College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Food Technology and Equipment, Fuli Institute of Food Science, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Zhejiang International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Health Food Manufacturing and Quality Control, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Food & Health Research Center, Zhejiang University Zhongyuan Institute, Zhengzhou, China.
J Food Sci. 2024 Oct;89(10):6465-6480. doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.17326. Epub 2024 Sep 17.
Goji berry (Lycium barbarum L.) is a nutrient-rich fruit and has received enormous interest for its health benefits. The beneficial effects of goji berry are linked to the absorption of bioactive compounds within the gastrointestinal digestion process and colon fermentation. Nonetheless, how certain bioactive compounds were released, and metabolism changed of the consumption of whole goji berries were still unclear. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the digestion characteristics of key bioactive compounds in whole goji berries with an in vitro digestion model, and the effects of whole goji berries on the structure of gut microbiota were also investigated. Results showed that a significant release of carbohydrates during the digestion process, peaking within the first 15 min of the intestinal phase (421.4 ± 5.82 mg GE/g, dry weight, respectively), was observed, and the phenolic release reached the highest in the first 15 min of the gastric phase. Meanwhile, the bioaccessibilities of phenolic compounds and carbohydrates were determined to be 63.87% and 80.40%, respectively, after intestinal digestion. In addition, the undigested fractions of goji berries could be further fermented to produce short-chain fatty acids, which decreased the colon pH value (from 7.38 to 6.71) as well as the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio. Moreover, the goji berries regulated the composition of gut microbiota by promoting beneficial bacteria such as Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, and Paraclostridium, whereas inhibiting the proliferation of harmful bacteria (e.g., Fusobacterium). Our results indicated that the goji berry exhibited significant bioactivity during the digestion and fermentation stage and might provide some new insights into the utilization of goji berries in healthy food processing.
枸杞（Lycium barbarum L.）是一种营养丰富的水果，因其对健康的益处而受到极大关注。枸杞的有益作用与其在胃肠道消化过程和结肠发酵过程中吸收生物活性化合物有关。然而，某些生物活性化合物是如何被释放的，以及整个枸杞食用后的代谢变化仍不清楚。因此，本研究旨在通过体外消化模型评估整个枸杞中关键生物活性化合物的消化特性，并研究整个枸杞对肠道微生物区系结构的影响。结果表明，在消化过程中观察到碳水化合物的显著释放，在肠相的前 15 分钟内达到峰值（分别为 421.4±5.82mgGE/g，干重），而酚类物质的释放在胃相的前 15 分钟内达到最高。同时，在肠内消化后，酚类化合物和碳水化合物的生物利用度分别确定为 63.87%和 80.40%。此外，枸杞的未消化部分可以进一步发酵产生短链脂肪酸，从而降低结肠 pH 值（从 7.38 降至 6.71）以及厚壁菌门/拟杆菌门的比值。此外，枸杞通过促进有益细菌（如拟杆菌属、副拟杆菌属和Paraclostridium 等）的生长来调节肠道微生物区系的组成，同时抑制有害细菌（如梭杆菌属）的增殖。我们的结果表明，枸杞在消化和发酵阶段表现出显著的生物活性，这可能为枸杞在健康食品加工中的应用提供一些新的见解。
