Brazilian stingless bee honey: A pioneer study on the in vitro bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds.

ABSTRACT

In this study, the effect of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of phenolic compounds, the total phenolic content, and the antioxidant potential of stingless bee honey were investigated. Among the 33 phenolic compounds investigated, 25 were quantified, and only eight were not bioaccessible (p-aminobenzoic acid, sinapic acid, pinobanksin, isorhamnetin, quercetin-3-glucoside, syringaldehyde, coumarin, and coniferaldehyde). Benzoic acid was predominant in most undigested samples (21.3 to 2414 µg 100 g-1), but its bioaccessibility varied widely (2.5 to 534%). Rutin, a glycosylated flavonoid, was quantified in all samples and might have been deglycosylated during digestion, increasing the bioaccessibility of quercetin in a few samples. Overall, the concentration of phenolic compounds prior digestion and their bioaccessibility varied greatly among samples. Nevertheless, higher concentrations before digestion were not correlated to greater bioaccessibility. This study is the first to assess the in vitro bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds in SBH, providing novel insights into SBH research.