In vitro digestion and colonic fermentation characteristics of media‐milled purple sweet potato particle‐stabilized Pickering emulsions

Abstract BACKGROUND Pickering emulsions stabilized by multicomponent particles have attracted increasing attention. Research on characterizing the digestion and health benefit effects of these emulsions in the human gastrointestinal tract are quite limited. This work aims to reveal the digestive characteristics of media‐milled purple sweet potato particle‐stabilized Pickering emulsions (PSPP‐Es) during in vitro digestion and colonic fermentation. RESULTS The media‐milling process improved the in vitro digestibility and fermentability of PSPP‐Es by reaching afree fatty acids release rate of 43.11 ± 4.61% after gastrointestinal digestion and total phenolic content release of 101.00 ± 1.44 μg gallic acid equivalents/mL after fermentation. In addition, PSPP‐Es exhibited good antioxidative activity (2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays), α ‐glucosidase inhibitory activity (half‐maximal inhibitory concentration: 6.70%, v/v), and prebiotic effects, reaching a total short‐chain fatty acids production of 9.90 ± 0.12 mol L −1 , boosting the growth of Akkermansia , Bifidobacterium , and Blautia and inhibiting the growth of Escherichia–Shigella . CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that the media‐milling process enhances the potential health benefits of purple sweet potato particle‐stabilized Pickering emulsions, which is beneficial for their application as a bioactive component delivery system in food and pharmaceutical products. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.