Plant-Based Food and Human Digestion Health

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Foods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2023) | Viewed by 12476

Special Issue Editors

Collage of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Interests: food science; food chemistry; food nutrition; food digestion; carbohydrate nutrition; carbohydrate chemical modification
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
School of Health Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
Interests: starch structure and nutrition; low glycemic index food; resistant starch and gut microbiota interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Human health is largely dependent on the diet. Plant-based food is crucial to human health, since it supplies various important dietary nutrients ingested through the gastrointestinal digestive tract to support human metabolism. This Special Issue is focused on the plant foods with a significant nutritional influence on human digestive health. We call for the relevant research publications to reflect the most recent progress or to highlight the most crucial scientific emphasis. You are kindly encouraged to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue, wherein all research articles, communications, or scientific reviews are welcome. As suggested, the relevant topics can be, but are not limited to, the following: a) plant-based macro/micro food components with significant valuable or negative nutritional influence; b) plant-fibre sources with nutritional value; c) plant food components and gut microbial health; d) plant foods digested in vitro/in vivo. We believe this Special Issue will create new opportunities for boosting public dietary health grounded on insightful knowledge into plant-based food nutrients ingested by humans.

Dr. Wei Zou
Dr. Cheng Li
Dr. Wenwen Yu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • plant-based food
  • human digestion
  • health
  • dietary fibre
  • lignin
  • macro/micronutrients
  • in vitro/in vivo digestion

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3076 KiB  
Article
Predicting the Glycemic Index of Biscuits Using Static In Vitro Digestion Protocols
by Xingguang Peng, Hongsheng Liu, Xuying Li, Huaibin Wang, Kejia Zhang, Shuangqi Li, Xianyang Bao, Wei Zou and Wenwen Yu
Foods 2023, 12(2), 404; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods12020404 - 14 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2044
Abstract
In vitro digestion methods that can accurately predict the estimated GI (eGI) values of complex carbohydrate foods, including biscuits, are worth exploring. In the current study, standard commercial biscuits with varied clinical GI values between 9~30 were digested using both the INFOGEST and [...] Read more.
In vitro digestion methods that can accurately predict the estimated GI (eGI) values of complex carbohydrate foods, including biscuits, are worth exploring. In the current study, standard commercial biscuits with varied clinical GI values between 9~30 were digested using both the INFOGEST and single-enzyme digestion protocols. The digestion kinetic parameters were acquired through mathematical fitting by mathematical kinetics models. The results showed that compared with the INFOGEST protocol, the AUR180 deduced from digesting using either porcine pancreatin or α-amylase showed the best potential in predicting the eGI values. Accordingly, mathematical equations were established based on the relations between the AUR180 and the GI values. When digesting using porcine pancreatin, GI= 1.834 + 0.009 ×AUCR180 (R2= 0.952), and when digesting using only α-amylase, GI= 6.101 + 0.009 ×AUCR180 (R2=0.902). The AUR180 represents the area under the curve of the reducing-sugar content normalized to the total carbohydrates versus the digestion time in 180 min. The in vitro method presented enabled the rapid and accurate prediction of the eGI values of biscuits, and the validity of the formula was verified by another batch of biscuits with a known GI, and the error rate of most samples was less than 30%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Based Food and Human Digestion Health)
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17 pages, 1511 KiB  
Article
Multi-Scale Structures and Functional Properties of Quinoa Starch Extracted by Alkali, Wet-Milling, and Enzymatic Methods
by Shahid Ahmed Junejo, Jun Wang, Ying Liu, Rui Jia, Yibin Zhou and Songnan Li
Foods 2022, 11(17), 2625; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods11172625 - 30 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1946
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of starch extraction methods (alkali, wet-milling, and enzymatic) on the multi-scale structures and functional properties of quinoa starch. When the enzymatic method was compared with alkali and wet-milling, it showed higher protein content [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of starch extraction methods (alkali, wet-milling, and enzymatic) on the multi-scale structures and functional properties of quinoa starch. When the enzymatic method was compared with alkali and wet-milling, it showed higher protein content (2.4%), larger mean size of aggregated granules (44.1 μm), higher relative crystallinity (29.0%), scattering intensity (17.8 α.u.), absorbance ratio of 1047/1022 (0.9), single and double helical content (8.2% and 23.1%), FWHM ratio (1.5), and average molecular weight and radius of gyration (1.58 × 107 g/mol and 106.8 nm), respectively. Similarly, quinoa starch by enzymatic extraction had a higher onset (82.1 °C), peak (83.8 °C), and conclusion (86.3 °C) temperatures, as well as an enthalpy change (6.8 J/g). It further showed maximum hardness (238.8 N), gumminess (105.6 N), chewiness (80.2 N), SDS content (7.5% of raw and 4.8% of cooked), and RS content (15.4% of raw and 13.9% of cooked), whereas it contained minimum RDS content (77.1% of raw and 81.9% of cooked). The results suggest that extraction of starch by the enzymatic method could be a viable approach to retain the native structure of starch and may eventually improve the glycemic response. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Based Food and Human Digestion Health)
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22 pages, 1958 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Rice Lipid on In Vitro Rice Starch Digestibility
by Amina Khatun, Daniel L. E. Waters and Lei Liu
Foods 2022, 11(10), 1528; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods11101528 - 23 May 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3247
Abstract
The negative role of lipids in rice starch digestion is well-known; however, the effect of individual native lipids on starch digestibility has not been studied. In this study, native rice lipids, such as triacylglycerols (TAGs), diacylglycerols (DAGs), phosphatidylcholines (PCs) and lysophospholipids (LPLs), were [...] Read more.
The negative role of lipids in rice starch digestion is well-known; however, the effect of individual native lipids on starch digestibility has not been studied. In this study, native rice lipids, such as triacylglycerols (TAGs), diacylglycerols (DAGs), phosphatidylcholines (PCs) and lysophospholipids (LPLs), were analyzed using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and correlated with in vitro rice starch digestibility. Most of the tested lipids exhibited a negative correlation with the in vitro starch digestibility with the correlations being more pronounced for LPLs. Removal of lipids from rice flour increased the in vitro starch digestibility. Conversely, a lipid extract addition to rice flour reduced the starch digestibility. Addition of 1% pure lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC)16:0, TAG54:6, DAG36:4 or PC36:2 individually to rice flour reduced starch digestibility by different extents in the order of LPC16:0 > TAG54:6 > PC36:2 > DAG36:4. LPC16:0 was the most abundant lipid among all the assessed lipids in the white rice (milled rice), and addition of 1% LPC 16:0 to rice flour reduced glucose release following three hours of in vitro starch digestion by 7.4%. There may be a scope to breed rice with a lipid composition to reach a desired starch digestibility or simply through addition of certain lipids before cooking the rice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Based Food and Human Digestion Health)
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17 pages, 2767 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Flavonoid O-Glycoside, C-Glycoside and Their Aglycones on Antioxidant Capacity and Metabolism during In Vitro Digestion and In Vivo
by Liangqin Xie, Zeyuan Deng, Jie Zhang, Huanhuan Dong, Wei Wang, Banghuai Xing and Xiaoru Liu
Foods 2022, 11(6), 882; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods11060882 - 20 Mar 2022
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 4031
Abstract
Flavonoids are well known for their extensive health benefits. However, few studies compared the differences between flavonoid O-glycoside and C-glycoside. In this work, flavonoid O-glycoside (isoquercitrin), C-glycoside (orientin), and their aglycones (quercetin and luteolin) were chosen to compare their differences on antioxidant activities [...] Read more.
Flavonoids are well known for their extensive health benefits. However, few studies compared the differences between flavonoid O-glycoside and C-glycoside. In this work, flavonoid O-glycoside (isoquercitrin), C-glycoside (orientin), and their aglycones (quercetin and luteolin) were chosen to compare their differences on antioxidant activities and metabolism during in vitro digestion and in vivo. In vitro digestion, the initial antioxidant activity of the two aglycones was very high; however, they both decreased more sharply than their glycosides in the intestinal phase. The glycosidic bond of flavonoid O-glycoside was broken in the gastric and intestinal stage, while the C-glycoside remained unchanged. In vivo, flavonoid O-glycoside in plasma was more elevated than C-glycoside on the antioxidant activity; however, flavonoid C-glycoside in urine was higher than O-glycoside. These results indicate that differences of flavonoid glycosides and their aglycones on antioxidant activity are closely related to their structural characteristics and metabolism in different samples. Aglycones possessed higher activity but unstable structures. On the contrary, the sugar substituents reduced the activity of flavonoids while improving their stability and helping to maintain antioxidant activities after digestion. Especially the C-glycoside was more stable because the stability of the C–C bond is higher than that of the C–O bond, which contributes to the difference between flavonoid O-glycoside and C-glycoside on the absorption and metabolism in vivo. This study provided a new perspective for comparing flavonoid O-glycoside, flavonoid C-glycoside, and their aglycones on their structure–activity relationship and metabolism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Based Food and Human Digestion Health)
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