Abstract
Cell walls are important structural components of plants, affecting both the bioaccessibility
and subsequent digestibility of the nutrients that plant-based foods contain. These supramolecular
structures are composed of complex heterogeneous networks primarily consisting of cellulose,
and hemicellulosic and pectic polysaccharides. The composition and organization of these
different polysaccharides vary depending on the type of plant tissue, imparting them with specific
physicochemical properties. These properties dictate how the cell walls behave in the human
gastrointestinal tract, and how amenable they are to digestion, thereby modulating nutrient release
from the plant tissue. This short narrative review presents an overview of our current knowledge on
cell walls and how they impact nutrient bioaccessibility and digestibility. Some of the most relevant
methods currently used to characterize the food matrix and the cell walls are also described.
and subsequent digestibility of the nutrients that plant-based foods contain. These supramolecular
structures are composed of complex heterogeneous networks primarily consisting of cellulose,
and hemicellulosic and pectic polysaccharides. The composition and organization of these
different polysaccharides vary depending on the type of plant tissue, imparting them with specific
physicochemical properties. These properties dictate how the cell walls behave in the human
gastrointestinal tract, and how amenable they are to digestion, thereby modulating nutrient release
from the plant tissue. This short narrative review presents an overview of our current knowledge on
cell walls and how they impact nutrient bioaccessibility and digestibility. Some of the most relevant
methods currently used to characterize the food matrix and the cell walls are also described.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Foods |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 16 Feb 2020 |