Effect of simulated gastrointestinal digestion on phenolic compounds, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant potential of Brazilian honeydew honey

Unlike floral honeys, honeydew honey is produced by bees from plant secretions and the excretions of plant-sucking insects. In this study, the influence of simulated gastrointestinal digestion of bracatinga honeydew honey (BHH) on its anti-inflammatory activity (assessed by a LPS-induced inflammatory assay), antioxidant capacity (measured by DPPH-scavenging and Folin-Ciocalteu (FC) assays), and the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds (analyzed by LC–MS/MS) was investigated. Our data indicated high levels of nitric oxide inhibition (> 80%) at all concentrations tested (1–100 µg/mL) of both undigested and digested (gastric and duodenal) fractions of BHH samples. The antioxidant capacity of BHH samples was satisfactorily maintained during in vitro digestion according to the FC assay (with decreases of up to 14.7%). However, decreases of up to 62.2% were observed in the DPPH assay. The concentration of apigenin, quercetin, and kaempferol decreased after gastric, and especially duodenal digestion. At the same time, increases were observed in other phenolic compounds, such as benzoic acid and galangin. Therefore, our results demonstrate that phenolic compounds in BHH are satisfactorily preserved following simulated gastrointestinal digestion, as well as their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential. These findings suggest that honey consumption, within the recommended intake, may offer protective health benefits, which should be further confirmed by in vivo studies.