Study of alterations in the INFOGEST in vitro digestion protocol and of exogenous lipid addition on the bioaccessibility and hydrolysis of carotenoid esters

Abstract

Only free carotenoids are generally detected in the human blood plasma after the ingestion of food or supplements containing both free and esterified carotenoids, suggesting that an in vivo efficient hydrolysis of carotenoid esters occurs. On the other hand, the low hydrolysis efficiency of carotenoid esters obtained by in vitro digestion methods is considered as an important shortcoming of such protocols, including the internationally standardized INFOGEST protocol. Additionally, although the influence of the food composition on the bioaccessibility and bioavailability is fairly explored in the literature, an opposite scenario is observed when it comes to the evaluation of the impact of food composition on the carotenoid ester hydrolysis extent. In this context, our study aims to investigate alterations in the INFOGEST digestion protocol to maximize the hydrolysis extent of carotenoid esters. In addition, considering the positive effect of the coingestion of lipids on the carotenoid bioavailability in vivo, the effect of lipid addition to the matrix before digestion on the carotenoid ester hydrolysis and carotenoid bioaccessibility will also be investigated using the INFOGEST protocol. This work will certainly contribute to the enhancement of the INFOGEST digestion protocol towards the achievement of results similar to those observed in vivo..