In vivo and in vitro model studies on noodles prepared with antioxidant-rich pseudocereals

Pseudocereals are recently positioned at the forefront of interest, as they are eminent sources of several beneficial bioactive components, such as flavonoids. Noodles of specific composition comprising buckwheat and amaranth have been involved in this research. The aim of presented study was to provide authentic tools in order to estimate the actual behaviour of polyphenols of the special noodles throughout the digestion process. In vitro and in vivo digestion models studies were performed with wheat flour noodles fortified with antioxidant rich pseudocereals. Five noodle variants were prepared with supplementation of different flours of amaranth and buckwheat with wheat flour ranging from 5 to 30%. To reveal the effect of human consumption on polyphenols uptake and real biological impacts, in vitro and in vivo experiments were carried out. Different assays were applied to monitor the release of antioxidants in each gastrointestinal phase. Fortification didn’t change the cooking quality of noodles, but slightly affected the colour and improved the total polyphenol content (597–920 mg GAE/kg), and the antioxidant capacity (3.47–7.23 mM Fe2+/kg) of the noodles. It was established that total polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity exhibited continuous increase in the whole gastrointestinal tracts, due to their gradual release from food matrix. Most pronounced antioxidant capacity was observed in noodles with 30% buckwheat fortification. In vivo model-experiments confirmed the presence of polyphenols in plasma as well, thus their absorption might be accomplished. Therefore, the biological values of these samples were enhanced during digestion. Supplementation prepared pseudocereal resulted in products with improved nutritional properties.