Polyphenol
extracts derived from gastrointestinal digestates of
buckwheat (Fagopyrum Mill) were studied for their intestinal transport
and lipid-lowering effects in Caco-2/HepG2 coculture models. The relative
amounts of all phenolic compounds throughout the digestion and intestinal
absorption process were determined by UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap mass spectrometry.
The digestible and easily transported phenolic compounds in buckwheat
extract were identified. Herein, four main phenolic compounds and
their metabolites were found on both the apical and basolateral sides
of the Caco-2 cell transwell model. The transepithelial transport
rates in the Caco-2 cell monolayer were scoparone (0.97) > hydroxycinnamic
acid (0.40) > rutin (0.23) > quercetin (0.20). The main metabolism
of hydroxycinnamic acid, quercetin, and scoparone in transepithelial
transport was found to be methylation. Furthermore, results indicated
that triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol,
aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase levels in
HepG2 cells on the basolateral side of coculture models can be suppressed
by 53.64, 23.44, 36.49, 27.98, and 77.42% compared to the oleic acid-induced
group (p < 0.05). In addition, the mRNA expression
of Fabp4 relative to the control was found to be significantly upregulated
(85.82 ± 10.64 to 355.18 ± 65.83%) by the easily transported
buckwheat polyphenol components in HepG2 cells (p < 0.01).