Phosphatidyl derivative of hydroxytyrosol. In vitro intestinal digestion, bioaccessibility, and its effect on antioxidant activity.

Intestinal digestion of phosphatidyl derivatives of HT (PHT) and its bioaccessibility under in vitro conditions was performed. First, an in vitro intestinal digestion model for phospholipids was developed. The impact of digestion in the antioxidant ability of PHT was also assayed. PHT was progressively hydrolyzed to lyso-PHT. However, digestion was slower than the phospholipid control. Nevertheless, most hydrolysis products were found at the micellar phase fraction, meaning a high bioaccessibility. Either PHT or digested PHT showed lower antioxidant activity than HT. However, PHT improved its antioxidant ability after digestion, likely related to lyso-PHT. As a summary, the synthetic phosphatidyl derivative of HT as PHT is recognized by phospholipases during simulation of intestinal digestion, although less efficiently than analogous phospholipids. Nevertheless, taking into account the bioaccessibility and the antioxidant activity of digested PHT, the potential of carriers of HT under the form of phospholipids might be of interest.