Digestion kinetics of lipids and proteins in plant-based shakes: Impact of processing conditions and resulting structural properties

In this work, plant-based shakes were prepared (5% oil, 6% protein, 1% lecithin, 88% water) (w/w) using two processing techniques (i) only mixing versus (ii) mixing followed by high pressure homogenisation, as well as two processing sequences (i) adding all ingredients together versus (ii) stepwise addition of ingredients. Shakes only mixed consisted of large, irregular particles (1-100 mu m). Eventually, this resulted in a relatively low lipid and protein digestion extent after 2 h of gastric pre-digestion (9% and < 1%, respectively). In contrast, shakes that were subjected to high pressure homogenisation displayed small, homogeneous particles (<10 mu m). Besides, lipids and proteins were digested to a high extent in the stomach (40% and 10%, respectively). The small in-testinal digestion kinetics indicated a significant impact of proteins on lipid digestion kinetics but no significant effect of lipids on protein digestion kinetics. The results highlighted the relevance of food processing on macronutrient (micro)structure and further gastrointestinal functionality.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the impact of various food processing techniques and sequences on the particle size and digestion extent of plant-based shakes, highlighting the importance of food processing on gastrointestinal functionality.