Functional foods containing dispersible phytosterols (DPs) are recommended to reduce cholesterol absorption in humans. However, only a few studies have been conducted on the effect of DP vehicles on carotenoid bioaccessibility and uptake by intestinal cells. On a previously developed fermented maize product containing both DPs and carotenoids, we aim to evaluate the effect of DPs encapsulated by maltodextrin on the carotenoid/phytosterol/cholesterol interactions during gastro-duodenal digestion. Thanks to maltodextrin properties, β-carotene and lycopene bioaccessibilities were significantly improved by 40.2 ± 1.4% while that of β-cryptoxanthin decreased by 14 ± 0.1%. Additionally, the presence of DPs reduced the cholesterol micellarization by 51.8 ± 4.2%. Despite a slight decrease in carotenoid uptake caused by the DP vehicle, related to micelle size, an inhibition of cholesterol accumulation by Caco-2 cells was observed. These results highlighted the key role of maltodextrin as a vehicle of DPs on carotenoid and cholesterol absorption.

建议使用含有可分散植物甾醇（DPs）的功能性食品，以减少人体对胆固醇的吸收。但是，关于DP载体对类胡萝卜素生物可及性和肠道细胞摄取的影响，只有很少的研究。在先前开发的包含DP和类胡萝卜素的发酵玉米产品上，我们旨在评估麦芽糊精包封的DP对胃十二指肠消化过程中类胡萝卜素/植物甾醇/胆固醇相互作用的影响。由于麦芽糊精的特性，β-胡萝卜素和番茄红素的生物利用度显着提高了40.2±1.4％，而β-隐黄质的生物利用度下降了14±0.1％。另外，DP的存在使胆固醇胶束化降低了51.8±4.2％。尽管DP车辆引起的类胡萝卜素摄取量略有下降，与胶束大小有关，观察到Caco-2细胞抑制胆固醇积累。这些结果突出了麦芽糖糊精作为DPs对类胡萝卜素和胆固醇吸收的媒介的关键作用。