Effect of in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion on some nutritional characteristics of several dried fruits

To provide new information on potential health benefits of dried fruits, the effects of in vitro digestion on minerals, total phenolics, total sugars and the antioxidant capacities were evaluated. For the first time, the bioaccessibility of these compounds during in vitro digestion was assessed by multivariate statistical analysis. Although the amount of all minerals decreased after digestion, moderate bioaccessibility was found, excepting Zn. The highest bioaccessibility of phenolics was obtained in prunes and the lowest in dates and cranberries. Total sugars content increased after in vitro digestion of dates, raisins and coconut, but decreased for cranberries, prunes and banana. The in vitro digestion led to an increase in the antioxidant capacity for the majority of dried fruits. The similarities/dis-similarities in pattern of analyzed parameters during digestion was revealed by heat map. Two-way joining cluster and principal component analysis were used to highlight the most relevant parameters in each digestion phase.