The assessment of carotenoid bioavailability has long been hampered by the limited knowledge of their absorption mechanisms. However, recent reports have elucidated important aspects of carotenoid digestion and absorption. Disruption of food matrix and increasing amounts of fat seem to enhance the absorption of carotenes to a larger extent than that of xanthophylls. Comparing different carotenoid species, xanthophylls seem to be more easily released from the food matrix and more efficiently micellized than the carotenes. On the other hand, carotenes are more efficiently taken up by the enterocytes. However, carotenoid emulsification and micellization steps are largely affected by the food matrix and dietary components, being the main determinant of carotenoid bioavailability from foodstuffs. Although the intestinal uptake of carotenoids has been thought to occur by simple diffusion, recent studies reported the existence of receptor-mediated transport of carotenoids in enterocytes. Comparisons between the intestinal absorption of a wide array of carotenoids would be useful to elucidate the absorption mechanism of each carotenoid species, in view of the recent indications that intestinal carotenoid uptake may involve the scavenger receptor class B type I and possibly other epithelial transporters. The unraveling of the whole mechanism underlying the absorption of carotenoids will be the challenge for future studies.

HighlightsThe concept of prebiotic gelatine based edible films containing probiotics is presented.Prebiotic edible films effectively protected L. rhamnosus GG.Inulin and wheat fibre improved the storage stability of L. rhamnosus GG.Glucose-oligosaccharides and polydextrose reduced lethality during air drying.Prebiotics resulted in a more compact, less porous and reticular film structure.

In the present paper, a novel approach for the development of probiotic baked cereal products is presented. Probiotic pan bread constructed by the application of film forming solutions based either on individual hydrogels e.g. 1% w/w sodium alginate (ALG) or binary blends of 0.5% w/w sodium alginate and 2% whey protein concentrate (ALG/WPC) containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, followed by an air drying step at 60 °C for 10 min or 180 °C for min were produced. No visual differences between the bread crust surface of control and probiotic bread were observed. Microstructural analysis of bread crust revealed the formation of thicker films in the case of ALG/WPC. The presence of WPC improved significantly the viability of L. rhamnosus GG throughout air drying and room temperature storage. During storage there was a significant reduction in L. rhamnosus GG viability during the first 24 h, viable count losses were low during the subsequent 2–3 days of storage and growth was observed upon the last days of storage (day 4–7). The use of film forming solutions based exclusive on sodium alginate improved the viability of L. rhamnosus GG under simulated gastro-intestinal conditions, and there was no impact of the bread crust matrix on inactivation rates. The presence of the probiotic edible films did not modify cause major shifts in the mechanistic pathway of bread staling – as shown by physicochemical, thermal, texture and headspace analysis. Based on our calculations, an individual 30–40 g bread slice can deliver approx. 7.57–8.98 and 6.55–6.91 log cfu/portion before and after in-vitro digestion, meeting the WHO recommended required viable cell counts for probiotic bacteria to be delivered to the human host.

Three different milk proteins -skim milk powder (SMP), sodium caseinate (SC) and whey protein concentrate (WPC) -were tested for their ability to stabilize microencapsulated L. acidophilus produced using spray drying. Maltodextrin (MD) was used as the primary wall material in all samples, milk protein as the secondary wall material (7:3 MD/milk protein ratio) and the simple sugars, D-glucose and trehalose were used as tertiary wall materials (8:2:2 MD/protein/sugar ratio) combinations of all wall materials were tested for their ability to enhance the microbial and techno-functional stability of microencapsulated powders. Of the optional secondary wall materials, WPC improved L. acidophilus viability, up to 70 % during drying; SMP enhanced stability by up to 59 % and SC up to 6 %. Lactose and whey protein content enhanced thermoprotection; this is possibly due to their ability to depress the glass transition and melting temperatures and to release antioxidants. The resultant L. acidophilus powders were stored for 90 days at 4°C, 25°C and 35°C and the loss of viability calculated. The highest survival rates were obtained at 4°C, inactivation rates for storage were dependent on the carrier wall material and the SMP/D-glucose powders had the lowest inactivation rates (0.013 day ). Further increase in storage temperature (25°C and 35°C) was accompanied by increase of the inactivation rates of L. acidophilus that followed Arrhenius kinetics. In general, SMP-based formulations exhibited the highest temperature dependency whilst WPC the lowest. D-Glucose addition improved the storage stability of the probiotic powders although it was accompanied by an increase of the residual moisture, water activity and hygroscopicity, and a reduction of the glass transition temperature in the tested systems.

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HighlightsLactobacillus acidophilus spray dried with chitosan was viable over 35 days of storage at 25 °C.Chitosan improved L. acidophilus viability during simulated digestion.Alginate and HPMC maintained L. acidophilus viability during spray-drying.Alginate and HPMC decreased survival of L. acidophilus during simulated digestion.Physical state of dried powders impacted L. acidophilus viability during storage.

Fucoxanthin, a xanthophyll present in brown algae consumed in Eastern Asia, can suppress carcinogenesis and obesity in rodents. We investigated the metabolism, tissue distribution, and depletion of fucoxanthin in ICR mice by comparison with those of lutein. The experiments comprised 14-d dietary supplementation with lutein esters or fucoxanthin, followed by 41- or 28-d, respectively, depletion periods with carotenoid-free diets. After lutein ester supplementation, 3'-hydroxy-ε,ε-caroten-3-one and lutein were the predominant carotenoids in plasma and tissues, accompanied by ε,ε-carotene-3,3'-dione. The presence of these keto-carotenoids in mouse tissues is reported here for the first time, to our knowledge. Lutein and its metabolites accumulated most in the liver (7.51 μmol/kg), followed by plasma (2.11 μmol/L), adipose tissues (1.01-1.44 μmol/kg), and kidney (0.87 μmol/kg). The half-life of the depletion (t(1/2)) of lutein metabolites varied as follows: plasma (1.16 d) < liver (2.63 d) < kidney (4.44 d) < < < adipose tissues (>41 d). Fucoxanthinol and amarouciaxanthin A were the main metabolites in mice fed fucoxanthin and partitioned more into adipose tissues (3.13-3.64 μmol/kg) than into plasma, liver, and kidney (1.29-1.80 μmol/kg). Fucoxanthin metabolites had shorter t(1/2) in plasma, liver, and kidneys (0.92-1.23 d) compared with those of adipose tissues (2.76-4.81 d). The tissue distribution of lutein and fucoxanthin metabolites was not associated with their lipophilicity, but depletion seemed to be slower for more lipophilic compounds. We concluded that mice actively convert lutein and fucoxanthin to keto-carotenoids by oxidizing the secondary hydroxyl groups and accumulate them in tissues.

Epoxyxanthophylls (epoxide-containing xanthophylls), a group of carotenoids, are ubiquitously distributed in edible plants. Among them, neoxanthin in green leafy vegetables and fucoxanthin in brown algae have been reported to exhibit an antiproliferative effect on several human cancer cells in vitro. However, there is little information about the intestinal absorption and metabolic fate of dietary epoxyxanthophylls in humans. To estimate the intestinal absorption of neoxanthin and fucoxanthin in humans, we evaluated the plasma epoxyxanthophyll concentrations before and after 1-week dietary interventions with spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and wakame (Undaria pinnatifida). The epoxyxanthophylls and their metabolites in the plasma extracts were determined by HPLC after partial purification and concentration with solid-phase extraction cartridges. Even after 1 week of spinach intake (3·0 mg neoxanthin/d), the plasma concentrations of neoxanthin and its metabolites (neochrome stereoisomers) remained very low (about 1 nmol/l), whereas those of b-carotene and lutein were markedly increased. Similarly, the plasma concentration of fucoxanthinol, a gastrointestinal metabolite of fucoxanthin, was , 1 nmol/l after 1 week of wakame intake (6·1 mg fucoxanthin/d). These results indicated that the plasma response to dietary epoxyxanthophylls was very low in humans even after 1-week intake of epoxyxanthophyll-rich diets. Carotenoids: Neoxanthin: Fucoxanthin: Intestinal absorptionEpidemiological studies have demonstrated an association between the consumption of fruits and vegetables and a lower risk of certain forms of cancer. However, several intervention trials have failed to prove the cancer-chemopreventive effect of b-carotene, a representative carotenoid in fruits and vegetables. In this context, attention has been recently focused on the chemopreventive effect of other phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables, including epoxyxanthophylls (epoxidecontaining xanthophylls).Epoxyxanthophylls are ubiquitously distributed in plant photosynthetic organs and constitute a major fraction of the dietary carotenoids (1) . There are two noteworthy epoxyxanthophylls: neoxanthin (9 0 -cis-neoxanthin), one of the major carotenoids in green leafy vegetables such as spinach (Spinacia oleracea) (2) , and fucoxanthin, a predominant carotenoid in edible brown algae (3) such as wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) and konbu (Laminaria japonica), which are popular foodstuffs in East Asia (Fig. 1). These two epoxyxanthophylls have been reported to suppress the proliferation of several cancer cells in vitro (4 -9) and to inhibit chemically induced carcinogenesis in animal models (10) . Moreover, recent studies have indicated anti-obesity (11,12) and anti-angiogenic (13) effects of fucoxanthin. Thus, these epoxyxanthophylls could have the potential health benefits of preventing cancer and obesity.In our recent studies (4,5) , the intestinal absorption and metabolism of purified neoxanthin and fucoxanthin were demonstrated in animal models, but not in humans....