title: Integrated in vitro approaches to assess the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of silicon-biofortified leafy vegetables and preliminary effects on bone.
abstract: Food industries are increasingly oriented toward new foods to improve nutritional status and/or to combat nutritional deficiency diseases. In this context, silicon biofortification could be an innovative tool for obtaining new foods with possible positive effects on bone mineralization. In this paper, an alternative and quick in vitro approach was applied in order to evaluate the potential health-promoting effects of five silicon-biofortified leafy vegetables (tatsoi, mizuna, purslane, Swiss chard and chicory) on bone mineralization compared with a commercial silicon supplement. The silicon bioaccessibility and bioavailability of the five leafy vegetables (biofortified or not) and of the supplement were assessed by applying a protocol consisting of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion coupled with a Caco-2 cell model. Silicon bioaccessibility ranged from 0.89 to 8.18 mg/L and bioavailability ranged from 111 to 206 μg/L of Si for both vegetables and supplement. Furthermore, the bioavailable fractions were tested on a human osteoblast cell model following the expression of type 1 collagen and alkaline phosphatase. The results obtained highlighted that the bioavailable fraction of biofortified purslane and Swiss chard improved the expression of both osteoblast markers compared with the supplement and other vegetables. These results underline the potentially beneficial effect of biofortified leafy vegetables and also indicate the usefulness of in vitro approaches for selecting the best vegetable with positive bone effects for further in vivo research.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Bari, Italy.|Department of Agricultural and Environmental Science, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Imperio
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic and Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sense Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Section, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giacomina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brunetti
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic and Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sense Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Section, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gigante
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Serio
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Science, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Santamaria
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cardinali
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic and Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sense Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Section, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Colucci
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Bari, Italy. fiorenza.minervini@ispa.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Fiorenza
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Minervini
mesh_terms: D000072759:Biofortification; D001682:Biological Availability; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic / Q000187:drug effects; D018651:Cichorium intybus / Q000737:chemistry; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004063:Digestion / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000187:drug effects; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D031822:Portulaca / Q000737:chemistry; D012825:Silicon / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D012825:Silicon
keywords: Biofortification of vegetables; Human intestinal cell line; In vitro digestion; In vitro models; Osteoblastic marker expression