The behavior of phenolic compounds, sugars, and antioxidants from araticum fruit (Annona crassiflora Mart.) during gastrointestinal digestion: An in vitro and in silico approach

Araticum is a native Brazilian species rich in bioactive phytochemicals. However, little is known about these compounds’ stability, bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and bioactivity throughout gastrointestinal digestion. Thus, this study investigated the impact of gastrointestinal digestion on phenolic compounds, sugars, and antioxidant activity from araticum fruit. Total soluble polyphenols, antioxidant activities, and most phenolic compounds decreased significantly throughout digestion. However, a remarkable increase in the bioaccessibility of ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, rutin, and naringin was noted after digestion. ADMET results demonstrated that most of the phenolic compounds found in araticum pulp had high predicted human intestinal absorption, low BBB penetration and toxicity, and acceptable distribution, metabolism, and excretion features. Regarding sugars, sucrose and GF₂ were progressively hydrolyzed into glucose and fructose throughout digestion. These findings demonstrated that gastrointestinal digestion substantially affects the release, stability, and bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds and sugars in araticum pulp, profoundly impacting their health benefits, as observed in antioxidant activity.