The Role of Bile and Pancreatin in Improving the In Vitro Bioavailability of Lycopene and Starch in Extruded Snacks Containing Tomato Paste Powder

Abstract

Nutritionally enhanced extruded snack foods enriched with tomato paste powder were produced that contained lycopene and fiber. To simultaneously measure the in vitro bioavailability of lycopene and starch from the snacks, a digestion model was developed by using various concentrations of bile (0 to 20 mg/ml) and pancreatin (0, 0.4, 2.4, 4.8, and 6 mg/ml). In vitro bioavailability of starch was determined based on the glucose released and, for lycopene, the amount transferred to the micellar phase of digesta. Furthermore, the digestion was monitored by measuring the proportion of solids remaining at the end of digestion. The amount of glucose released from the starch after 120 min of digestion varied between 683 and 885 mg/ g starch at different bile and pancreatin concentrations. The presence of bile reduced the amount of pancreatin needed to maximize starch digestibility. The proportion of micellar lycopene increased from 5% to 43% with increases in both bile and pancreatin concentrations. At constant pancreatin concentration, increases in bile concentration enhanced the in vitro bioavailability of lycopene by up to fivefold, while at constant bile concentration, 1.5-fold increase was observed with the increases in pancreatin used. The proportion of solids remaining at the end of digestion varied from 14% to 70%. Increasing the bile and pancreatin concentration enhanced the digestion of the snack. In conclusion, the maximum amount of potentially bioavailable starch and lycopene in this study was obtained by using 4.8 mg/ml pancreatin and 10 mg/ml bile. Furthermore, the results suggest that bile and pancreatin collaborated in the digestion of both starch and lycopene present in the enriched snack.