Abstract
Nowadays, healthy food is in vogue. The consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables has always been advised. Their health benefits are estimated based on the chemical composition without taking into account the possible transformations during digestion. Undoubtedly, those with the highest antioxidant content are highly favored. However, whether they are just as effective after passing through gastrointestinal tract is a question that science should answer experimentally. Therefore, the influence of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on phytochemicals in pomegranate juice. The change in total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity was monitored. A drastic loss of phenolic compounds was measured after the intestinal phase of the assay resulting in only 25% and 15.8% of the initial total phenolic content and total flavonoid content, respectively. The antioxidant activity was also affected. The results indicated an after digestion antioxidant activity in the range 19-29% by the measured activity of pomegranate juice. HPLC analysis of phenolic compounds confirmed the presence of gallic acid and DL-catechin at concentrations 96.3 µg/mL and 340 µg/mL, resp. After digestion a loss of 93% and 99% was calculated.
Keywords:
antioxidant activity; bioaccessability; in vitro digestion; phytonutrients; pomegranate juice
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