Static in vitro digestion methods for assessing essential minerals in processed meat products

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Nutritional Biochemistry
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Processed meat consumption is rising due to convenience and consumer preference.
• Essential minerals like iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) are vital for human health.
• Understanding mineral content and bioaccessibility in processed foods is crucial for nutritional assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the content of Fe, Zn, Ca, and Mg in processed pork and beef products.
• To evaluate the bioaccessibility of these essential elements using different in vitro digestion assays.
• To compare the performance of dialysis assay, traditional solubility, and INFOGEST protocols in simulating in vitro digestion of meat.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of essential mineral content (Fe, Zn, Ca, Mg) in processed meat samples.
• Application of static in vitro digestion models: dialysis assay, traditional solubility, and INFOGEST protocol.
• Quantification of bioaccessible mineral fractions using validated analytical techniques.

Main Results:

• Significant variations in mineral content were observed across different brands and batches of processed meat.
• The dialysis assay yielded lower bioaccessibility percentages for all evaluated elements compared to other methods.
• The INFOGEST protocol provided the highest bioaccessible fractions, suggesting a more accurate simulation of in vivo digestion for meat.
• Heme-iron's bioavailability may be underestimated by the dialysis assay due to its simulated mechanism.

Conclusions:

• The choice of in vitro digestion assay significantly impacts the estimated bioaccessibility of essential minerals in processed meat.
• The INFOGEST protocol appears more suitable for assessing mineral bioaccessibility in meat products than the dialysis assay.
• Further research is needed to validate in vitro methods against in vivo data for accurate nutritional assessment of processed meat.