Polyphenolic and Methylxanthine Bioaccessibility of Cocoa Bean Shell Functional Biscuits: Metabolomics Approach and Intestinal Permeability through Caco-2 Cell Models

Abstract

Cocoa bean shell (CBS), a by-product with considerable concentrations of bioactive compounds and proven biofunctional potential, has been demonstrated to be a suitable ingredient for high-fiber functional biscuits adapted to diabetic consumers. In this work, the in vitro bioaccessibility and intestinal absorption of polyphenols and methylxanthines contained in these biscuits were evaluated, and the effect of the food matrix was studied. Biscuits containing CBS and the CBS alone underwent in vitro digestion followed by an intestinal permeability study. The results confirmed that compounds were less bioavailable in the presence of a food matrix, although the digestion contributed to their release from this matrix, increasing the concentrations available at the intestinal level and making them capable of promoting antioxidant and antidiabetic activities. After digestion, CBS biscuits were shown to possess α-glucosidase inhibition capacity comparable to that of acarbose. Moreover, the presence of the food matrix improved the stability of polyphenols throughout the digestion process. Intestinal absorption of flavan-3-ols seemed to be limited to a maximum threshold and was therefore independent of the sample, while procyanidin was not absorbed. Methylxanthine absorption was high and was boosted by the presence of the food matrix. The results confirmed the biofunctional potential of CBS-based biscuits.

Protective Effect of Cocoa Bean Shell against Intestinal Damage: An Example of Byproduct Valorization

“…The beneficial property of CBS in preserving intestinal cell layer from permeability alteration, suggested by the above data, could be due to the high concentration of antioxidant polyphenols which are present in this byproduct [ 33 ] and that have been recently emerged for their potential modulatory properties with respect to intestinal permeability [ 18 ]. (-)-Epicatechin was shown to prevent intestinal barrier permeabilization and inflammation both in vitro in TNFα-treated CaCo-2 cell monolayers and in vivo in male C57BL/6J mice fed with a high-fat diet through a negative modulation of NADPH oxidase, reactive oxygen species production, and NF-κB activation [ 52 , 53 ].…”

“…The reported data underline the ability of CBS and CBS-enriched ice cream in preserving the intestinal cell monolayer from the deranging action of an oxysterol mixture detectable in cholesterol rich foods in terms of reduced inflammation, TJ protein loss, and redistribution, as well as stress-related antioxidant response potentiation. Various studies have suggested cocoa bean shell reuse in functional food because of its richness in polyphenols’ potential benefit on health [ 8 , 33 ].…”

“…The final mixture was adjusted to pH 7 ± 0.2 and samples were incubated with orbital agitation at 37 °C for further 2 h. After the complete digestion, pH was adjusted to 5.4, and the samples were immediately kept in ice to minimize enzyme activity and then centrifuged at 12,500× g at 4 °C for 10 min. Based on the bioaccessibility studies performed in our laboratory [ 33 ], the supernatants were filtered through a 0.22 μm cellulose acetate membrane filter (VWR, Milan, Italy) and stored at −20 °C for further analyses. The simulated gastrointestinal digestion was performed in triplicate for each sample.…”

“…The amount of total phenolics (TPC), flavonoids (TFC), and tannins (TTC) in CBS and CBS-IC was quantified as previously reported [ 33 ].…”

Evaluation of Cocoa Bean Shell Antimicrobial Activity: A Tentative Assay Using a Metabolomic Approach for Active Compound Identification

“…Water acidified with 0.1 % formic acid (solvent A) and methanol acidified with 0.1 % formic acid (solvent B) served as the mobile phases. The separation method and ESI-QTOF set-tings for data acquisition (positive mode) were performed as described previously [40]. Data acquisition and analysis were carried out using the B.04 SP3 version of the MassHunter Acquisition software for QTOF and the B.08 version of MassHunter Qualitative Analysis software (Agilent Technologies), respectively.…”