Eggplant is a vegetable grown worldwide, and due to quality standards, large amounts of biomass are generated after harvest. Biomass is considered a source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties. Therefore, this research aimed to evaluate microencapsulated alkaloids' bioaccessibility (BA) and antioxidant capacity from eggplant fruit biomass. Eggplant biomass was collected, and the total alkaloid content, antioxidant capacity, and alkaloid profile were determined before and after the digestion in vitro for encapsulated and non-encapsulated alkaloids. The bioaccessibility of microencapsulated alkaloids (12 % BA) increased three-fold compared to non-encapsulated (4 %BA). The antioxidant capacity of digested microcapsules measured by ORAC and TEAC assays was increased (30 and 8 µmol TE/g powder, respectively), and their bioaccessibility was higher than non-encapsulate alkaloids. Solamargine and solasonine decreased during in vitro digestion by 17 and 15 %BA, respectively. However, microencapsulation showed the protection of these alkaloids during in vitro digestion. This study demonstrates that microencapsulated alkaloids from eggplant biomass manage to protect bioactive compounds from in vitro digestion, having antioxidant potential mainly through hydrogen atom transfer. Therefore, microencapsulation represents an alternative to protect alkaloids and give added value to eggplant plant biomass.

Vitamin D3 deficiency is a global phenomenon, which can be coped with supplementation and food fortification. However, vitamin D3 bioaccessibility may depend on factors, such as matrix composition and interactions throughout the gastrointestinal tract. This research focused on the effect of different matrices on vitamin D3 content during digestion, and the effect of pH on its bioaccessibility. The INFOGEST protocol was employed to simulate digestion. Three different types of commercial supplements, two foods naturally rich in vitamin D3, and three fortified foods were investigated. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography was used to determine the vitamin D3 initial content in supplements and foods, as well as after each digestion stage. Results indicated that foods exhibited higher bioaccessibility indices compared to supplements, and a higher percentage retention at the end of the gastric phase. The pH study revealed a positive correlation between increased gastric pH and the corresponding content of vitamin D3. Interestingly, exposing the matrix to low pH during the gastric phase resulted in an increased intestinal content of D3. Vitamin D3 is more bioaccessible from foods than supplements, and its bioaccessibility is susceptible to changes in gastric pH. Fasting conditions (i.e. gastric pH=1) enhances vitamin’s bioaccessibility.

Keywords: grape pomace extracts, encapsulation, freeze-drying, bioaccessibility, phenolic compounds

Aiming the characterization of road dusts on the surrounding villages of an active mine and to assess metal(loids) bioaccessible fractions, a dust samples survey was undertaken. To achieve these objectives, pseudototal element concentration, mineralogical composition, Enrichment factor and in vitro extraction UBM assay for both gastric (G) and gastrointestinal (GI) phases, were determined. Results obtained revealed that arsenic represents the higher risk to humans, with mean pseudototal values higher than the maximum reference value range. Enrichment factor points to As significant to very high enrichment in all villages. Particles enriched in As, Ca, Fe, Cu, Al, Ti were identified by SEM-EDS in weathered agglomerates, linked to mine wastes and long-distance transport, both by wind and/or traffic. Arsenic bioaccessibility fraction (%BAF) presents low values in the studied samples, possibly due to low Fe complexes solubility with adsorbed As, limiting arsenic release and reducing its bioaccessibility. Concentrations of Cd bioaccessible G and GI phases are within the reference values range, while for Cu are above and for Pb are lower, than reference value range. Results show that the pseudototal fraction risk is overestimated when comparing to BAF (bioaccessible fraction), nevertheless, total G and GI risk are above the carcinogenic target risk (1.00E-06) in most samples. Carcinogenic risk of the bioaccessible contaminants shows that As is the element that represents higher risk for developing cancer over a lifetime, being ingestion the main risk route.

This research focussed on utilisation of salmon protein and lipid to manipulate pasta glycaemic index and protein digestibility. Salmon fish (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) powder (SFP) supplemented pasta flour at the from 5% to 20% (w/w). Inclusion of SFP lead to a significant reduction in starch digestibility and hence the potential glycaemic values of pasta (experimental pasta being up to 143% lower than control values). SFP addition to pasta increased the release of phenolic compounds from pasta during both a gastric digestion (179%) and pancreatic digestion ( 133%) in comparison to the control sample. At the same time, the antioxidant activity of the digested pasta was increased by up to 263% (gastric) and 190% (pancreatic) in comparison to durum wheat pasta alone. Interestingly, although protein levels increased with incorporation of SFP, the digestibility values of the protein decreased from 86.41% for the control pasta to 81.95% for 20% SFP pasta. This may indicate that there are interactions between phenolic and protein in the pasta samples which affect overall protein digestibility levels.

Lead, a metal with high neurotoxicity to children; cadmium, a carcinogenic and bioaccumulative contaminant and arsenic; a class 1 carcinogenic, are toxic elements (TEs) whose relevant route of exposure may be diet. We determined the bioaccessible fraction of lead, cadmium and arsenic from the diet of preschool children from 2 day care centers (DCC). A cross-sectional study was conducted with 64 1–4-year-old children from 2 DCCs, where the 24-hour duplicate diet samples were collected. The diet samples were analyzed by ICP-MS for lead, cadmium and arsenic total concentrations (n = 64) and their bioaccessibility were analyzed for a subsample (n = 10). The dietary intake (DI) mean for lead, cadmium and arsenic were 0.18 ± 0.11 µg kg⁻¹bw, 0.08 ± 0.04 µg kg ⁻¹bw and 0.61 ± 0.41 µg kg⁻¹bw, respectively. All DI calculated for TEs, considering total intake, were found lower than the tolerable limits (European Union, EU, or World Health Organization, WHO, when applicable), except for one child’s Pb intake. Bioaccessibilities ranged between 0–93%, 0–103% and 0–69%, for lead, cadmium and arsenic, respectively. Although DI for TEs has been found lower than TI, these reference values have been recently decreased or withdrawn, as it was the case for lead and arsenic, whose tolerable limits were withdrawn by WHO.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the principal catechin in green tea, exhibits diverse therapeutic properties. However, its clinical efficacy is hindered by poor stability and low bioavailability. This study investigated solid particle-in-oil-in-water (S/O/W) emulsions stabilized by whey protein isolate (WPI) and sodium caseinate (NaCas) as carriers to enhance the bioavailability and intestinal absorption of EGCG. Molecular docking revealed binding interactions between EGCG and these macromolecules. The emulsions exhibited high encapsulation efficiencies and augmented EGCG bioaccessibility by 64% compared to free EGCG in a simulated gastrointestinal digestion model. EGCG-loaded emulsions demonstrated minimal cytotoxicity towards Caco-2 cells and facilitated EGCG transport across the intestinal epithelial layer without compromising tight junction integrity. Notably, EGCG-loaded emulsions protected Caco-2 cells against oxidative stress by suppressing intracellular reactive oxygen species generation. The results demonstrate the potential of WPI- and NaCas-stabilized S/O/W emulsions to enhance the bioavailability, intestinal absorption, and bioactivity of EGCG, expanding its applications in functional foods and nutraceuticals.

This study investigated the chemical composition, and total phenolic content(TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity Reziz date pomace extracted using different solvent system. The recovery, bioaccessibility, and stability of bioactive compounds were evaluated using In vitro gastrointestinal digestion. The results showed that pomace rich source of fiber but low in fat, and protein. Extraction data revealed that methanol, and ethanol were the most effective solvent for TPC and TFC extraction with higher antioxidant activity. In vitro gastrointestinal digestibility significantly affected recovery, bio-accessibility and stability of bioactive compounds. The TPC, TFC, and antioxidant activities were significantly increased after the mouth digestion but decreased during the gastric and intestinal digestion. The bioaccessibility of polyphenol and flavonoid were 35.22% and 23.57% respectively after the intestinal digestion. The chyme insoluble fraction (pellet) showed higher bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity compared to the chyme soluble fraction. The high fiber content of the date pomace seemed to affect the bioaccessibility of the bioactive compounds. TPC or TFC and the antioxidant activity determined by DPPH and ABTS were found to have a positive correlation with the oral, gastric, and intestinal digestion. The GC-MS analysis of digested date pomace in mouth, gastric, or intestinal digestion revealed an increase in the number of peaks (compounds) compared to the undigested sample. According to these findings, Ruzeiz date pomace could be utilized as a bioactive ingredient source in formulation of functional foods to promote healthy life.

The purpose of this investigation was to prepare a water-soluble complex by encapsulation of propolis extract with the carrier 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) and to examine the influence of in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion (GID) on the content of the main polyphenolic groups when administered as aqueous suspension. The research was conducted on two continental samples of propolis from Croatia and a mixture of selected polyphenol standards. By applying UAE followed by a lyophilization procedure, it was possible to obtain a powder with a high content of polyphenols. The content of total phenols (TPs), total flavonols/flavones (TFFs) and total flavanones/dihydroflavonols (TFDs) in the fractions of oral and gastric phase and small intestinal phase performed with two models: centrifugation and dialysis through a semi-permeable membrane, was determined by three UV/Vis spectrophotometric methods: Folin-Ciocalteu, aluminium complexation and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine method. The obtained results for both propolis complexes showed stability in the polyphenol content and high bioaccessibility during all three phases of digestion. The bioaccessibility of TPs, TFFs and TFDs under in vitro conditions after dialysis through a semipermeable membrane was lower compared to the intestinal phase model with centrifugation.

Blackcurrant juice (Ribes nigrum L.) was subjected to supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCD) at 10, 30 and 60 MPa for 10 min at 45°C as well as thermally treated at 45°C and 85°C for 10 min to determine the stability, antioxidant capacity (AC) and bioaccessibility (BAc) of vitamin C, total anthocyanins and their individual monomers. An in vitro gastrointestinal digestion model completed with dialysis was used to assess BAc. The use of SCCD at each of the pressures applied improved the stability of vitamin C, total anthocyanins, and AC before in vitro digestion. As a result of digestion, L-ascorbic acid was oxidized to L-dehydroascorbic acid, and finally, the total content of vitamin C, anthocyanins, and AC decreased. SCCD did not significantly improve the BAc of vitamin C and total anthocyanins. The highest BAc of vitamin C was noted in fresh juice (FJ) (40%) and after mild heat treatment at 45°C (T45) (46%). The highest BAc of total anthocyanins was also noted in the FJ (4.4%). The positive effect of the application of SCCD on the BAc of the delphinidin-3-O-glycosides was observed compared to T45 and thermal pasteurization at 85°C (T85). Moreover, cyanidins were generally more bioaccessible than delphinidins in all samples. AC after digestion was higher in SCCD samples compared to thermally treated measured using ABTS+• and DPPH• assays, whereas in dialysate similar trends were observed only for AC measured using the ABTS+• assay. This phenomenon was justified by the formation of individual metabolites detected by UPLC-PDA-MS / MS in the model experiment with delphinidin-3-O-rutinoside. The protocatechuic acid which is well known as a strong antioxidant was detected in the model experiment after digestion. Further research is needed to better understand the metabolic pathway of anthocyanins and the possible uses of SCCD to improve the health properties of fruit products.

Micronutrient deficiencies are a major public health problem. Beans are an important plant-based source of iron, zinc and copper, but their absorption is reduced in the presence of anti-nutrients such as phytates, polyphenols and tannins. Soaking and discarding the soaking water before cooking is unanimously recommended, but this can result in mineral loss. Data on the consequences for mineral bioaccessibility is still limited. This study aimed to evaluate iron, zinc and copper bioaccessibility in black beans cooked (regular pan, pressure cooker) with and without the soaking water. Minerals were quantified by ICP-MS, myo-inositol phosphates (InsP₅, InsP₆) by HPLC ion-pair chromatography, total polyphenols using Folin-Denis reagent and condensed tannins using Vanillin assay. Mineral bioaccessibility was determined by in vitro digestion and dialysis. All treatments resulted in a statistically significant reduction of total polyphenols (30%) and condensed tannins (20%). Only when discarding the soaking water a loss of iron (6%) and copper (30%) was observed, and InsP₆ was slightly decreased (7%) in one treatment. Bioaccessibility of iron and zinc were low (about 0.2% iron and 35% zinc), but copper presented high bioaccessibility (about 70%). Cooking beans under pressure without discarding the soaking water resulted in the highest bioaccessibility levels among all household procedures. Discarding the soaking water before cooking did not improve the nutritional quality of the beans.

By using a two-stage physiologically based extraction test (PBET) and (W-PBET), the authors of this paper have estimated the bioaccessibility of metals (Pb and Fe) and their compounds in the GI tract of waterfowl and mammals. It has been shown that the metals (Pb and Fe) have low bioaccessibility; combined with the short time of shot exposition at the GI tract, this eliminates the risk of toxic effects in the case of shot ingestion by waterfowl. It has also been discovered that there is a significant difference in the bioaccessibility of metals and their compounds. A model was proposed and tested to predict the toxic effects of lead on biological objects depending on the threshold mass of consumption. This model takes into account data on the bioavailability of lead and regulatory values indicating dangerous concentrations of lead.