Researchers at the University of Murcia have recommended the fortification of fruit juices with Pycnogenol (pine bark) to compensate for the reduction and modification of content in vitamins and antioxidants that occur in them during gastrointestinal digestion.
The findings of the study, which was conducted by the group of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Murcia in cooperation with the National Research Institute of Food and Nutrition in Italy has appeared in the journal Phytotherapy Research.
Researchers have examined the effect of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on antioxidant capacity and antiproliferative fruit juice fortified with Pycnogenol on a cell line of colon carcinoma.
After digestion in vitro, detectable levels of phenolic compounds was higher in fortified juices in the commercial rich.
The increase in antioxidant activity was observed after digesting juices enriched with respect to the same samples prior to digestion, and Pycnogenol enrichment led to a high antiproliferative effect compared to non-fortified juices.
The study concludes that the enrichment of juices with Pycnogenol is a source of phenolic compounds with high stability under in vitro gastrointestinal digestion.
Source: Universidad de Murcia