No abstract

Bioaccessibility of plant sterols (PS) in an enriched wholemeal rye bread was evaluated, for the first time, using the INFOGEST protocol without gastric lipase (GL) and cholesterol esterase (CE), with GL or GL + CE. Moreover, human chewing and an in vitro oral phase (simulated salivary fluid and α-amylase) were evaluated for this purpose. The addition of GL decreased the bioaccessibility of total PS (from 23.8 to 18.5%), whereas the use of GL + CE does not significantly affect PS bioaccessibility. The in vitro oral phase resulted in an ineffective homogenization of the fresh vs partially dried and milled bread, reducing the bioaccessibility of total (from 20.2 to 12.8%) and individual PS. The INFOGEST digestion including the use of GL and CE, as well as an oral phase with human chewing, is proposed for the assessment of PS bioaccessibility in a solid matrix such as wholemeal rye bread since it more closely approximates the in vivo situation.

Elderly people suffer from a higher cardiovascular risk. Thus, the fortification of foods with plant sterols (PS), which have a cholesterol-lowering function, could be of great interest for this target...

Bread is one of the staple foods of many countries, and its enrichment with bioactive compounds is trending. This phenomenon is focused on breads with a good nutritional profile, such as wholemeal rye bread (WRB), in which enrichment with plant sterols (PSs) is allowed in accordance with European regulations. The objective of the present study was to optimize the production of a WRB enriched with PS (PS-WRB) and to evaluate the proximate composition and starch digestibility as an indicator of nutritional quality. The rheological analysis showed that the bread dough presents satisfactory farinographic properties (dough development time 6 min; stability 4 min; degree of softening 100 Brabender units) but high water absorption (67%). The PS-WRB is high in dietary fiber and low in protein (20.4 and 7.7% w/w, dry basis, respectively) compared with other cereals reported in the scientific literature. In turn, a low starch proportion was hydrolyzed during the simulated digestion (59.9% of total starch), being also slowly hydrolyzed, as deduced from the rapidly digestible starch value (56.5% of total starch). In conclusion, WRB is a suitable matrix for PS enrichment, which allows for obtaining a product with a good nutritional profile and potential health benefits.

The prevention of cardiovascular disease by fortified foods with plant sterols (PS), with a hypocholesterolemic effect, is important for the elderly population. This study aimed to identify the different PS...