state and region.

Interlude

The beauty of Perlis, the small northern state of Malaysia

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We had a short trip to Perlis last weekend. During this period, the mango trees, named sweet and fragrant mango (harum manis in Malay) are flowering profusely now. The sweet and fragrant mango fruits will be ready to be plucked by May, 2019. Be sure to visit Perlis during that time.

The big flower of mango of Perlis

Perlis shares its border with Thailand. The border town of Padang Besar is popular with locals to buy various types of Thai’s fruits, other products and clothes at reasonable .

The border town of Padang Besar. Thailand is in the distance
Bougainvillea in Perlis as well

Also enjoy the beauty of my wife’s orchids flowering side by side.

Guest Contributor

Nasi dagang: “Trader’s dish” of Terengganu

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The simple but delicious nasi dagang

Nasi dagang, “trader’s dish” is a dish of rice and curry. Ubiquitous in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it is a popular meal for breakfast as “nasi lemak” is in the west coast. It can even be found in the Southern Thai provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani. Nasi dagang or “trader’s rice” in Malay could have originated from the dish concocted by the early traders for their packed provision while plying their trades at the time, hence the name of the dish that has stuck until today.

An indigenous dish of the region, it makes use of abundant natural resources readily available – rice, herbs and spices from the land and ikan tongkol (tuna fish) from the sea for the curry. Unique to the east coast, nasi dagang has two main versions, Nasi dagang Kelantan and Nasi dagang Terengganu. The Nasi Dagang Kekantan is made from long grain reddish brown rice.The Terengganu version of nasi dagang is a mixture of white fragrant rice and white glutinous rice. Visually, Nasi dagang Kelantan is generally reddish brown while Nasi dagang Terengganu is generally white and glossy. As for its accompanying curry, the Kelantan version uses normal curry powder while nasi dagang Terengganu uses specially concocted herbs and species

About Nasi Dagang Terengganu

In Terengganu, nasi dagang is considered its traditional rice specialty. Simple, delicious, and wholesome are among the common descriptions given to this food. True that it is a very simple dish consisting of just rice, fish curry, pickles and chilly sauce.  And yet it can be very gastronomically fulfilling – a complete meal by itself that has most of the nutritional value that matters. Visually appealing to some due to the white glossy color of the rice, it is also a versatile dish for any meal of the day, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. And it is fitting enough for those special occasions like hari raya, thanksgivings and similar events. It is available from various outlets and settings – posh hotels, restaurants & eating shops, hawkers, kiosks, and even night markets

At its most basic, the nasi dagang Terengganu comprises of a rice dish with a side dish of ikan tongkol (tuna fish) curry and mixed pickles of cucumber, carrots and onions together with chilly sauce. Hard boiled eggs whether separate or put together into the curry with the fish can be an added option. If preferable, the tuna fish can be substituted with mackerel or other types of fish. The dish is prepared by steaming a mixture of fragrant rice and glutinous rice infused with coconut milk over low heat. The result is a white glossy rice dish that is both fragrant and creamy. Preparation of the dish will take 8 hours as the rice need to be soaked overnight (or at leas 8 hours) while the cooking itself will take about 2 hours.

The nasi dagang Terengganu has not been commercialised. Hardly any cafes or restaurants promote this delicacy in Kuala Lumpur lamented a writer in a column of an online news portal recently. That aptly describes the sad truth concerning this delicacy outside its state of origin, Terengganu. It has the potential to expand its market reach, not just confined to Terengganu but there are no takers.

Well, that is about to change as a company owned by the state of Terengganu has ventured into the making of Terengganu traditional foods. And the company has produced a line of frozen foods that includes nasi dagang Terengganu. The frozen foods in packs form are not just for the domestic market but for the overseas markets as well. The company’s frozen nasi dagang Terengganu in packets are currently available in several selected T Mart convenient stores and Shell petrol stations in the Klang Valley and other parts of the country.

Frozen nasi dagang

For the overseas markets, a trial shipment of 20,000 packs of nasi dagang Terengganu and keropok lekor Terengganu (fish sausage) made recently to the British capital was reported to be well received. The news report also said that the foods are marketed by a UK fast food chain Chicken Cottage, which is also owned by the state of Terengganu. The frozen packs of keropok lekor and nasi dagang Terengganu are available in selected supermarkets selling frozen Asian foods.

Now that is certainly good news for all the diehard fans of nasi dagang Terengganu outside the state. Now, one can easily get this delicacy when that cravings start to act.

However, the frozen nasi dagang packs do not have the real taste of freshly prepared version. You have to be in Terengganu.

About the guest contributor:

Mr Ahmad Rozi Daud is a stingless bee farmer in Kuala Terenganu, Malaysia. He resides near Rantau Abang, Terengganu . He also provides training for those who are interested to be a stingless beekeeper or apiarist. Please contact us at 6016 3220 952 for assessment of suitability of your location for stingless bee farming.

Plant-Based Meat

The Plant-Based Meat Market Part II

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The US Plant Based Food Association (PBFA) reported growing consumer interest in vegan alternatives to traditional foods. Plant-based meat had reached sales of US$670 million in 2017, showing that plant-based food industry has gone from a relatively niche market to fully mainstream.

PBFA also adds that plant-based meat and dairy alternatives are not just for vegetarians or vegans anymore; now even mainstream consumers are enjoying delicious plant-based foods.

In the UK, sales of meat alternatives are also gaining acceptance. Major supermarkets like Tesco and Sainbury’s are offering a wider range of vegan products.

A website, www.plantbasednews.org, predicted that the global meat alternative market is set to grow over the coming years, with a market forecast predicting it will reach US$6.3 billion by 2023. It is currently valued at US$4.63 billion.

The report puts the growth down to the “increased preference for vegetarians and vegan foods” as well as changing trends toward healthy diet.

Vegetarianism by country

A posting on Wikipedia lists countries with large population of vegetarians. Some countries have strong or cultural or religious traditions that promote vegetarianism, such as in India, while in other countries secular ethical concerns dominate, including animal rights and environmental protection along with health concerns. In many countries, food labeling laws have made it easier for vegetarians to identify foods which are compatible with their diets. . A study from 2010 by ESPRI, www.espri.ie/pubs/WP340.pdf, estimated that there are 1.45 billion vegetarians of necessity and another 75 million of choice. They represent approximately 22 per cent of the world’s population. The table shows the number of vegetarians in selected countries.

Country Approximate number of individuals
India 375,000,000 to 500,000,000
China 54,428,000 to 68,035,000
Brazil 29,260,000
Japan 18,370,000
Mexico 23,370,000
US 12,646,000 to 20,233,000
Germany 8,000,000
Russia 4,380,000 to 5,480,000
Italy 4,246,000
UK 3,250,000
France 3,300,000
Taiwan 3,297,011
Poland 3,072,000
Thailand 2,300,000
Israel 1,046,000
Switzerland 1,176,156
Sweden 969,000

Source: Wikipedia

Malaysian vegetarian restaurant need improvement in taste

Last week we took the opportunity to sample vegetarian dishes at a restaurant in Johor Bahru, the capital of Malaysia’s southern state, Johor. We glanced through the menu and settled for a mushroom steak, together with a bowl of rice and mashed potato. When the food came, it was not visually appetising. The mushroom steak was three pieces of fried battered mushroom, which was not tasteful at all.

The restaurant was well designed as a modern café as compared to the traditional vegetarian restaurants found throughout Malaysia. Nevertheless, there is a long way to go before Malaysian vegetarian restaurants can entice typical customers to taste vegetarian foods occasionally. In the meantime, we opt for fish burger in a McDonald.

In Malaysia, the mainly Muslim Malays are still devouring meat, such as beef and chicken. In a typical Malay function, such as wedding, meat alternative is yet being served. The beef “rendang” is always the main dish, supplemented by tomato chicken.

Still no plant-based meat alternative to beef rendang
Plant-Based Meat

Plant-Based Meat: From Niche to Mainstream Market Part 1

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Soybean is a main ingredient used to produce imitation meat

A good indicator whether a niche market has become mainstream is to look at the merger and acquisition activities. In the last few years, major food companies have acquired growing companies in the meat alternative sector. According to livekindly.com, in 2016, there were just four global plant-based acquisitions, whereas there were seventeen in 2017.Some notable acquisitions included Daiya Foods, which was bought by Otsuka, a Japanese pharmaceutical company for US$405 million. Nestle, the giant food company bought vegan food company, Sweet Earth Food so that they can continue to expand their healthy food range.

Other companies are considering to raise their capital by the capital market instead of selling to bigger companies. An example is Beyond Meat Inc, which was covered earlier.

The road of plant-based meat from a niche food to a large market can be observed from the case of Vegetarian Butcher, a Dutch company which was recently acquired by Unilever, the food giant. Its main challenge has been to produce meat products from plants that are both visually appetizing and tasteful.

Vegetarian Butcher  

The eight-year-old company was founded by Jaap Korteweg, and a business partner, Niko Kofferman, a Dutch Senator from the Party for the Animals, which champions animal rights and welfare. The company collaborated with scientists at Wageningan University , who had been working on substitutes for a long time.

Jaap Korteweg co-founded Vegetarian Butcher

Soybean is a major component of its many recipes. It also uses other bases. For example, a  “ filet American” is made from wheat. A Bloomberg report by Mark Ellwood on September 14th, 2018, reported that Vegetarian Butcher’s facility uses many machines familiar to traditional mat processing. In addition, the company is developing special machines for processing plant-based meat. Most of the meat substitutes are produced by cooking specific kinds of bean until its proteins are denatured. The resulting slurry is then passed through an extruder. As it emerges from the nozzle, this bean paste expands, resulting in a spongy mass that can then be flavoured. The challenge is texture: it is almost impossible using this method to evoke the muscle and fibre in a steak. The company has successfully developed a processing machine that can be programmed to mimic protein, be it fish, chicken or pork, up to 1,000 times more precisely than extrusion. There is no limit to the size of the resulting vegan steak-they can be printed by the foot.

The difference between vegan and vegetarian

According to Alina Petre of healthline.com, vegetarian diets have been reportedly around as early as 700 BC. Several types exist and individuals may practice them for a variety of reasons, including health, ethics, environmentalism and religion.

The most common types of vegetarian include:

  1. Lacto-ovo- vegetarians: Vegetarians who avoid all animal flesh and eggs but do consume dairy products and egg products.
  2. Lacto vegetarians: Vegetarians who avoid animal flesh and eggs, but do consume dairy products.
  3. Ovo vegetarians: Vegetarians who avoid all animal products except eggs.
  4. Vegan: Vegetarians who avoid all animal products and animal-derived products.

Those who do not eat meat or poultry but do consume fish are considered pescatarians, whereas part-time vegetarians are often referred to as flexitarians. Although sometimes considered vegetarians, pescatarians and flexitarians do eat animal flesh. Therefore, they do not technically fall under the definition of vegetarianism.

Note:

The next article will focus on market for plant-based meat. 

Guest Contributor

Will the giant leatherback turtle return to Rantau Abang, Terengganu, Malaysia?

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The Rantau Abang beach in the state of Terengganu, Malaysia , is one of the few places on earth that the giant leatherback turtles (leatherbacks) choose to come ashore to nest. Once, they helped put this normally quiet small village on the world map. Tourists, foreign and domestic as well as locals flocked by the thousands to this village to watch the leatherbacks come to nest and lay eggs on its beach between the months of March and October. It once had the largest nesting population in the world, hosting 10,000 nests per year.

Rautau Abang town is now a quite town

Leatherbacks’ Facts

The Leatherbacks (Dermochelys Coriacea or Penyu Belimbing to locals) are both the largest sea turtles and the oldest living reptiles. Leatherbacks can live to 50 years or more. Male leatherbacks can reach up to 2.6 metres in length and weigh 900 kg.

A leatherback is easily distinguishable by its leathery soft shell or carapace, and by its long front flippers. Seven ridges run down the length of its white spotted carapace. All other species of turtles have hard shells. Leatherbacks are found in all of the world’s oceans except the Arctic and the Antarctic. Females spend their entire lives at sea except to nest, while males never left the water.

Leatherbacks and other turtles play an important role in the marine ecosystem. They feed on jellyfish and help check its population. The leatherback’s extra-long esophagus is lined with spines to facilitate digestion of jellyfish.  Leatherbacks lay eggs on dry, sandy, tropical or subtropical beaches. They lay between two and six clutches of eggs in a single nesting season. Each clutch contains 65 to 180 eggs and is laid approximately every two weeks. Incubation takes about 60 days. As with other reptiles, the temperature during incubation will determine the sex of the turtles. For leatherbacks, temperatures above 29 degrees centigrade will result in female hatchlings. Hatchlings or baby leatherbacks are not cared for by the adults and are left to fend for themselves. The young ones that survive stay back in tropical waters until maturity. It takes 15 – 20 years for them to reach breeding age and become adults and then began their oceanic migratory journeys.

Adult leatherbacks prey on jellyfish and subsist almost entirely on them. They migrate thousands of miles in their lifetimes through ocean basins and high seas for the purpose. Migration occurs between the cold waters where mature leatherbacks feed, to the tropical and subtropical beaches in the regions where they hatch. These great swimmers complete their marathon journeys normally every 2 to 3 years to return to the same breeding grounds to nest. They can also dive much deeper than any other marine turtles. The deepest dive recorded was 1,230 meters

Odds Stacked Against Survival

Female leatherbacks lay hundreds of eggs each nesting season. Sadly however, very few of these hatchlings survive into their first year. They are very vulnerable to become prey to crabs, monitor lizards and birds while on their way out to sea, soon after hatching. In the shallow waters, many more hatchlings are eaten by fish. Only about 6% of these young leatherbacks survive their first year. Over the next 15 – 20 years more mortality among these young leatherbacks will reduce their survival rate further. And their chances of becoming adults and to regenerate will slide as well. Getting caught in trawling activities as well as succumbing to predators such as sharks are reasons for increase mortality among young and adult leatherbacks alike. Mistakenly consuming plastic bags floating in the seas and oceans as jellyfish is another contributing factor as well.

Why the Steep Drop in Nesting Numbers?

Globally, the leatherbacks are now classified as endangered while in Malaysia, where the situation is much worse; it is classified as critically endangered. Nowadays very few of these graceful leatherheads return to Rantau Abang to nest.  Where 10,000 nesting was recorded in the 1950s, this  had dropped to fewer than 10 nesting by 1999 and just 2 in 2008 and 2010. There was only a solitary nesting in 2017.

Poaching and human consumption of the leatherbacks’ eggs are often cited as the most significant factor for the species decline. Gross abuses towards the leatherbacks by the locals and tourists during nesting and when returning to sea, most likely discourage the leatherbacks from returning to nest. They were trapped in net by trawling activities, and these further add to this dwindling population of leatherbacks coming to nest. Mortality due to ingestion of floating marine debris like discarded plastic bags which resemble their favourite prey, jellyfish is also a contributing factor. Ineffective conservation efforts initiated in the 1960s had not helped either as exposure of the eggs to high temperatures inadvertently results in only female hatchlings.

The Department of Fisheries Malaysia (The Department) now has a Turtle Information Centre at Rantau Abang. Besides disseminating information concerning turtles; the Centre and the Department are also involved in conservation efforts: Rangers are patrolling the beaches to protect the turtles and their eggs from poachers when they come ashore to nest. Collection (except by licensed turtle egg collectors) or eating of turtle eggs are forbidden.

The Rantau Abang Fisheries Protected Area was established in 1991 covering the entire 30km beach and extends 18.5km out to sea. Gill nets of a mesh size 25.4cm, which killed up to 400 turtles a year, were subsequently banned from Malaysian waters altogether. The department is now enforcing these requirements and protective measures.

The Department is continuing and improving on its hatchery activities in its efforts to help increase the turtle population, particularly the leatherbacks

Will these giant leatherbacks make a come-back to Rantau Abang?

Rantau Abang is now returning to its quiet days of old – no more bustling with tourists as it used to be. And the reason is due to the dwindling number of turtles coming to nest at its beach, especially the leatherbacks. Given its relatively unspoiled and undisturbed stretch of beach, Rantau Abang is thought as the right place for leatherbacks to come to nest. The beach terrain is favorable. Its soft sandy beach is steep and is close to vegetation allowing the leatherbacks to quickly find suitable nesting spots – just a short crawl from the water edge. Minus the crowd of turtle watches and their attendant disturbing antics of old, the place would be ideal for the leatherbacks to return and nest again. So given time, these giants of all turtles might just come back more often. But for how soon I’m not willing to guess.

Dato’ Dr Anuar’s Comment 

The lesson for Rantau Abang is that it is costly for the folks of the town and Terengganu as a whole. By selling eggs of the leatherbacks continuously over many years for a fistful of RM, the town lost its important economic assets that come onshore voluntarily. Consuming the eggs means that future generation of leatherbacks is gone forever.

About the guest contributor:

Mr Ahmad Rozi Daud is a stingless bee farmer in Kuala Terenganu, Malaysia. He resides near Rantau Abang, Terengganu . He also provides training for those who are interested to be a stingless beekeeper or apiarist. Please contact us at 6016 3220 952 for assessment of suitability of your location for stingless bee farming.

Guest Contributor

Honey from Stingless Bees – A New Superfood

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A stingless bee

Honey of the stingless bees is a sweet, viscous food substance produced by stingless bees from floral nectar. It is quite similar to honey from the common honey bees (genus Apis) in most aspects but with its own distinctive physicochemical profiles, minerals and bioactive compounds.

There are more than 500 species of stingless bees worldwide. They can be found in most tropical or subtropical regions of the world, such as Australia, Africa, Southeast Asia and tropical America. Malaysia has its share of 33 species.

Stingless bees are closely related to the common honey bees (genus Apis) as both belong to the same Apidae family. However stingless bees are categorized under the Meliponini tribe while the common honey bees (genus Apis) are from Apini. Even though they cannot sting as their name suggests, these bees are able to protect their colonies by using their strong mandibles to grip their intruders.

Stingless bees are efficient pollinators and until recently are mainly used for such purposes, though the Mayans of Central America had been known to be using their honey for medical purposes a long time ago. Stingless bees honey is now gaining popularity and more and more people are rearing stingless bees for their honey, including Malaysia. For Malaysia this phenomenon only began around 2012.

Two Recommended Species of Malaysia

Out of the 33 Malaysian species identified so far, two that stand out more are Heterotrigona Itama and Geniotrigona Thoracica. These two have been recommended and promoted by the Malaysian Agricultural Development Institute (MARDI) as more suitable for meliponiculture – the propagation and culturing of the stingless bees for their honey. These two species are known for their high honey production, more tolerance to diseases and parasites as well as for their ease of keeping. Stingless bees of Itama species can produce 0.5 – 1.5 kg of honey per hive per month, while the Thoracica species twice as much.

Honey from stingless bee

By-products of Stingless Bees

Besides honey as their primary products, stingless bees also produce bee bread and propolis as secondary by-products. Bee bread is an extremely nourishing food derived from pollen and serves as the main source of protein for stingless bees and their larvae. The propolis on the other hand is produced by stingless bees from resin of trees collected by their worker bees. Propolis acts as the main building block for their hives. This includes pots for storage of honey and bee pollen as well as chambers for the queen and her brood. Studies done have shown that propolis displays antioxidant and antimicrobial properties and so has useful medicinal benefits.

Color of Stingless Bees Honey

Honeys of stingless bees originate from floral nectar with light golden color as almost always the norm. However they can exhibit any color from light brown to dark brown or almost black depending on a combination of factors. Among the factors are stingless bee species, the predominant flowers visited and stage of fermentation of the honey among others. Fermentation of stingless bee honey occurs naturally while still in the pots and continues post harvest, changing the tone of its color slightly darker in the process.

Physicochemical Composition of Stingless Bees Honey

Stingless bees honey has higher water content than honey of the Apis bees. It is less sweet and contains less sugar. It has more antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory as well as moisturizing properties than honey of the Apis bees. Stingless bees honey also contains minerals such as potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium as well as manganese

Why Stingless Bees Honey?

Stingless bee honey is generally more palatable because it is not overly sweet or thick and is nutritious. It is also believed to have medicinal properties more than honey of the Apis bees.

Interest as well as studies done on stingless bee honey is still quite new and there lies potential for more benefits still unknown to us today to be discovered. It is comforting to know that people are opening up to accept stingless bee honey as a worthy or even superior competitor to the Apis bee honey. The Mayans were correct in pioneering its uses long time ago and they might have just helped us found the food that could well become our new superfood for today.

About the guest contributor:

Mr Rozi Daud is a stingless bee farmer in Kuala Terenganu, Malaysia. He also provides training for those who are interested to be a stingless beekeeper or apiarist. Please contact us at 6016 3220 952 for assessment of suitability of your location for stingless bee farming.

Must-Read Reports

Asia Rising in GDP

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China is projected to have GDP at PPP of US$ 58,299 billion in 2050, first in GDP ranking

PWC, the global auditing company, regularly issued reports under the title, The World in 2050. The latest report, The World in 2020: The long-term view-How will the global economic order change by 2020? was published in February, 2017. The report showed some interesting highlights.

Among the highlights are:

  1. Other than the usual countries of China, US and Japan, new countries such as India, Indonesia and Brazil are moving the GDP ladder.
  2. Countries such as Pakistan, Vietnam and Bangladesh would move up the GDP ladder.
  3. Nigeria would have the largest GDP in the African continent.
  4. European countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Britain will move down the GDP ranking in 2050.

The projected rankings of economies based on GDP at PPP (purchasing power parity) in constant 2016 in US$ billion are shown in the table below.

India would have projected GDP at PPP of US$44,128 billion in 2050, 2nd in GDP ranking

2016 Rankings in constant 2016 in US$ billion

GDP PPP ranking Country GDP at PPP
1 China 21,269
2 US 18,562
3 India 8,721
4 Japan 4,932
5 Germany 3,979
6 Russia 3,745
7 Brazil 3,135
8 Indonesia 3,028
9 United Kingdom 2,788
10 France 2,737
11 Mexico 2,307
12 Italy 2,221
13 South Korea 1,929
14 Turkey 1,906
15 Saudi Arabia 1,731
16 Spain 1,690
17 Canada 1,674
18 Iran 1,459
19 Australia 1,189
20 Thailand 1,161
21 Egypt 1,105
22 Nigeria 1,089
23 Poland 1,052
24 Pakistan 988
25 Argentina 879
26 Netherlands 866
27 Malaysia 864
28 Philippines 802
29 South Africa 736
30 Colombia 690
31 Bangladesh 628
32 Vietnam 595

2030 Rankings in constant 2016 in US$ billion

GDP PPP ranking Country Projected GDP at PPP
1 China 38,008
2 US 23,475
3 India 19,511
4 Japan 5,606
5 Indonesia 5,424
6 Russia 4,736
7 Germany 4,707
8 Brazil 4,439
9 Mexico 3,661
10 United Kingdom 3,638
11 France 3,377
12 Turkey 2,996
13 Saudi Arabia 2,755
14 South Korea 2,651
15 Italy 2,541
16 Iran 2,354
17 Spain 2,159
18 Canada 2,141
19 Egypt 2,049
20 Pakistan 1,868
21 Nigeria 1,794
22 Thailand 1,732
23 Australia 1,663
24 Philippines 1,615
25 Malaysia 1,506
26 Poland 1,505
27 Argentina 1,342
28 Bangladesh 1,324
29 Vietnam 1,303
30 South Africa 1,148
31 Colombia 1,111
32 Netherlands 1,080
Indonesia would become the fourth largest economy in 2050 based on GDP at PPP, behind the US

       2050 Rankings in constant 2016 in US$ billion

GDP PPP ranking Country Projected GDP at PPP
1 China 58,499
2 India 44,128
3 US 34,102
4 Indonesia 10,502
5 Brazil 7,540
6 Russia 7,131
7 Mexico 6,863
8 Japan 6,779
9 Germany 6,138
10 United Kingdom 5,369
11 Turkey 5,184
12 France 4,705
13 Saudi Arabia 4,694
14 Nigeria 4,348
15 Egypt 4,333
16 Pakistan 4,236
17 Iran 3,900
18 South Korea 3,539
19 Philippines 3,334
20 Vietnam 3,176
21 Italy 3,115
22 Canada 3,100
23 Bangladesh 3,064
24 Malaysia 2,815
25 Thailand 2,782
26 Spain 2,732
27 South Africa 2,570
28 Australia 2,564
29 Argentina 2,385
30 Poland 2,103
31 Colombia 2,074
32 Netherlands 1,496

Changes in Rankings of Asian Countries

Countries
Ranking in 2016
Ranking in 2030
Ranking in 2050
China 1 1 1
India 3 3 2
Indonesia 8 5 4
Japan 4 4 8
Saudi Arabia 15 13 13
Pakistan 24 20 16
Iran 18 16 17
South Korea 13 14 18
Philippines 28 24 19
Vietnam 32 29 20
Bangladesh 31 28 23
Malaysia 27 25 24
Thailand 20 22 25

Note: PPP (purchasing power parity) estimates of GDP adjust the price level difference across countries, providing better measure of the volume of goods and services produced by an economy as compared to GDP at current market exchange rate, which is a measure of value. Essentially GDP PPP controls for different costs of living and price levels, usually relative to US dollar, enabling more accurate estimate of a nation’s level of production.

Observation

In 2050, two Asian countries, China and India, would occupy the top two spots in GDP ranking. In addition, Indonesia would move from 8th spot in 2016 to 4th spot in 2050. Japan, which occupied 4th spot in 2016 would drop to 8th spot in 2050.

Our country, Malaysia, would slightly improve its spot from 27th in 2016 to 24th in 2050. The greatest mover would be Vietnam, moving from 32nd spot in 2016 to 20th spot in 2050.

Please click below for the full report

pwc-the-world-in-2050-full-report-feb-2017Download
Brief

The New Health Drink: Non-Alcoholic Beer

Posted on
Barbican, a popular brand of non-alcoholic beer in Malaysia and Middle East

We noted a new health drink in a recent article in The Times of London on December 29th, 2018. Non-alcoholic beer has become a health drink for fitness enthusiasts in Germany.

The health benefits of beer are derived from the use of hops (hop flower) in making beer. The hops are what make beer taste like beer. Hops have been known to inhibit bacteria growth as the beer brew ferments. Acids in the hops , called humulones and lupulones, have been shown to kill cancer cells and block leukemia cells from clinging to bone in petri dish experiments. The acid may also act as anti-inflammatory agents.

Hop flower is used in making beer

Remove the alcohol in beer and it will become non-alcoholic beer and a health drink!

Today, non-alcoholic beer is made by filtering out the alcohol and water through a membrane and then distilling the mixture to remove the alcohol before returning the flavoured water. In order to remove the very last of the alcohol, brewers either heat the uncarbonated beer until the ethanol boils off or lower the pressure of the liquid until the alcohol evaporates at room temperature.

Markets for Non-alcoholic Beer

The markets for non-alcoholic beer are in developed countries as well as developing countries. Non-alcoholic beer is now a health drink in Germany and other European countries. In Muslim countries, alcoholic beer is not permitted and consumers, who like beer, drink non-alcoholic beer. We are one of them. A non-alcoholic beer brand, Babican, is popular in Middle East and Malaysia.

Another major market is India, according to the on-line newspaper, The Economic Times India, posted on November 10th, 2018. In Indian states such as Gujarat and Bihar, selling and drinking alcohol has been banned since 1960. Major brewing companies are competing in India to market non-alcoholic beer. They believe the market for non-alcoholic beer in India is substantial due to high level of abstinence for various reasons.

While alcoholic beer contains 1.2 to 8 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV), non-alcoholic beer mostly have 0.05 per cent ABV or below. Some companies are offering zero alcohol beer.

Non-alcoholic beer may find it difficult to penetrate Muslim markets such as Malaysia. This is due to the view of Muslim conservatives that non-alcoholic beer is not “halal” (not permitted to be consumed) as it is derived initially from alcoholic beer.