Patulin bioaccessibility in apple-based juices – characterization of degradation during human digestion

Lopes, André; Martins, Carla; Assunção, Ricardo; Alvito, Paula

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/4940

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Abstract(s)

Food products could be contaminated in several ways. Chemical food contaminants as mycotoxins, which are secondary metabolites of fungi, can constitute a serious health problem considering their potential toxic effects. Warm temperatures and water activity are crucial for fungi development and mycotoxin production. Climate change may turn traditional temperate regions like Europe more liable to mycotoxins. Patulin (PAT), a mycotoxin that can promote health problems, is traditionally detected in apples and apple based foods, including those usually consumed by young children. Since the most frequent route for chemical food contaminants is ingestion, the impact of the digestion process on the availability of these compounds must be well characterized. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of the digestion process on PAT bioaccessibility, using artificially contaminated apple-based juices (minimum 50% apple content). To attain this objective, human digestion was simulated in vitro (according to Minekus et al., 2014) and PAT bioaccessibility was characterized along the three different phases, Oral (O), Gastric (G) and Intestinal (I). PAT identification and quantification were performed according to Barreira et al (2010). At intestinal phase, clear juices showed lower PAT mean bioaccessibility values (32 ± 10.0 %) than cloudy (36 ± 10.2 %). The results also showed that the majority of PAT degradation mainly occur in intestinal phase (mean bioaccessibility: clear O 90%; G 91%; I 32%; cloudy O 72%; G 73%; I 36%). These preliminary results are the first ones describing PAT bioaccessibility along the digestion process, and highlight the need to perform further studies considering different fruit-based products potentially contaminated with PAT. In a risk assessment perspective, these results contribute to a more accurate risk assessment, taking into account the amount of contaminant that is available to be absorbed in the intestine.