Engineering strategies to modulate nutrient digestion kinetics and bioaccessibility of plant-based foods

Grain factors in food and feed that influence digestion and gut fermentation outcomes

“…In the case of access, the most important factor in the context of whole grains is the effective encapsulation of starch (and protein) within intact plant cells. Several recent studies have shown how residual tissue structures in which starch is constrained within intact plant cells slow down or effectively prevent starch digestion both in vitro and in vivo (Edwards et al, 2021; Grundy et al, 2016; Gidley & Yakubov, 2019; Verkempinck et al, 2023). This applies even for isolated single cells from grains, although this is easier to achieve, and enzyme action is slowed down more, by the thicker and more robust walls of legume cotyledon cells (Dhital et al, 2016) compared with the thinner and more fragile walls of cereal endosperm cells (Bhattarai et al, 2018).…”

The effect of food composition, processing, and texture on intragastric behavior, gastric emptying, and postprandial nutrient absorption

“…However, in the general population there can be many circumstances in which gastrointestinal digestion is affected. This includes, being over-or underweight, having had surgery on the gastrointestinal tract, or the use of certain medication, which can result in altered transit time, different pH conditions or enzyme concentrations (Verkempinck et al, 2023). Thus, although these studies in healthy males have a valuable contribution to our fundamental understanding of digestion, the external validity of the findings is limited.…”