Browsing by Author "Ruales Najera, Jeny Cumanda"

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In vitro bioaccessibility and uptake of β-carotene from encapsulated carotenoids from mango by-products in a coupled gastrointestinal digestion/Caco-2 cell model
(2023) Van Camp, John Hendrik; Van de Wiele, Tom Richard; Cabezas Teran, Katty Elizabeth; Grootaert, Charlotte; Donoso Moscoso, Silvana Patricia; Ruales Najera, Jeny Cumanda; Van Bockstaele, Filip; Ortiz Ulloa, Silvia Johana
β-carotene is a carotenoid with provitamin A activity and other health benefits, which needs to become bioavailable upon oral intake to exert its biological activity. A better understanding of its behaviour and stability in the gastrointestinal tract and means to increase its bioavailability are highly needed. Using an in vitro gastrointestinal digestion method coupled to an intestinal cell model, we explored the stability, gastrointestinal bioaccessibility and cellular uptake of β-carotene from microparticles containing carotenoid extracts derived from mango by-products. Three types of microparticles were tested: one with the carotenoid extract as such, one with added inulin and one with added fructooligosaccharides. Overall, β-carotene was relatively stable during the in vitro digestion, as total recoveries were above 68 %. Prebiotics in the encapsulating material, especially inulin, enhanced the bioaccessibility of β-carotene almost 2-fold compared to microparticles without prebiotics. Likewise, β-carotene bioaccessibility increased proportionally with bile salt concentrations during digestion. Yet, a bile salts level above 10 mM did not contribute markedly to β-carotene bioaccessibility of prebiotic containing microparticles. Cellular uptake experiments with non-filtered gastrointestinal digests yielded higher absolute levels of β-carotene taken up in the epithelial cells as compared to uptake assays with filtered digests. However, the proportional uptake of β-carotene was higher for filtered digests (24 – 31 %) than for non-filtered digests (2 – 8 %). Matrix-dependent carotenoid uptake was only visible in the unfiltered medium, thereby pointing to possible other cellular transport mechanisms of non-micellarized carotenoids, besides the concentration effect. Regardless of a filtration step, inulin-amended microparticles consistently resulted in a higher β-carotene uptake than regular microparticles or FOS-amended microparticles. In conclusion, encapsulation of carotenoid extracts from mango by-products displayed chemical stability and release of a bioaccessible β-carotene fraction upon gastrointestinal digestion. This indicates the potential of the microparticles to be incorporated into functional foods with provitamin A activity.
Mortiño (Vaccinium floribundum Kunth): an underutilized superplant from the Andes
(2022) Llivisaca Contreras, Susana Alexandra; León Tamariz, Fabián; Manzano Santana, Patricia Isabel; Ruales Najera, Jeny Cumanda; Naranjo Moran, Jaime Alberto; Serrano Mena, Ana Lissette; Chica Martínez, Eduardo José; Cevallos Cevallos, Juan Manuel
Mortiño is a member of the Ericaceae family native to the Andes that has been used bylocal communities for centuries. This species has shown potential in the areas of medicine, agronomy,and green technology. We used a multidisciplinary approach to review aspects related to the ecology,horticulture, composition and potential biotechnological applications of mortiño. As interest in thisspecies grows, care must be taken to identify opportunities that justify its sustainable use whileemphasizing the development of local communities. Mapping the wide variety of potential uses andthe current state of conservation and utilization of this berry will help researchers to better targetmortiño’s potential