Author(s): Martins, Artur J. ; Perdigão, Lara ; Gonçalves, Catarina ; Amado, Isabel R. ; Abreu, Cristiano S. ; Vicente, A. A. ; Cunha, Rosiane L. ; Pastrana, Lorenzo M. ; Cerqueira, Miguel A.
Date: 2025
Persistent ID: https://hdl.handle.net/1822/93736
Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
Subject(s): Organogels; In vitro digestion; Lipolysis; Structural disintegration; Bioaccessibility; Provitamin A; Functional compounds; Beeswax,; Sterols
Composition and structure of oleogels significantly influence their digestive behaviour, impacting triacylglycerol breakdown and the bioavailability of incorporated compounds. Texture profile analysis showed that sterol-based oleogels (STOs) exhibited 20 times higher hardness than beeswax-based oleogels (BWOs), which showed stronger cohesion due to elasticity sustained by adhesive forces. Tribological assessments revealed similar initial coefficients of friction (COF) for both oleogels. However, fluctuations were observed in BWOs and a gradual decrease in STOs over time, enhancing lubrication, while BWOs recorded higher adhesion. These findings provide insights into their distinct digestive behaviour, with both oleogels undergoing structural disintegration and STOs displaying a higher lipolysis degree. Non-cytotoxicity was confirmed under Caco-2 cells. -carotene bioaccessibility was influenced by the oleogels' structural modification and values of 4.0 ± 0.7 % for STOs and 2.6 ± 1.1 % for BWOs were recorded. Results highlight the need to optimize formulations to improve bioactive's bioavailability, emphasizing the role of structured gels in modulating digestion dynamics.
Artur J. Martins was the recipient of a fellowship supported by a doctoral advanced training (call NORTE-69-2015-15) funded by the European Social Fund under the scope of Norte2020 -Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. This work was also funded by the MICRODIGEST project (grant agreement 037716) co-funded by FCT and ERDF through COMPETE2020.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
