RESUMO
Red propolis from northeast Brazil contains mainly isoflavonoids as bioactive compounds, and its consumption may counteract unregulated and exacerbated formation of reactive oxygen species and inflammatory cytokines/chemokines. Moreover, the production of particles using sustainable carriers have been studied to increase the use of propolis as a functional food ingredient. Hence, the objective of this work was to investigate the effects of simulated gastrointestinal digestion followed by a cell-based epithelial transport on phenolic profile, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of particles of brewer's spent yeasts (BSY) loaded with ethanolic extract of Brazilian red propolis (EEP). As a result, the EEP phenolic diversity decreased throughout the simulated gastrointestinal system, and was modulated by the particle production, as detected by high-performance liquid chromatography - electrospray ionization - quadrupole-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS). Concomitantly, the antioxidant activity, as assessed by the ability to scavenge peroxyl and superoxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and hypochlorous acid, generally decreased at a higher extent for the particles of EEP with BSY (EEP-BSY) throughout the experiments. Nonetheless, after epithelial transport through the Caco-2 cell monolayer, the basolateral fraction of both EEP-BSY and EEP decreased the activation of pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB by 83% and 65%, respectively, as well as the release of TNF-α (up to 51% and 38%, respectively), and CXCL2/MIP-2 (up to 33% and 25%, respectively). Therefore, BSY may be an interesting carrier for EEP bioencapsulation, since it preserves its anti-inflammatory activity. Further studies should be encouraged to investigate the feasibility of adding it in formulations of functional foods, considering its effect on sensory attributes.
