Food matrix and processing influence on carotenoid bioaccessibility and lipophilic antioxidant activity of fruit juice-based beverages

Abstract

The biological activity of carotenoids depends on their bioaccessibility and solubilization in the gastrointestinal tract. These compounds are poorly dispersed in the aqueous media of the digestive tract due to their lipophilic nature. Thus, it is important to analyze the extent to which some factors, such as the food matrix and food processing, may improve their bioaccessibility. Beverages formulated with a blend of fruit juices and water (WB), milk (MB) or soymilk (SB) were treated by high-intensity pulsed electric fields (HIPEF) (35 kV cm(-1) with 4 μs bipolar pulses at 200 Hz for 1800 μs), high-pressure processing (HPP) (400 MPa at 40 °C for 5 min) or thermal treatment (TT) (90 °C for 1 min) in order to evaluate the influence of food matrix and processing on the bioaccessibility of carotenoids and on the lipophilic antioxidant activity (LAA). The bioaccessibility of these compounds diminished after applying any treatment (HIPEF, HPP and TT), with the exception of cis-violaxanthin + neoxanthin, which increased by 79% in HIPEF and HPP beverages. The lowest carotenoid bioaccessibility was always obtained in TT beverages (losses up to 63%). MB was the best food matrix for improving the bioaccessibility of carotenoids, as well as the LAA. The results demonstrate that treatment and food matrix modulated the bioaccessibility of carotenoids as well as the lipophilic antioxidant potential of beverages. Additionally, HIPEF and HPP could be considered as promising technologies to obtain highly nutritional and functional beverages.

Application of pulsed electric fields to tomato fruit for enhancing the bioaccessibility of carotenoids in derived products

“…It is well known that the structure of the food matrix is one of the most important factors affecting the bioaccessibility of carotenoids. 21,34 In this regard, the results evidenced that PEFs would facilitate the release of carotenoid compounds from the tomato matrix. There are several studies that demonstrate that processing operation could disrupt cell walls and favour the release of carotenoids from the food matrix, thus leading to the enhancement of their bioaccessibility.…”

“…3,19,20 Since PEF treatments produce an electric breakdown of the cell membranes, it is thought that this technology could favour the release of carotenoids from the food matrix. In this regard, Rodríguez-Roque et al (2015) 21 reported that the application of high intensity PEF treatments enhanced the bioaccessibility of some carotenoids in fruitbased beverages. To the best of our knowledge, no information is available regarding the bioaccessibility of carotenoids in a processed plant-based food product as affected by the application of PEF treatments to intact raw fruit.…”

Are Neglected Plants the Food for the Future?

“…The partly enhanced bioavailability of nutritious compounds, e.g. carotenoids, or the development of species-specific flavors have been shown to lead to an enhanced acceptability of processed NPs (Eriksen et al, 2016;Kinyuru et al, 2009;Reis et al, 2015;Rodriguez-Roque et al, 2016). However, cooking and other thermal processing have to be tailored to the NP properties to avoid loss in healthpromoting substances such as pro-vitamins A and C (Berni et al, 2015;Martinez-Hernandez et al, 2016;Rodriguez-Roque et al, 2015).…”

Carotenoids in Raw Plant Materials

“…Therefore, it is important to analyze how food matrix and processing affect their bioaccessibility. Rodriguez-Roque et al [15] formulated beverages with mixtures of fruit juices and water, milk, and soy applying three treatments: high intensity pulse electric fields, high pressure processing, and thermal treatment, to evaluate bioaccessibility of carotenoids and on lipophilic antioxidant activity. Bioaccessibility of carotenoids was reduced after all treatments, except for cis-violaxanthin and neoxanthin, which increased 79% in beverages treated with high intensity pulse electric fields and high pressure processing.…”