Volume: 3, 2024
3rd International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland:
ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT
Abstract number: P013
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL3.P013
Published online: 24 April 2024
ICDSUPL, 3, P013 (2024)
Bioaccessibility study of essential trace elements from basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)
Sylwia Sajkowska1*, Barbara Leśniewska2
1 Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Bialystok, K. Ciołkowskiego 1K, 15-245 Bialystok, Poland
2 Department of Analytical and Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Bialystok, K. Ciołkowskiego 1K, 15-245 Bialystok, Poland
* Corresponding author: s.sajkowska@uwb.edu.pl
Abstract
Interest in using medicinal plants to prevent lifestyle diseases and to improve human health is growing every year. These plants can be used as food (e.g. garlic, onion), spices (e.g. basil, mint, rosemary) or dietary supplements. Their healing effect is due to the presence of specific biologically active substances, vitamins, antioxidants and minerals (e.g. Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn). Such a rich food matrix may affect the bioaccessibility of minerals form herbs. Bioaccessibility can be defined as the amount of an ingredient that, as a result of release from food, becomes available for absorption by the epithelial layer of the gastrointestinal tract. Bioaccessibility studies provide information on the content of elements available and potentially absorbed by the human body and help indicate whether a given food may have a beneficial effect on the body. The aim of the study was to determine the bioaccessibility of essential trace elements (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn) from basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) in various forms (fresh, freeze-dried, dried and dietary supplement) after simulating two-phase in vitro model, which mimicked the processes in the stomach and the small intestine. This model involved the use of gastric (pepsin) and intestinal enzymes (pancreatin, bile salts), as well as test tubes with 3 kDa ultrafiltration membrane, followed by quantification of the released contents of Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn subsequent to enzymatic digestion. The determination of the total metal content in basil and in the fractions obtained after enzymatic digestion was carried out using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technique. The results showed that the bioaccessibility of metals from basil was at the level of: 7–43% for Mn, 10–32% for Cu and 15-26% for Zn. Iron is the element with the lowest bioaccessibility in all forms of basil (less than 2%). Additionally, the lowest values of metal bioaccessibility were obtained from dried basil and dietary supplement. Based on the statistical methods used, it was found that the bioaccessibility values of Mn, Cu and Zn from plants in fresh and freeze-dried form were not consistent. This may indicate that freeze-drying affects the bioaccessibility of these elements from plants.
Keywords: bioaccessibility, essential metals, gastrointestinal digestion, basil
How to cite
S. Sajkowska, B. Leśniewska, 2024. Bioaccessibility study of essential trace elements from basil (Ocimum basilicum L.). In: 3rd International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL3.P013