Summary
This comprehensive narrative review by Shahidi and Athiyappan synthesises current understanding of how polyphenols interact with polysaccharides in food matrices, detailing the molecular forces — including hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, electrostatic forces, van der Waals forces, and covalent bonds — that govern complex formation. The review evaluates how these interactions modify the stability, bioavailability, and bioactivity of polyphenols, as well as the digestibility of associated macronutrients such as proteins and polysaccharides. It further considers the implications of these interactions for functional food development and the design of delivery systems intended to enhance the efficacy of dietary bioactives.
UK applicability
While this review is not geographically specific, its findings are broadly applicable to UK food science, food formulation, and public health nutrition contexts, particularly in relation to dietary fibre, polyphenol intake from fruit and vegetables, and the development of functional foods aligned with UK dietary guidelines.
Key measures
Binding mechanisms (covalent and non-covalent interactions); bioavailability and bioaccessibility of polyphenols; digestibility of macronutrients; antioxidant and other bioactive properties; structural characterisation of complexes
Outcomes reported
The review examined how covalent and non-covalent interactions between polyphenols and polysaccharides affect bioavailability, stability, digestibility, and biological efficacy of these complexes in food systems. It also assessed potential applications of polyphenol-polysaccharide complexes in food formulation and processing.
Topic tags
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