Bioaccessibility of Antioxidants and Fatty Acids from Fucus Spiralis

João Francisco,André Horta,Maria M Gil,Rui Pedrosa,Carlos Cardoso,Narcisa M Bandarra,Cláudia Afonso

doi:10.3390/foods9040440

Abstract

Fucus spiralis is an edible brown seaweed (SW) found in the Portuguese Coast. It has been reported to have high antioxidant activity, which may elicit a potential use for the food industry. However, little information is available on how the SW behaves during the digestive process and how the freeze-drying process might affect the bioaccessibility of the different compounds. Therefore, antioxidant activity, total polyphenols, lipid, and fatty acid contents were measured before and after in vitro simulation of the human digestive process, both in fresh and freeze-dry SW. F. spiralis had a lipid content of 3.49 ± 0.3% of dry weight (DW), which is a usual amount described for this SW genus. The total lipid bioaccessibility was 12.1 ± 0.1%. The major omega-3 fatty acid detected was eicosapentaenoic acid, 7.5 ± 0.1%, with a bioaccessibility percentage of 13.0 ± 1.0%. Four different methods—total phenolic content (TPC), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH)—were used to assess the antioxidant activity of F. spiralis. The bioaccessibility of the antioxidants studied, ranged between 42.7% and 59.5%, except the bioaccessibility of polyphenols in freeze-dried SW (23.0% ± 1.0%), suggesting that the freeze-drying process reduces the bioaccessibility of these compounds.

Highlights

Seaweeds (SW) have been part of the Asian diet since the prehistoric times but have been mostly overlooked in the Western world [1]
The aim of this work was to assess the bioaccessibility of polyphenols and fatty acids by simulating the human digestive process, and the antioxidant activity before and after the digestion in order to contribute for a better knowledge of the benefits associated with Fucus spiralis consumption
The F. spiralis protein content of 12.73 ± 1.38% dry weight (DW) is within the ranges described for brown algae

Summary

Introduction

Seaweeds (SW) have been part of the Asian diet since the prehistoric times but have been mostly overlooked in the Western world [1]. France has succeeded to introduce seaweed into the European cuisine by implementing adequate legislation [1,2,3]. It is well known that marine resources are an important part of a balanced diet and contribute to a good nutritional status, mainly due to their high levels in many important nutrients that are not commonly found in other food resources. There has been an increased interest in SW and derived products by European consumers and edible seaweeds have been prepared and marketed worldwide [4,5].

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Conclusion