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Background: The consumption of foods rich in anthocyanins (ACN) have been associated with beneficial properties in chronic inflammatory disorders such as intestinal bowel diseases (IBD). These effects were attributed not only to a direct antioxidant mechanism but also to the modulation of cell redox-dependent signaling. However, ACN bioavailability is low for their poor stability in the digestive tract, so ACN gastrointestinal digestion should be considered. Methods: To have a more realistic knowledge of the effects of ACN, we performed an in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion of an ACN-rich purified and standardized bilberry and blackcurrant extract (BBE), followed by an evaluation of ACN composition modification (HPLC-DAD and pH differential method) and antioxidant activity (FRAP assay). Then, we studied the effects of BBE gastrointestinal extract on Caco-2 exposed to TNF-α. Results: The results confirmed the high instability of ACN in the mild alkaline environment of the small intestine (17% recovery index). However, the digested BBE maintained part of its bioactivity. Additionally, BBE gastrointestinal extract inhibited the TNF-α-induced NF-κB pathway in Caco-2 and activated the Nrf2 pathway. Conclusions: Although ACN stability is affected by gastrointestinal digestion, the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of digested extracts were confirmed; thus, the loss of ACN can probably be counterweighed by their metabolites. Then, ACN introduced by diet or food supplements could represent an approach for IBD prevention.

We have studied the uptake of quercetin aglycone into CaCo-2/TC7 cells in the presence and absence of mixed micelles that are present in the human small intestine. The micelles inhibited the transport of quercetin into the cells. To gain an understanding of why this is the case we examined the solubilisation of quercetin in micelles of differing composition and into pure lipid phases. We did this by using the environmental sensitivity of quercetin’s UV-visible absorption spectra and measurement of free quercetin by filtration of the micellar solutions. The nature of the micelles was also studied by pyrene fluorescence. We found that the partitioning of quercetin into simple bile salt micelles was low and for mixed micelles was inhibited by increasing the bile salt concentration. The affinity of quercetin decreased in the order egg phosphatidylcholine (PC) = lysoPC > mixed micelles > bile salts. These results, together with the innate properties of quercetin, contribute to an understanding of the low bioavailability of quercetin.

We have previously reported on the low lipid bioaccessibility from almond seeds during digestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract (GIT). In the present study, we quantified the lipid released during artificial mastication from four almond meals: natural raw almonds (NA), roasted almonds (RA), roasted diced almonds (DA) and almond butter from roasted almonds (AB). Lipid release after mastication (8.9% from NA, 11.8% from RA, 12.4% from DA and 6.2% from AB) was used to validate our theoretical mathematical model of lipid bioaccessibility. The total lipid potentially available for digestion in AB was 94.0%, which included the freely available lipid resulting from the initial sample processing and the further small amount of lipid released from the intact almond particles during mastication. Particle size distributions measured after mastication in NA, RA and DA showed most of the particles had a size of 1000 µm and above, whereas AB bolus mainly contained small particles (<850 µm). Microstructural analysis of faecal samples from volunteers consuming NA, RA, DA and AB confirmed that some lipid in NA, RA and DA remained encapsulated within the plant tissue throughout digestion, whereas almost complete digestion was observed in the AB sample. We conclude that the structure and particle size of the almond meals are the main factors in regulating lipid bioaccessibility in the gut.

The recovery of antioxidant polyphenols from light, dark and mix brewer’s spent grain (BSG) using conventional maceration, microwave and ultrasound assisted extraction was investigated. Total polyphenols were measured in the crude (60% acetone), liquor extracts (saponified with 0.75% NaOH) and in their acidified ethyl acetate (EtOAc) partitioned fractions both by spectrophotometry involving Folin–Ciocalteu reagent and liquid-chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods. Irrespective of the extraction methods used, saponification of BSG yielded higher polyphenols than in the crude extracts. The EtOAc fractionations yielded the highest total phenolic content (TPC) ranging from 3.01 ± 0.19 to 4.71 ± 0.28 mg gallic acid equivalent per g of BSG dry weight. The corresponding total polyphenols quantified by LC-MS/MS ranged from 549.9 ± 41.5 to 2741.1 ± 5.2 µg/g of BSG dry weight. Microwave and ultrasound with the parameters and equipment used did not improve the total polyphenol yield when compared to the conventional maceration method. Furthermore, the spectrophotometric quantification of the liquors overestimated the TPC, while the LC-MS/MS quantification gave a closer representation of the total polyphenols in all the extracts. The total polyphenols were in the following order in the EtOAc fractions: BSG light > BSG Mix > BSG dark, and thus suggested BSG light as a sustainable, low cost source of natural antioxidants that may be tapped for applications in food and phytopharmaceutical industries.

A number of studies have demonstrated that consuming almonds increases satiety but does not result in weight gain, despite their high energy and lipid content. To understand the mechanism of almond digestion, in the present study, we investigated the bioaccessibility of lipids from masticated almonds during in vitro simulated human digestion, and determined the associated changes in cell-wall composition and cellular microstructure. The influence of processing on lipid release was assessed by using natural raw almonds (NA) and roasted almonds (RA). Masticated samples from four healthy adults (two females, two males) were exposed to a dynamic gastric model of digestion followed by simulated duodenal digestion. Between 7·8 and 11·1 % of the total lipid was released as a result of mastication, with no significant differences between the NA and RA samples. Significant digestion occurred during the in vitro gastric phase (16·4 and 15·9 %) and the in vitro duodenal phase (32·2 and 32·7 %) for the NA and RA samples, respectively. Roasting produced a smaller average particle size distribution post-mastication; however, this was not significant in terms of lipid release. Light microscopy showed major changes that occurred in the distribution of lipid in all cells after the roasting process. Further changes were observed in the surface cells of almond fragments and in fractured cells after exposure to the duodenal environment. Almond cell walls prevented lipid release from intact cells, providing a mechanism for incomplete nutrient absorption in the gut. The composition of almond cell walls was not affected by processing or simulated digestion.

The bioaccessibility of phytochemicals is an important factor for new functional food design. The interaction of white mugwort extract (FE) and food ingredients (coconut oil, egg white albumen, brown rice powder, inulin, and mixtures thereof) was determined after in vitro digestion to inform the development of a functional soup for an aging population. Coconut oil exerted a protective effect on polyphenols, showing the highest bioaccessibility (62.9%) and antioxidant activity after intestinal digestion (DPPH 12.38 mg GAE/g DW, FRAP 0.88 mol Fe(ll)/g DW). In contrast, egg white albumen had the most significant negative effect on the polyphenol stability, resulting in the lowest bioaccessibility (12.49%). Moreover, FE promoted the emulsion stability and delayed starch digestion by inhibiting amylase activity via non-specific polyphenol–protein interactions, resulting in a decrease in the total reducing sugars (TRS) released during digestion. It also limited the protein digestion, probably due to the complex formation of polyphenols and proteins, consequently reducing the bioaccessibility of both amino acids and polyphenols. These findings provide useful information for designing functional food products that could promote the bioaccessibility and bioactivity of natural extracts.

Cholinesterases, involved in acetylcholine catabolism in the central and peripheral nervous system, have been strongly linked with neurodegenerative diseases. Current therapeutic approaches using synthetic drugs present several side effects. Hence, there is an increasing research interest in naturally-occurring dietary polyphenols, which are also considered efficacious. Food processing by-products such as brewer’s spent grain (BSG) would be a potential bio-source of polyphenols. In this study, polyphenol-rich BSG extracts using 60% acetone and 0.75% NaOH solutions were generated, which were further subjected to liquid–liquid partitioning using various organic solvents. The water-partitioned fractions of the saponified extracts had the highest total polyphenol content (6.2 ± 2.8 mgGAE/g dw) as determined by Folin–Ciocalteu reagent, while the LC-MS/MS showed ethyl acetate fraction with the highest phenolics (2.9 ± 0.3 mg/g BSG dw). The best inhibitions of acetyl- (37.9 ± 2.9%) and butyryl- (53.6 ± 7.7%) cholinesterases were shown by the diethyl ether fraction of the saponified extract. This fraction contained the highest sum of quantified phenolics (99 ± 21.2 µg/mg of extract), and with significant (p < 0.01) inhibitory contribution of decarboxylated-diferulic acid. Amongst the standards, caffeic acid presented the highest inhibition for both cholinesterases, 25.5 ± 0.2% for acetyl- and 52.3 ± 0.8% for butyryl-cholinesterase, respectively, whilst the blends insignificantly inhibited both cholinesterases. The results showed that polyphenol-rich BSG fractions have potentials as natural anti-cholinesterase agents.

The central idea observes a recursive mapping of n -body intramolecular interactions to (n+1) -body terms that is consistent with the molecular topology. Iterative application of the line graph transformation is identified as a natural and elegant tool to accomplish the recursion. The procedure readily generalizes to arbitrary n -body potentials. In particular, the method yields a complete characterization of 4 -body interactions. The hierarchical structure of atomic index lists for each interaction order n is compactly expressed as a directed acyclic graph. A pseudo-code description of the generating algorithm is given. With suitable data structures (e.g., edge lists or adjacency matrices), automatic enumeration and indexing of n -body interactions can be implemented straightforwardly to handle large bio-molecular systems. Explicit examples are discussed, including a chemically relevant effective potential model of taurocholate bile salt.

White mugwort (Artemisia lactiflora Wall.), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely consumed in different forms for health care purposes. In this study, the in vitro digestion model of INFOGEST was used to investigate the bioaccessibility, stability, and antioxidant activity of polyphenols from two different forms of white mugwort, including dried powder (P 50, 100, and 150 mg/mL) and fresh extract (FE 5, 15, and 30 mg/mL). During digestion, the bioaccessibility of TPC and antioxidant activity were influenced by the form and ingested concentration of white mugwort. The highest bioaccessibility of the total phenolic content (TPC) and relative antioxidant activity were found at the lowest P and FE concentrations, as calculated relative to the TPC and antioxidant activity of P-MetOH and FE-MetOH based on the dry weight of the sample. Post-digestion, in comparison to P, FE had higher bioaccessibility (FE = 287.7% and P = 130.7%), relative DPPH radical scavenging activity (FE = 104.2% and P = 47.3%), and relative FRAP (FE = 673.5% and P = 66.5%). Nine compounds, 3-caffeoylquinic acid, 5-caffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-di-caffeoylquinic acid, sinapolymalate, isovitexin, kaempferol, morin, rutin, and quercetin, identified in both samples were modified during digestion, yet still provided strong antioxidant activity. These findings suggest that white mugwort extract possesses a higher polyphenol bioaccessibility, showing great potential as a functional ingredient.

Canadian and Australian economic geographers provide a comparative analysis of the economies of the two countries as both nations attempt to redefine their roles in a rapidly changing world.