Impact of a Shorter Brine Soaking Time on Nutrient Bioaccessibility and Peptide Formation in 30-Months-Ripened Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese.

Mattia Di Nunzio,Elena Chiarello,Gianni Galaverna,Luca Dellafiora,Gianfranco Picone,Cecilia Loffi,Giorgia Antonelli,Clarissa Di Gregorio,Tullia Tedeschi,Francesco Capozzi,Alessandra Bordoni

doi:10.3390/molecules27030664

Abstract

Reducing the salt content in food is an important nutritional strategy for decreasing the risk of diet-related diseases. This strategy is particularly effective when applied to highly appreciated food having good nutritional characteristics, if it does not impact either upon sensory or nutritional properties of the final product. This work aimed at evaluating if the reduction of salt content by decreasing the brine soaking time modifies fatty acid and protein bioaccessibility and bioactive peptide formation in a 30-month-ripened Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (PRC). Hence, conventional and hyposodic PRC underwent in vitro static gastrointestinal digestion, and fatty acid and protein bioaccessibility were assessed. The release of peptide sequences during digestion was followed by LC–HRMS, and bioactive peptides were identified using a bioinformatic approach. At the end of digestion, fatty acid and protein bioaccessibility were similar in conventional and hyposodic PRC, but most of the bioactive peptides, mainly the ACE-inhibitors, were present in higher concentrations in the low-salt cheese. Considering that the sensory profiles were already evaluated as remarkably similar in conventional and hyposodic PRC, our results confirmed that shortening brine soaking time represents a promising strategy to reduce salt content in PRC.

Highlights

High salt intake is a key contributing factor for the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) around the world
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (PRC) were palmitic acid > oleic acid > myristic acid > stearic acid, which accounted for approximately 85% of total fatty acid with no differences between C- and Hypo-PRC
The release of fatty acids from the food matrix increased over time, and no differences were detected between conventional Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (C-PRC) and Hypo-PRC at the end of digestion

Summary

Introduction

High salt intake is a key contributing factor for the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) around the world. 2.7 and 7.1 g per day (7 to 18 g salt per day) in most countries [3], and processed foods might provide about 20% of the total Na intake [4]. Since salt reduction has been identified as one of the five priority interventions in response to the global NCD crisis [5], there is a growing interest in processing procedures lowering salt content, when applied to highly appreciated and nutritional valued foods. The PRC is included in the list of foods with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), according to which the aging must last at least 12 months, starting from the forming of the cheese. PRC is highly appreciated worldwide for its taste, and for its nutritional characteristics [7]

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