Digestive stability and absorption of green tea polyphenols: Influence of acid and xylitol addition

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of sugar substitute and acid on digestive stability and intestinal uptake of catechins in Ready-To-Drink (RTD) green tea. Green tea extracts formulated with prescribed amounts of sucrose (200, 500, and 1000 mg), glucose (280, 700, and 1400 mg), and xylitol (200, 500, and 1000 mg) in combination with citric acid (10 mg) or vitamin C (10 mg) were subjected to an in vitro digestion model coupled with Caco-2 cells. Green tea extracts only showed a poor digestive recovery (5.3%) of total catechins and EGC and EGCG significantly decreased with the digestive recovery of 4.6% and 6.1%, respectively. However, measured amount of EGC, EGCG, or ECG in digestive fluids and caco-2 human intestinal cell significantly increased by adding citric acid or vitamin C. There was remarkable increase of digestive recovery of total catechins in green tea with xylitol/citric acid and xylitol/vitamin C by 1.7–2.5 times and 3 times, respectively, with different amounts of xylitol. It was also determined that intestinal uptake of total catechins significantly increased 6 and 11 times in green tea with xylitol/citric acid and xylitol/vitamin C, respectively, compared to green tea only.     

Formulation with ascorbic acid and sucrose modulates catechin bioavailability from green tea

In order to investigate the impact of common food ingredients on catechin absorption, green tea (GT) extract (50 mg) was formulated plain, with sucrose (GT + S), with ascorbic acid (GT + AA) and with sucrose and ascorbic acid (GT + S + AA). Bioavailability and bioaccessibility were assessed in Sprague Dawley rats and an in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell model respectively. Absorption of epigallocatechin (EGC) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) was significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced in GT + S + AA formulations (AUC_0–6 h = 3237.0 and 181.8 pmol h/L plasma respectively) relative to GT control (AUC_0–6 h = 1304.1 and 61.0 pmol h/L plasma respectively). In vitro digestive recovery was higher for EGC and epicatechin (EC) (～51–53%) relative to EGCG and epicatechin gallate (ECG) (<20%) and was modestly enhanced in GT + S and GT + S + AA formulations. Accumulation of EGC, EGCG and ECG by Caco-2 cells was significantly (P < 0.05) higher from GT + S + AA compared to other formulations while retention of catechins was enhanced in presence of ascorbic acid. These data suggest that formulation with sucrose and ascorbic acid may improve catechin bioavailability by enhancing bioaccessibility and intestinal uptake from tea.     

Catechins play key role in green tea extract–induced postprandial hypoglycemic potential in vitro

Green tea is often associated with glycemic control benefit. However, the available evidence is not conclusive. In this study, we systematically assessed the contribution of main green tea extract (GTE) ingredients to the inhibition of carbohydrate digestive enzyme and intestinal glucose transport, which are two intervention options for postprandial blood glucose control. A catechin mixture (CM) solution containing seven catechins and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) solution was prepared based on the contents of individual catechins in the GTE as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The inhibitory potency of GTE, CM, and EGCG on α-amylase or α-glucosidase was compared in cell-free system. GTE’s inhibitory potency was mainly attributed to catechins, among which, EGCG accounted for at least 80 % of the α-amylase inhibitory activity and 90 % of the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of GTE. In addition, the fluorescence quenching of the digestive enzymes by EGCG revealed that the binding site of EGCG-α-amylase was 1.2, and that for EGCG-α-glucosidase to be 2.0. The inhibitory potency of GTE, CM, and EGCG on glucose transport was assessed in Caco-2 monolayer system. Under the simulated fasting state, there was significant difference between the test materials regarding inhibitory potency according to two-way ANOVA (P > 0.05). Under the simulated fed state, CM showed stronger inhibition than EGCG only at the highest test concentration (25.7 μg/mL), while no significant difference was observed between CM and the GTE. In conclusion, our results suggest that green tea’s postprandial hypoglycemic potential can be attributed to its catechins.     

Effect of green tea extract and microwave pre-cooking on the formation of acrylamide in fried chicken drumsticks and chicken wings

Since 2002, it has been well-known that carbohydrate-rich foods have a high level of acrylamide (AA). Some researchers have drawn attention on the formation of AA in coated and fried chicken meat products in recent years. From this viewpoint, the purpose of the present study was to mitigate acrylamide formation in fried chicken drumsticks (CDs) and chicken wings (CWs) using green tea extract (GTE) alone or combined with microwave pre-cooking (MPC) by decrease frying time. In brief, CDs and CWs marinated for one day were divided into eight groups. Four of those were first covered with batter and breading, including 0%, 0.5%, 1.5% and 3% GTE and deep fried in fat for 8.5 min for CDs and 3.5 min for CWs at 175 °C and 8 psi of pressure. In the second step, the remainder of the marinated CDs and CWs were subjected to MPC for 7 min and 5 min, respectively. Then, they were covered with batter and breading including 0%, 0.5%, 1.5% and 3% GTE and deep fried in fat for 5.5 min for CDs and 2.5 min for CWs at 175 °C and 8 psi for pressure. With increasing levels of GTE, the AA concentration decreased gradually in CDs and CWs. In addition, MPC also decreased AA formation in CWs due to the shorter frying time. Moreover, MPC was more efficient at reducing AA formation in CWs when it was combined with GTE. A lighter and more yellowish color was measured in CDs as a consequence of the shorter frying time. It is crucial to state that the incorporation of GTE into the breading or MPC did not negatively affect the sensory properties of CDs and CWs, while it reduced AA formation. In conclusion, it can be stated that GTE alone or combined with MPC is an effective and practical mitigation strategy for AA formation.     

Investigation of the interaction between soluble antioxidants in green tea and insoluble dietary fiber bound antioxidants

This work investigates the possibility of interaction between insoluble dietary fiber bound antioxidants, specifically of wheat bran, and soluble antioxidants like those provide by aqueous infusions of green tea. Solutions of pure catechins were also assayed for comparison with those naturally found in tea. To accomplish this, the aqueous and alcohol soluble fractions as well as the lipid components of wheat bran were firstly removed and the freeze-dried insoluble residue was then treated with different concentrations of green tea infusions or aqueous solutions of epicatechin (EC) and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) for certain time. Treatment with EC (0–200 μM) had no significant effect on the antioxidant capacity of insoluble bran fraction. However, treatment with EGCG significantly (p < 0.05) increased linearly the antioxidant capacity as a function of concentration (0–100 μM). Treatment with great tea infusions (1–3 g/100 ml) also increased the resulting antioxidant capacity of insoluble bran fraction, but the effect was lesser at higher infusion concentrations. Liquid chromatography couple to mass spectrometry (LC–MS) analyses of aqueous phases after treatment indicated comparable levels of decrease in the concentrations of catechins confirming their reaction with the radical forms of antioxidants bound to insoluble bran matrix.     

Effect of process unit operations and long-term storage on catechin contents in EGCG-enriched tea drink

Due to the increasing market for functional foods and the chemopreventive action of (?)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), manufacturers produce ready-to-drink green tea infusions enriched or not in EGCG. However, the maintenance of green tea catechins stability in drinks is always a challenge. In this context, the objectives of this study were (1) to assess the catechin stability in tea drink during a 6-month storage, (2) to evaluate the impact of process unit operations on catechin stability and (3) to compare the catechin and caffeine contents of commercially available tea drinks. It appeared that the stability of catechins during long-term storage was optimum at low temperature (4 °C) and acidic pH (pH 4.0). During the processing of the EGCG-enriched green tea drink, all the process unit operations, except heat-treatment, had no impact on catechin concentrations. In addition, in commercially available tea drinks, except enriched green tea drinks, their catechin contents are very low to provide health benefits.     

Interactions of digestive enzymes and milk proteins with tea catechins at gastric and intestinal pH

The interactions of digestive enzymes (pepsin, pancreatin) and milk proteins (β‐casein, β‐lactoglobulin (β‐Lg)) with (?)‐epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), (?)‐epigallocatechin (EGC) and (?)‐epicatechin (EC) at gastric and intestinal pH were investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy. The results indicated that in the gastric environment, all three tea catechins showed binding affinities in descending order of strength with β‐casein first, followed by β‐Lg and then pepsin. The highest affinity was observed for EGCG–β‐casein, with a binding constant (K_A) of 2.502(±0.201) × 10⁵ m ^?1. In the intestinal environment, the binding strengths of the proteins with EGCG and EGC were in the order β‐Lg > pancreatin > β‐casein; for binding with EC, the strength order was β‐casein > β‐Lg > pancreatin. The combination EGCG–β‐Lg had the strongest binding affinity, with a K_A of 14.300(±0.997) × 10⁵ m ^?1. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that tea catechins complexed with milk proteins and digestive enzymes via different hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions depending on the different digestion environments and types of catechins, proteins and enzymes.     

Epimerisation and hydrolysis of catechins under ultrasonic treatment

This study investigated the influence of ultrasonic treatments on the chemical conversions of catechins. Ultrasound treatments significantly enhanced the epimerisation and the hydrolysis of catechins in both the catechins solution and the tea extract solution. Catechins are more stable in the tea extract solution compared to the catechins solution. The conversion of catechins induced by ultrasound can be controlled by temperature and pH. Regard to the pyrogallol-type catechins, both the epimerisation and the hydrolysis were enhanced at the higher temperatures (60 and 70 °C) and the acidic condition (pH 6). The epimerisation and the hydrolysis of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) improved by 47% and 18%, respectively, when the temperature rose from 50 to 70 °C. Compared to pH 8, the epimerisation and the hydrolysis of EGCG at pH 6 improved by 27% and 39%, respectively. This study can be utilised to develop appropriate ultrasound-assisted method to produce particular catechin monomers.     

Holder pasteurization impacts the proteolysis,lipolysis and disintegration of human milk under in vitro dynamic term newborn digestion

When the mother's own human milk is unavailable or limited, pasteurized human milk from milk banks is preferentially administered instead of infant formula, especially for vulnerable hospitalized neonates. Holder pasteurization (62.5 °C, 30 min) may alter human milk composition and structure, which may modulate its digestive behavior. An in vitro dynamic system was set up to simulate the gastrointestinal digestion of term newborns in order to compare the kinetics of lipolysis, proteolysis and structural disintegration of raw versus pasteurized human milk. Human milk from 5 donors was pooled. Half of the pool was either administrated raw (RHM) or pasteurized (PHM). Digestions were conducted at least in duplicate for RHM and PHM. Heat-induced protein aggregation was observed in PHM. During gastric digestion, β-casein was proteolyzed significantly faster for PHM than for RHM (p < 0.05), whereas lactoferrin tended to be proteolyzed slower (p = 0.07) for PHM. Pasteurization selectively affected the intestinal release of some amino acids. At any time of the gastrointestinal digestion, the lipolysis of PHM was significantly lower than that of RHM, but no impact was observed on the profile of released fatty acids. RHM presented a structural destabilization after 60 min of gastric digestion, while there was no large variation for PHM. In the intestinal phase, the evolution of the particle sizes was rather similar. Overall, Holder pasteurization impacted the proteolysis, lipolysis and disintegration of human milk. However, this impact was limited and the physiologic and metabolic consequences remain to be investigated.     

A Naturally Buffered Bulk Retentate Starter from Ultrafiltered Milk

Whole milk was ultrafiltered to approximately 4:1 protein concentration, heated to 85°C for 30 min, and cooled to 22°C. It was inoculated with a commercial frozen concentrated lactic starter to give approximately 10⁷ cfu/ml and incubated at 22°C for 12 h. A commercial phage inhibitory medium and 11% nonfat dry milk were used as controls. After 12 h, retentate had significantly higher colony forming units per milliliter (3.2 × 10⁹) and pH (5.21) than phage inhibitory medium (2.5 × 10⁹ and pH 5.02) and nonfat dry milk (2.4 × 10⁹ and pH 4.58). Retentate starter and phage inhibitory medium starter had equal activity in skim milk (.3% developed acidity in 4 h at 32°C) whereas nonfat dry milk starter had significantly lower activity (.26% developed acidity). After a further 8 h incubation at 22°C, retentate starter had the highest pH (4.95) compared with phage inhibitory medium (4.76) and nonfat dry milk (4.51). At this time retentate starter activity was higher (.3%) than phage inhibitory medium (.27%) and nonfat dry milk (.19%). In highly concentrated retentates (3.5:1 and 5:1), retentate starter lowered pH considerably quicker than nonfat dry milk starter.     

Physicochemical properties of different thickeners used in infant foods and their relationship with mineral availability during in vitro digestion process

Locust bean gum (LBG) and modified starches are commonly used as thickeners in food products for infants. However, there is no consensus on their possible effects on infant nutrition, especially on mineral availability. The aim of the present work was to characterize the effect of LBG, cross-linked, hydroxypropylated maize starch (Mhdp) and pre-gelatinized rice starch (gRS) on Ca, Fe and Zn availability during a gastric and intestinal in vitro digestion assay in relation to their physicochemical properties in solution (apparent viscosity, solubility, molar mass (M) and conformational properties) through the simulated digestion process. LBG gave the highest decrease in Ca and Fe gastric (17.96% and 17.6% respectively) and intestinal (19.5% and 13.5%) solubility with respect to the reference without thickeners. Ca (11.1% ± 1.1), Fe (2.77% ± 0.3) and Zn (7.78% ± 0.6) dialyzability was also lower than for the reference (23.4% ± 2.9; 19.65% ± 3.53 and 27.74% ± 3.3 respectively). LBG solubility remained stable during gastric digestion, decreasing significantly from a range of 65–69% to 61.1% after intestinal digestion. LBG viscosity remained stable during the digestion process, being these findings attributable to its resistance to enzymes. On the other hand, the addition to Mhdp or gRS slightly affected Ca and Fe solubility or Ca dialyzability, decreasing after gastric digestion and then increasing after intestinal digestion with respect to the reference. These results correlated to the changes in their viscosity enhancing properties, which increased during gastric digestion and decreased after intestinal digestion, being attributable to their digestion by pancreatic enzymes. Gastric digestion resulted in an increase in M for the modified starches (more pronounced for gRS). The increase in mineral solubility and dialyzability after intestinal digestion with respect to the gastric stage was explained by the degradation of starches by intestinal enzymes, which resulted in a decrease in apparent shear viscosity (from 1.2 to 1 Pa s, measured in a shear rate range 0.00–50 s⁻¹) and an increase in solubility (from 3 to 6% to approximately 70%) after intestinal digestion. In conclusion, LBG could be more effective than Mhdp and gRS as thickener, providing higher viscosity and resistance to digestive process. However, its negative effect on mineral solubility and dialyzability should be taken into account. On the contrary, Mhdp and gRS showed to be degraded after intestinal digestion.     

Proteolysis and storage stability of UHT milk produced in Turkey

The effect of raw milk quality (total and psychrotrophic bacterial and somatic cell counts, proteinase and plasmin activity) and UHT temperature (145 or 150 °C for 4 s) on proteolysis in UHT milk processed by a direct (steam-injection) system was investigated during storage at 25 °C for 180 d. High proteinase activity was measured in low-quality raw milk, which had high somatic cell count, bacterial count and plasmin activity. The levels of 12% trichloroacetic acid–soluble and pH 4.6-soluble nitrogen in all milk samples increased during storage, and samples produced from low-quality milk at the lower UHT temperature (145 °C) showed the highest values. Bitterness in UHT milk processed from low-quality milk at 145 °C increased during storage; gelation occurred in that milk after 150 d. The RP-HPLC profiles of pH 4.6-soluble fraction of the UHT milk samples produced at 150 °C showed quite small number of peaks after 180 d of storage. Sterilization at 150 °C extended the shelf-life of the UHT milk by reducing proteolysis, gelation and bitterness.     

The influence of lactoperoxidase,heat and low pH on survival of acid-adapted and non-adapted Escherichia coli O157:H7 in goat milk

In hot climates where quality of milk is difficult to control, a lactoperoxidase (LP) system can be applied in combination with conventional preservation treatments at sub-lethal levels to inhibit pathogenic microbes. This study investigated the effect of combined heat treatments (55 °C, 60 °C and 72 °C) and milk acidification (pH 5.0) on survival of acid-adapted and non-adapted Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains UP10 and 1062 in activated LP goat milk. Heat treatment at 72 °C eliminated E. coli O157:H7. Acid-adapted strains UP10 and 1062 cells showed resistance to combined LP and heat at 60 °C in fresh milk. The inhibition of acid-adapted and non-adapted E. coli O157:H7 in milk following combined LP-activation, heat (60 °C) and milk acidification (pH 5.0) suggests that these treatments can be applied to reduce E. coli O157:H7 cells in milk when they occur at low numbers (<5 log₁₀ cfu mL^?1) but does not eliminate E. coli O157:H7 to produce a safe product.     

Improved in vitro digestion stability of (−)-epigallocatechin gallate through nanoliposome encapsulation

(−)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is unstable and degraded in near-neutral or alkaline fluids. To overcome its limitation, EGCG nanoliposome (EN) was prepared by an ethanol injection method combined with dynamic high-pressure microfluidization. EN possessed good physicochemical characterizations (high entrapment efficiency = 92.1%, small average particle size = 71.7 nm, low polydispersity index = 0.286 and zeta potential = − 10.81 mv). EN exhibited a relative good sustained release property. Stability of EGCG in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) was significantly improved by nanoliposome encapsulation. After 1.5 h incubating in SIF without or with pancreatin, the residual EGCG of EN was 31.2% and 47.7% respectively, but the residual EGCG in EGCG solution was only 3.4% and 3.5% respectively. The degenerations of in vitro antioxidant activities of EGCG were effectively slowed by nanoliposome encapsulation. This study expects to provide theories and practice guides for further applications of EN.     

Anti-obesity effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate,orange peel extract,black tea extract,caffeine and their combinations in a mouse model

The anti-obesity effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), orange peel extract (OPE), black tea extract (BTE), and caffeine (CF) in female CF-1 mice were studied. Female CF-1 mice were fed high-fat diets containing 0.1% EGCG, 0.2% OPE, 0.2% BTE and 0.05% caffeine alone and in combination for 10 weeks. The body weight gain and weights of abdominal fat and brown adipose tissue were significantly reduced in mice whose diets contained OPE, BTE, caffeine, OPE + BTE and OPE + CF. Notably, mice fed a high-fat diet supplemented daily with 0.2% OPE + 0.2% BTE + 0.05% CF prevented body weight gain by 48.8%, parametrial fat pad weight by 88.2%, retroperitoneal fat pad weight by 82.8% and brown adipose tissue by 63.7% compared with mice fed a high-fat diet. On the basis of these findings, it was concluded that oral feeding of orange peel extract, black tea extract and caffeine had anti-obesity effects by suppressing body weight gain and adipose tissue formation.     

Partial renneting of pasteurised bovine milk: Casein micelle size,heat and storage stability

The effects of partial renneting at low temperature on the casein micelle (CM) size and the storage stability of milk were investigated. Low chymosin concentrations (≤ 0.03 IMCU mL^− 1) was applied to pasteurised skim milk at 4 °C and enzyme activity was terminated by thermal application at 60 °C/3 min and 85 °C/30 min, referred to as low heat (LHT) and high heat (HHT) treatment milk, respectively. The addition of rennet with concentrations of 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03 IMCU mL^− 1 for 15 min resulted in κ-casein hydrolysis of 10, 20 and 25%, respectively. Moreover, mean CM size of milk was reduced by up to 10 nm. For LHT milk, the renneted micelles appeared to be stable for up to 17 days, especially in response to the application of 0.01 IMCU mL^− 1 and at a storage temperature of 4 °C. Severe heating at 85 °C/30 min to inactivate the enzyme caused an increase in CM size.     

Properties of low-fat stirred yoghurts made from high-pressure-processed skim milk

Physical properties of stirred yoghurt made from reconstituted skim milk that was high-pressure (HP)-treated at 100, 250 or 400 MPa, at 25, 70 or 90 °C, for 10 min, prior to inoculation with yoghurt cultures, were studied; portions of milk HP-treated at 25 °C were also heat-treated at 90 °C for 10 min before or after pressure treatment. Control yoghurts were made from skim milk given a heat treatment at 90 °C for 10 min. Fermentation time was not affected by treatment applied to the milk. HP treatment of skim milk at 25 °C, before or after heat treatment, gave stirred yoghurts of similar viscosities to that made from conventionally heat-treated milk. Lower viscosities were obtained when stirred yoghurts were made with milk HP-treated at elevated temperatures. A model is proposed to correlate properties of yoghurt with HP/heat-induced changes in interactions and structures of protein in the milk samples.Industrial relevanceTo meet end user expectations, the dairy industry needs to diversify its product range by tailoring specific functionalities. To meet these expectations, new processing methods such as high-pressure processing are of interest for their potential to achieve specific and/or novel functionalities and/or improve efficiencies, including reduced chemical and water use. In this paper, an investigation of the use simultaneous pressurization and heating of milk before the manufacture of stirred yoghurt is presented.     

Acid coagulation properties and suitability for yogurt production of cows’ milk treated by high-pressure homogenisation

The effects of high-pressure homogenisation (HPH) of cows’ milk were investigated for suitability for yogurt manufacture, compared with the processes currently applied in industry. Milk at different inlet temperatures (30 °C or 40 °C) was subjected to HPH treatment at 100, 200 or 300 MPa (one stage) and 130, 230 or 330 MPa (two-stage). HPH-treated milk was compared with milk heat-treated (90 °C for 90 s) and homogenised at 15 MPa, and with milk treated under the same thermal conditions and also fortified with 3% skim milk powder. Milk treated at 300 or 200 MPa showed higher gel strengths on coagulation, higher gel firmness in texture analysis, less syneresis and lower titratable acidity compared with conventionally treated milk fortified with 3% skim milk powder.     

The use of sedimentation field-flow fractionation in the size characterization of bovine milk fat globules as affected by heat treatment

Size distribution of fat globules affects the appearance, taste and stability of milk and milk-based products. Full-fat, semi-fat and chocolate bovine milk were subjected to heat treatment within a temperature range of 50–125 °C for 1 h. Sedimentation field-flow fractionation was employed to determine the changes in mean particle diameter of milk fat globules as affected by heat treatment. The mean particle diameter of fat droplets increased with increasing heating temperature for most samples. The particle size of fat globules increased on average 40 nm (4.65%) for full-fat and 72 nm (8.52%) for semi-fat milk following the heat treatment (50–125 °C). Chocolate milk exhibited considerable increase in particle size (104 nm, 12.53%) within a certain temperature range (50–110 °C), followed by a decrease in particle size when heated at 125 °C for 1 h. Heat-induced flocculation due to attractive interactions between hydrophobic sites on denatured protein molecules on different droplets was assumed to be mainly responsible for the increases in particle size observed in this study. Extensive heat-induced denaturation of milk proteins was also indicated by Native PAGE. Sedimentation field-flow fractionation proved to be a useful technique for adequately monitoring heat-induced changes in particle size distributions in milk.     

Relation between in vitro lipid digestion and β-carotene bioaccessibility in β-carotene-enriched emulsions with different concentrations of l-α-phosphatidylcholine

In view of consumer health, it is desirable to promote the bioaccessibility of lipid-soluble compounds like carotenoids, while limiting the lipid intake. The objective of this work was to examine the relation between in vitro lipid digestion and β-carotene bioaccessibility of carrot-based model food emulsions containing water, 5% olive oil enriched with β-carotene (from carrots) and different concentrations (1–2–3–4%) of l-α-phosphatidylcholine (PHC), as an emulsifier. The lipid digestion (hydrolysis of triacylglycerols (TAGS) and incorporation of free fatty acids (FFAs) and monoacylglycerols (MAGs) in the micelles) and the β-carotene bioaccessibility (incorporation of β-carotene in the micelles) were studied after an in vitro digestion procedure wherein the stomach phase was mimicked for 2.0 h (37 °C) and the small intestinal phase was mimicked for 1.0 h, 1.5 h and 2.0 h (37 °C) (both end-over-end rotations). As a consequence, not only the influence of the emulsifier concentration, but also the influence of the duration in the small intestinal phase was investigated in this study. The oil droplet size distributions of the emulsions at different stages of digestion were shown to be dependent on the phosphatidylcholine concentration, but independent on the duration in the small intestinal phase (1.0 h–2.0 h). Furthermore, all TAGs were already hydrolysed into FFAs and MAGs after 1.0 h small intestinal phase and the incorporation of FFAs and MAGs into micelles seemed to reach a maximum for all emulsions (approximately 26.5%), independent on the phoshpatidylcholine concentration and thus on the particle size distributions. Finally, the β-carotene bioaccessibility increased with increasing phosphatidylcholine concentration, ranging from 33.2% to 79.8% for a 1% and 4% PHC emulsion respectively. No significant differences in β-carotene bioaccessibility were however noticed for the different durations in the small intestinal phase tested. In conclusion, a higher phosphatidylcholine concentration in emulsions leads to higher β-carotene bioaccessibility while the incorporation of lipids into micelles did not increase.