Identification of texture parameters influencing commercial cheese matrix disintegration and lipid digestion using an...

Cheese characteristics, such as composition or textural properties, can impact the matrix degradation rate which could modulate the bioaccessibility of fatty acids during digestion. The aim of this study was to identify texture parameters influencing cheese degradation in a gastrointestinal environment. A static in vitro digestion model has been used on nine commercial cheeses: young and aged cheddar, regular and light cream cheese, parmesan, feta, camembert, mozzarella, and sliced processed cheese. At the end of gastric digestion, camembert and mozzarella presented the lowest matrix disintegration whereas aged cheddar, regular and light cream cheeses showed the highest. For all cheeses, the fatty acid release was fast during the first 30 min of duodenal digestion and slowed down afterwards. A partial least square regression revealed that springiness, cohesiveness, and hardness were negatively correlated to the rate of cheese disintegration during gastric digestion. In addition, textural parameters were not correlated with free fatty acid release. By modulating cheese texture, it could be possible to influence matrix disintegration during gastrointestinal digestion which could have an impact on lipids release.