Effect of addition of rich sources of lipids on the bioaccessibility of lutein and β-carotene from raw baby spinach leaves

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of the addition of lipids with different origin and unsaturation degree on the bioaccessibility of major carotenoids from raw baby spinach leaves. The standardized INFOGEST protocol of static in vitro digestion was applied to determine the bioaccessibility of lutein and β-carotene from baby spinach, before and after the addition of avocado pulp (5% and 10%) and sour cream (10% and 20%), as lipid sources. Baby spinach leaves, avocado fruits and sour cream were characterized in terms of carotenoid composition, lipid content and fatty acids profile by C30-HPLC-DAD and GC-MS. The bioaccessibility of lutein was lower (7.1%) than that of β-carotene (9.05%) from unsupplemented baby spinach leaves. Addition of avocado and sour cream determined a significant decrease of lutein bioaccessibility, especially in the case of high concentration of sour cream (20%). Oppositely, the bioaccessibility of β-carotene was increased by the addition of both lipid sources, at both concentrations, with a significant improvement for 10% sour cream, from 9.05% to 13.28%. Generally, the highest amount of lipid did not result in better bioaccessibility of carotenoids.