Food Matrix Effects of Polyphenol Bioaccessibility from Almond Skin during Simulated Human Digestion.

Giuseppina Mandalari,Richard Faulks,Maria Vardakou,Domenico Trombetta,Carlo Bisignano,Maria Martorana,Antonella Smeriglio

doi:10.3390/nu8090568

Giuseppina Mandalari, Richard Faulks + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8090568

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Abstract

The goal of the present study was to quantify the rate and extent of polyphenols released in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) from natural (NS) and blanched (BS) almond skins. A dynamic gastric model of digestion which provides a realistic simulation of the human stomach was used. In order to establish the effect of a food matrix on polyphenols bioaccessibility, NS and BS were either digested in water (WT) or incorporated into home-made biscuits (HB), crisp-bread (CB) and full-fat milk (FM). Phenolic acids were the most bioaccessible class (68.5% release from NS and 64.7% from BS). WT increased the release of flavan-3-ols (p < 0.05) and flavonols (p < 0.05) from NS after gastric plus duodenal digestion, whereas CB and HB were better vehicles for BS. FM lowered the % recovery of polyphenols, the free total phenols and the antioxidant status in the digestion medium, indicating that phenolic compounds could bind protein present in the food matrix. The release of bioactives from almond skins could explain the beneficial effects associated with almond consumption.

Highlights

The presence of polyphenols in almond skin has been related to several health benefits associated with almond
Given the the lack lack of of understanding understanding of of the the fate fate of antioxidant compounds in the human body, research focused on the bioaccessibility of of antioxidant compounds in the human body, research focused on the bioaccessibility of polyphenols polyphenols from solid matrices are extremely important in order to better understand the beneficial from solid matrices are extremely important in order to better understand the beneficial effect on effect on the host
A number of studies have reported on the effects of a food matrix in a simulated gastrointestinal environment: the findings demonstrated that green tea polyphenols were protected more by the interaction with dairy products, which could help maintain their antioxidant activity during digestion [31] and cheese was identified as an effective matrix for polyphenols protection during gastrointestinal digestion [32]

Summary

Introduction

The presence of polyphenols in almond skin has been related to several health benefits associated with almond The antioxidant and free-radical scavenging activity of almond skin polyphenols has been reported [4]. It has been shown that flavonoids and phenolic acids, including flavonols, flavanols, flavanones and simple phenolic acids identified in almond skins may play a role in reducing risk factors against chronic inflammatory diseases and ageing disorders [5,6]. A range of biological effects of flavonoids, including anticancer, antiviral, antimutagenic and anti-inflammatory activities, have been reported [7,8]. One of the major limiting factors affecting the beneficial effects of polyphenols is their bioaccessibility and subsequent absorption in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), together with their bio-transformation by the gut microbiota enzymes [9]

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