Browsing by Author "Ayadi, Rihab"
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- Functionalization of cheese with mycosterol extractsPublication . Ayadi, Rihab; Heleno, Sandrina A.; Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R.; Charfi, IchrakDue to the structural similarity with phytosterols, it is believed that ergosterol acts identically in the lowering of blood cholesterol levels. Due to the easier solubility of ergosterol in lipophilic media, an interesting approach is the incorporation of pure ergosterol and mycosterol extracts into lipid matrices such as cheese, facilitating its solubility and consequent availability to exert the biological activity. In this perspective, the objective of this dissertation was the incorporation of mycosterol extracts (obtained from A. bisporus) and pure ergosterol in traditional sheep cheese. The incorporation was based on the data regarding phytosterols and their ability to reduce cholesterol absorption. The developed cheeses were fully characterized before and after 2 months of maturation in terms of nutritional value, physicochemical parameters, profiles in fatty acids, lactose, lactic acid, and ergosterol/cholesterol. The cytotoxicity of pure ergosterol, cholesterol and A. bisporus extract was also evaluated in PLP2 and in CaCo2 cells to find the subtoxic concentration for application in the cell transport assay. Ergosterol, cholesterol, A. bisporus extract and the final cheese formulations were tested in Caco2 cells to infer the reduction in the cholesterol absorption. From the obtained results, it can be observed that the nutritional value did not vary between the control cheese and the cheeses with the incorporations. In terms of physicochemical parameters, for the color analysis, overtime, the cheese with the extract increased in yellowness and reduced lightness, showing a browner tone. Among the fatty acids, no variations were detected between samples, being palmitic acid the most abundant one, followed by oleic and myristic acids. The saturated fatty acids predominated in all samples, followed by monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Lactose was, as expected, identified in the cheeses and was greatly reduced overtime, while lactic acid increased during the two months, confirming the decrease of lactose, which is converted during the maturation. A subtoxic concentration of 50 g/mL was selected to perform the absorption tests. It was possible to determine that Caco2 cells absorbed 30% of cholesterol from the control cheese. On the other hand, cheese with pure ergosterol reduced the cholesterol absorption in ~12%, while the cheese with mushroom extract reduced the absorption in ~15%. These results highlight the ability of ergosterol in reducing the cholesterol absorption, being an interesting candidate for the development of functional foods for hypocholesterolemic effects.