The quality of Kelulut honey is heavily affected by conventional thermal processing due to the existence of thermolabile compounds. Hence, high-pressure processing (HPP) was employed as an alternative method to minimize any quality deterioration during processing.  HPP was carried out at two different pressures (200 and 600 MPa) with two holding times (5 and 10 minutes) respectively. Thermal processing was also carried out (60 and 90 °C for 10 and 30 minutes) for comparison. After treatment, the changes in antioxidant activity, diastase activity and colour were determined. Increment of antioxidant activity by 3 % was recorded by HPP-treated (600 MPa/10 minutes) compared to thermally-treated. Diastase activity which was used as freshness indicator showed non-significant changes (p>0.05), whereas colour evaluated based on total colour different (TCD) and browning index (BI) showed decrement after HPP. Fortunately, the TCD recorded for HPP was below the range noticeable by human eyes, ranging from 1.5 to 3.0. In conclusion, HPP is better than conventional thermal processing in producing minimally-processed Kelulut honey as evident by the retention of diastase activity, antioxidant activity with increment at 600 MPa/ 10 minutes, and unnoticeable changes in colour. This hence has an implication on post-harvest processing of Kelulut honey.

Asia has seen the most significant increase in goat milk production (22%) over the last decade between 2007 and 2017, followed by Africa (13%), Oceania (9%), the Americas (5%), and Europe (4%) (Miller & Lu, 2019). Goat milk is a wholesome and nutritious milk drink that has good digestibility, alkalinity, buffering capacity, and certain therapeutic values in medicine and human nutrition, which differs from cow milk (Park, 2007). The digestibility of goat milk is due to the size of casein which is smaller and smoother than that of cow's milk (Yadav et al., 2016). It can be readily consumed by the digestive system compared to cow's milk and is also ideal for babies and lactose intolerants (Haenlein, 2004;Park, 2007;Yadav et al., 2016).Currently, high-quality and safe milk products are demanded by consumers worldwide. These products should have a fresh-like characteristic in terms of flavor, texture, color, nutrient, and aroma with an extended shelf life (Ozcan et al., 2017;Trujillo et al., 2002).

The effect of high‐pressure processing (HPP) on prebiotic properties of stingless bee honey has not been described thoroughly. Therefore, this study was undertaken to elucidate the effect of HPP toward the prebiotic properties of stingless bee honey, tested upon L. acidophilus and L. brevis. Stingless bee honey subjected to HPP at 600 MPa/10 min was used as carbohydrates substituted in modified MRS broth inoculated with both probiotic strains. Following 24 hr incubation, growth curve, specific growth rate, and mean doubling time (Td) were obtained. Good retention of prebiotic characteristics were shown by HPP‐treated where no significant changes (p > 0.05) was detected in total carbohydrates content (70.96 ± 0.26 g/100 g). However, some restriction in growth was shown by both strains grown with HPP‐treated, as evident by longer Td. The restriction in growth by HPP‐treated was postulated to be influenced by the enhanced TPC (33.70 ± 7.55 mg GAE/g) as strong correlation (r > 0.8) was found between TPC and Td. Practical applications This study presented the application of HPP as the alternative processing method for stingless bee honey. The resulting effects on nutritional properties and prebiotic potential were determined. HPP at 600 MPa/10 min was preserving the total carbohydrates content and enhanced the total phenolic content (TPC) by 47.2%. However, the prebiotic potential was affected by HPP at 600 MPa/10 min as evident by the restricted growth of Lactobacillus strains tested. Enhanced TPC was postulated to cause the growth inhibition. Hence this study suggested that HPP at 600 MPa with 10 min processing time would preserved the compound responsible for prebiotic potential as evident by the retention of carbohydrates while improving the nutritional properties of stingless bee honey. However, elevated amount of TPC by HPP would be the restricting factor for its prebiotic effects. This hence provides an insight on the relation between HPP and prebiotic potential of stingless bee honey.