Berry fruits‐enriched pasta: effect of processing and in vitro digestion on phenolics and its antioxidant activity, bioaccessibility and potential bioavailability

Summary Pasta samples were made by substituting wheat flour (2.5% and 7.5%) for lyophilised raspberry, boysenberry, and redcurrant and blackcurrant. Total polyphenol content showed minimum variation during processing while anthocyanins presented high degradation. In general, the first minutes of cooking showed the major detrimental effect on antioxidant activity. In vitro starch hydrolysis showed the lowest value with the addition of raspberries and boysenberries. During simulated digestion, polyphenols were released from pasta matrix reaching a 2.3‐ to 4.3‐fold increase in bioaccessible polyphenols. Likewise, values observed for reducing power and free radical scavenging activity ranged from a 0.7‐ to 2.0‐fold and 1.6‐ to 6.8‐fold increase in relation to cooked pasta, respectively. In addition, ≈40% of dialysability was observed for scavenging activity. In conclusion, enrichment of pasta with fine fruits is an effective tool to obtain a product with enhanced antioxidant potential.