Potential physicochemical basis of Mediterranean diet effect: Ability of emulsified olive oil to increase carotenoid bioaccessibility in raw and cooked tomatoes.

Excipient emulsions have compositions and structures specifically designed to increase the bioavailability of nutraceuticals in foods that they are co-ingested with. In this study, olive oil excipient emulsions were shown to significantly increase the bioaccessibility of carotenoids from tomatoes using a simulated gastrointestinal tract (GIT) model (p<0.05): being 8.18±0.93%, 11.85±1.76% for raw tomato-buffer mixture, and cooked tomato-buffer mixture; While being 32.3±2.60%, 55.7±3.28% and 42.6±3.75% for raw tomato-emulsion mixture, cooked tomato-emulsion mixture (boiled together) and cooked tomato- emulsion mixture (tomato boiled alone). These effects were attributed to: (i) the ability of digested olive oil droplets to form mixed micelles in the small intestine that solubilized the carotenoids; and, (ii) the ability of natural antioxidants (phenolics) in the olive oil to protect the carotenoids from oxidation. Thermal treatment (boiling) significantly increased carotenoid bioaccessibility from the tomatoes digested with emulsion, which was attributed to plant tissue disruption at elevated temperatures facilitating carotenoid release (p<0.05). Carotenoid bioaccessibility was higher when the tomatoes were boiled with emulsions (55.7±3.28%) than when they were boiled alone and then added to emulsions (42.6±3.75%). In conclusion, this study indicates that olive oil emulsions boost the bioaccessibility and chemical stability of lipophilic nutraceuticals in tomatoes, which may make an important contribution to the potential health benefits of the Mediterranean diet.