Digestion kinetics of lipids and proteins in plant-based shakes: Impact of processing conditions and resulting structural properties

In this work, plant-based shakes were prepared (5% oil, 6% protein, 1% lecithin, 88% water) (w/w) using two processing techniques (i) only mixing versus (ii) mixing followed by high pressure homogenisation, as well as two processing sequences (i) adding all ingredients together versus (ii) stepwise addition of ingredients. Shakes only mixed consisted of large, irregular particles (1-100 µm). Eventually, this resulted in a relatively low lipid and protein digestion extent after 2 h of gastric pre-digestion (9% and < 1%, respectively). In contrast, shakes that were subjected to high pressure homogenisation displayed small, homogeneous particles (<10 µm). Besides, lipids and proteins were digested to a high extent in the stomach (40% and 10%, respectively). The small intestinal digestion kinetics indicated a significant impact of proteins on lipid digestion kineticsbutno significant effect of lipids on protein digestion kinetics. The results highlighted the relevance of food processing on macronutrient (micro)structure and further gastrointestinal functionality.