Influence of food composition on chlorophyll bioaccessibility

Abstract

Chlorophylls are ingested and effectively absorbed by our organism daily, but the effect of food composition on its bioaccessibility is unknown. Therefore, the present research analyses the chlorophyll bioaccessibility of ten commercial foods (guacamole, virgin olive oil, tortellini, basil hummus, creamed spinach, vegetable pasta, green tea chocolate, avocado and kiwi juices, and pesto sauce), selected based on their different nutritional (fat, fiber, protein, and carbohydrates) and chlorophyll composition and content. The most unexpected result was to correlate chlorophyll degradation during in vitro digestion with the salt content of the digested food. Surprisingly, independently of the foods' nutritional composition or the chlorophyll content, the chlorophyll profile after in vitro digestion was formed by 90% pheophytins and 10% chlorophylls and pheophorbides. Such a pattern can only be modified when the ingested food contains a high proportion of pheophorbides (˃20%) that prevailed up to the mixed micelles.

Keywords: 13(2)-hydroxy-pheophytin a (PubChem: 136099746); Bioaccessibility; Chlorophyll a (PubChem CID: 12085802); Chlorophyll b (PubChem CID: 11593175); Chlorophylls; Digestion; Food composition; Pheophorbide; Pheophorbide a (PubChem CID: 253193); Pheophorbide b (PubChem: 159885); Pheophytin; Pheophytin a (PubChem CID: 135398712); Pheophytin b (PubChem: 135407446); Pyropheophorbide a (PubChem: 161456)..