Matrix design and pre-processing drive carotenoid and chlorophyll bioaccessibility in broccoli baked snacks

Understanding how pre-processing and matrix assembly influence the stability and release of plant-derived compounds is important for food design. Potato-based baked snacks containing 25% broccoli were formulated using fresh, frozen, freeze-dried, or air-dried broccoli to determine how pre-processing and matrix incorporation affect carotenoid and chlorophyll-related compound retention, digestive stability, and in vitro bioaccessibility. Snacks were evaluated using simulated gastrointestinal digestion followed by anaerobic fecal fermentation. Pre-processing and formulation affected compound recovery in a compound-specific and digestion-phase-dependent manner. Air-dried broccoli had the highest β-carotene and lutein contents at the ingredient level, whereas freeze-dried broccoli snacks showed the highest small-intestinal bioaccessibility for β-carotene and pheophytin a. Fresh broccoli snacks showed the highest 48 h fermented bioaccessibility for selected compounds, including lutein and pheophytin a. These findings indicate that broccoli pre-processing and snack formulation jointly influence in vitro compound persistence and bioaccessible recovery.