Physicochemical properties, antioxidant content and capacity, and bioaccessibility until gastric phase of pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merr) varieties in Camarines Norte, Bicol, Philippines

Abstract

Pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merr), a popular tropical fruit, is a priority commodity in Camarines Norte. This study determined the physicochemical, nutritional, and functional properties, and antioxidant bioaccessibility of three varieties cultivated in Camarines Norte: Queen, MD2, and Hawaiian. Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) methods were followed for analysis. Nutritional analysis showed that the MD2 variety was superior in terms of nutritional content having 3.03% ash, 5.19% protein, 1.63% fat, 396.03 kcal 100 g-1 energy, and 329.34 mg ascorbic acid (AA) 100 g-1. However, for total carbohydrates, the Queen variety showed the highest content with 95.71%. The MD2 variety ranked highest in terms of functional properties based on dietary fiber content (21.64%) and antioxidant content capacity for total phenolic content and DPPH radical scavenging activity (557.24 mg GAE 100 g-1 and 272.47 mg AAE 100 g-1, respectively). Bioaccessibility of antioxidants was measured by in vitro simulation of oral and gastric phases. The Hawaiian variety showed the highest phenolic compound bioaccessibility (35.72%) among the three varieties. Meanwhile, the highest bioaccessibility of DPPH radical scavenging activity was observed in Hawaiian and Queen varieties (12.38%, 12.19% respectively), and the MD2 variety showed the highest ascorbic acid bioaccessibility (71.30%). Therefore, the data in this study underscores the importance of further research on the simulation of intestinal and colonic digestion to further determine bioacessibility of pineapple antioxidants, and their fates during digestion.