Degradation kinetics and in vitro simulation of human oral-gastrointestinal digestion of anthocyanins from butterfly pea flowers in a model isotonic system
Keywords: unconventional food plants, thermal stability, anthocyanin, ascorbic acid, Clitoria ternatea, bioacessibility.
Cunhã (Clitoria ternatea), leguminous originated from tropical Asia, has petals in tones of blue, purple, and white. It shows potential as a source of natural dye and functional characteristics, due to the presence of anthocyanins. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of the temperature on the pH values and stability of ascorbic acid and anthocyanins
from the petals of cunhã. Moreover, the in vitro bioaccessibility in a model isotonic system heated at 60, 70, and 80 ºC was determined. The results showed that the pH values were significantly reduced as the temperature increased, as well as the anthocyanin degradation (p <0.05). It followed the first-order reaction kinetic in all samples, where the highest degradation rate (k) for anthocyanins was found in the samples containing buffer heated at 80 ºC. The analyses of in vitro digestion demonstrated the highest degradation of anthocyanins and ascorbic acid present in the isotonic beverage formulated with cunhã extract during in intestinal digestion.