Mayonnaise as a model food for improving the bioaccessibility of carotenoids from Bactris gasipaes fruits

Carotenoids from Bactris gasipaes fruits were extracted with an ultrasound-assisted approach using sunflower oil, which was used to develop an oil-in-water (O/W) food emulsion similar to commercial mayonnaise with a lower lipid content. The qualitative carotenoid profile of the /OW emulsion was similar to that of lyophilized fruit. Using an in vitro digestion model adapted from the INFOGEST protocol, the results show that the O/W food emulsion had approximately 11-fold more bioaccessible carotenoids than the lyophilized fruit. In addition, the food model developed in this study had high sensory acceptance in all the evaluated attributes (acceptability scores for colour, aroma, taste, texture and overall acceptance of approximately 8.0 on a 9-point hedonic scale), as well as excellent thermal and gravitational stability (evaluated during 72 days of storage) and antioxidant activity (4.80 alpha-tocopherol relative). The present work presents a successful alternative for carotenoid incorporation into new foodstuffs, representing an excellent model for the design of functional products with more bioaccessible liposoluble bioactive compounds. This model can be used to add functionality to a food that typically has low nutritional value. (AU)