Evaluating the in vitro digestion of lipids rich in medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) using dynamic and static protocols.

Investigating the digestion of lipids is paramount for developing new lipid-based products. This work evaluated the gastrointestinal (GI) digestion of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) rich lipids. The dynamic GI in vitro system was used to simulate gastric, duodenal, jejunal, and ileal GI tract portions. Results from the dynamic protocol were compared against static in vitro assays and GC analyses were conducted to assess the FA profile of FFA released during digestion. Caprylic and capric acids released during the gastric digestion of MCT oil varied from 61-63% and 36-38% of total esterified FA, respectively. Lauric acid was the most representative FFA released (31-54%) during the gastric digestion of coconut oil samples. It was observed that the gastric digestion phase plays a crucial role in the MCFA lipolysis and the lipase activity restricted the amount of free MCFA liberated during the GI digestion, resulting in incomplete lipids hydrolysis.

Physical properties of Amazonian fats and oils and their blends.

Considering their diversity, this work evaluated physical properties of Amazonian fats/oils (murumuru, tucuma kernel, bacuri, pracaxi, patawa, and Brazil nut). Solid fat content (SFC) curves and crystallization/melting profiles were determined. We also explored the possibilities of combining these lipids into blends to improve their nutritional and technological aspects. Patawa, pracaxi, and Brazil nut oils presented high levels of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, displaying low atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indexes (0.10 and 0.18; 0.23 and 0.70; 0.20 and 0.42), respectively. The SFC curves showed that murumuru fat could be used as a cocoa butter replacer, whereas bacuri fat was found to be a promising alternative to hydrogenated oils in shortenings and spreads formulations. The blends expanded fats' melting ranges and enriched their fatty acid compositions from a nutritional standpoint. This work shows that these fats, oils and their blends may be suitable for developing new products in the food industry.