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Almond skins digestion: release of phytochemicals and gut health.
Author(s) -
Mandalari Giuseppina,
Rich Gillian T,
Bisignano Giuseppe,
Parker Mary L,
Waldron Keith W,
Wickham Martin SJ
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.563.38
Subject(s) - digestion (alchemy) , food science , polyphenol , chemistry , xylem , sugar , bioavailability , proanthocyanidin , cuticle (hair) , regulation of gastric function , in vitro , botany , biology , biochemistry , stomach , antioxidant , chromatography , anatomy , gastric acid , bioinformatics
Almond skins (Amygdalus communis L.) contain high‐value components, such as dietary fibre and polyphenols. Here we describe the bioaccessibility of phytochemicals from almond skins during gastrointestinal (GI) digestion and the role of cell walls in regulating bioaccessibility. A dynamic gastric model of digestion which simulates the physical‐chemical processing of the stomach and accurately mimics both the transit time and the luminal content of the upper human gut was used to digest almond skins in vitro. No significant changes were observed in the sugar composition of the cell walls of almond skin after in vitro gastric or in vitro gastric + duodenal digestion, suggesting that no degradation of the dietary fibre had occurred. The decrease in the concentration of the major phenolics and flavonoids within the almond skins after digestion was used as a measure of their bioaccessibility in the GI tract. Under UV light, blue autofluorescence was emitted from the phenolics within the walls of the sclerenchyma cells, the lignified cells of the xylem, and from the cuticle overlying the nucellar layer. Phytochemicals from almond skins are bioavailable in the GI tract. The high dietary fibre content could be exploited for the potential health benefits of non‐glycaemic carbohydrate functional food preparations, mainly for gut health. This work has been funded by the Almond Board of California.