Chew on it: influence of oral processing behaviour on in vitro protein digestion of chicken and soya-based vegetarian chicken

• Published in: British journal of nutrition Vol. 126; no. 9; pp. 1408 - 1419
• Main Authors: Chen, Yao, Capuano, Edoardo, Stieger, Markus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 14.11.2021
• Subjects: Animal Proteins, Dietary - metabolism; Animals; Behaviour, Appetite and Obesity; Bioavailability; Biological Availability; Chewing; Chickens; Cluster analysis; Consumers; Consumption; Digestion; Enzymes; Food; Glycine max; Human subjects; Humans; Hydrolysis; Influence; intestines; Mastication; Medical research; Metabolism; Nuts; Particle size; Poultry; Poultry Products; Proteins; Proteolysis; Rice; Soybean Proteins - metabolism; Vegetable oils; vegetarian diet; Vegetarianism; Chicken; Oral processing; Bolus properties; Protein digestion; Vegetarian chicken; Chewing time
• ISSN: 0007-1145; 1475-2662; 1475-2662
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007114520005176

Oral processing behaviour can affect the bioavailability of macronutrients. The aim of the present study was to determine the influence of oral processing behaviour on bolus properties and in vitro protein digestion of chicken and soya-based vegetarian chicken. Natural chewing time and chewing frequency of both foods were determined in healthy adults (n 96). While natural chewing time differed considerably between consumers (chicken: 7·7–39·4 s; soya-based vegetarian chicken: 7·8–46·2 s), chewing frequency (1·4 chews/s) did not differ considerably between consumers and was independent of product type. Natural chewing times of 11 and 24 s were found for clusters of consumers showing shortest and longest chewing time for both products. Chicken and soya-based vegetarian chicken were chewed for 11 and 24 s and boli expectorated by n 16 consumers to determine in vitro gastric digestion and by n 7 to determine in vitro intestinal digestion. For both foods, longer chewing time resulted in the formation of significantly (P < 0·05) more and smaller bolus fragments and higher in vitro degree of protein hydrolysis (DH%) than shorter chewing time (chicken: DH%11s = 7 ± 23 % and DH%24s = 89 ± 26 %; soya-based vegetarian chicken: DH%11s = 57 ± 18 % and DH%24s = 70 ± 21 %, P < 0·001). In vitro degree of protein hydrolysis was higher for chicken than that for soya-based vegetarian chicken regardless of chewing time. We conclude that naturally occurring longer chewing time leads to more and smaller bolus particles of chicken and soya-based vegetarian chicken and thereby increases in vitro protein hydrolysis compared with shorter chewing time.