Dados do Trabalho

Título

Static in vitro digestion of yogurts enriched with vitamins D3 and B12 coencapsulated in liposomes: comparison of bioaccessibility of the micronutrients and protein hydrolysis between adults and elderly

Introdução

The world population is experiencing an increase in life expectancy, giving rise to a new and significant market,of elderly consumers (>65 yo ). Over time, the human body undergoes physiological changes, such as loss of muscle mass and poor absorption of certain micronutrients (e.g., vitamins D3 and B12). To address the nutritional deficiencies of this specific population, scientists and the food industry need to develop food matrices that simultaneously contain different micronutrients and proteins. In this work, vitamins D3 and B12 were coencapsulated in liposomes, which were later incorporated into strawberry yogurts.

Material e Métodos

Liposomes were produced by ultrasound and lyophilized, and sucrose was used as a cryoprotectant. Two types of phospholipids were used to produce the vesicles, Phospholipon 90G (hydrogenated, at least 90% phosphatidylcholine) and Lipoid S45 (non-hydrogenated, at least 45% phosphatidylcholine). Freeze-dried liposomes were incorporated into whole-milk yogurts in amounts of 1% (by mass). In vitro static digestion was performed under adult and elderly conditions using the INFOGEST protocols.

Resultados e Discussão

For vitamin D3, there was a strong influence on the release of the vitamin by the type of phospholipid used, and it was not released in yogurts incorporated with Lipoid S45 liposomes after the gastric phase. In the intestinal stage, there was less vitamin release in elderly conditions. The release of vitamin B12 was not affected by the type of liposome and age range. In other words, at the end of the intestinal phase, the nutrients were bioaccessible for absorption regardless of the age. After digestion, the degree of protein hydrolysis of the samples was quantified, and a significant increase was detected after the intestinal phase, in comparison to the gastric phase. Comparing the degree of hydrolysis, the digestion in elderly indicated the protein hydrolysis was lower than for adults, both after gastric and intestinal phases..

Conclusão

Therefore, the in vitro digestion conditions for the different age groups was able to detect differences in vitamins bioaccessibility and protein hydrolysis, which is useful for the development of food formulations adapted for each type of consumer.