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How drying technologies shape digestive fate of polyphenols in fruits and vegetables: A critical evaluation.

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Title: How drying technologies shape digestive fate of polyphenols in fruits and vegetables: A critical evaluation.
Authors: Ali Redha A; Department of Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development, Institute of Food and One Health, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167 Hannover, Germany. Electronic address: redha@foh.uni-hannover.de., Harahap IA; Department of Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development, Institute of Food and One Health, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167 Hannover, Germany; Research Center for Food Technology and Processing, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Gading, Playen, Yogyakarta, Gunungkidul, 55861, Indonesia. Electronic address: iskandar.azmy.harahap@brin.go.id., Capanoglu E; Department of Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development, Institute of Food and One Health, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167 Hannover, Germany; Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, 34469 Maslak, Istanbul, Türkiye. Electronic address: capanogl@itu.edu.tr., Esatbeyoglu T; Department of Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development, Institute of Food and One Health, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167 Hannover, Germany. Electronic address: esatbeyoglu@foh.uni-hannover.de.
Source: Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.) [Food Res Int] 2026 Sep 30; Vol. 240, pp. 119581. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 02.
Publication Type: Journal Article; Review
Language: English
Journal Info: Publisher: Published on behalf of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology by Elsevier Applied Science Country of Publication: Canada NLM ID: 9210143 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-7145 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09639969 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Food Res Int Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada : Published on behalf of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology by Elsevier Applied Science, c1992-
MeSH Terms: Polyphenols*/analysis , Polyphenols*/pharmacokinetics , Fruit*/chemistry , Desiccation*/methods , Vegetables*/chemistry , Food Handling*/methods , Digestion*, Antioxidants/analysis ; Food, Processed ; Humans ; Nutritive Value ; Biological Availability
Abstract: Drying is widely applied to fruits and vegetables to extend shelf life, reduce post-harvest losses, and produce stable, bioactive-rich ingredients. However, the nutritional value of dried products is still often assessed solely based on polyphenol retention, despite the fact that drying-induced changes in tissue architecture, oxygen exposure, enzyme activity, and matrix integrity can strongly affect gastrointestinal release and bioaccessibility. This critical evaluation synthesizes 17 studies examining how different drying technologies influence the release behaviour, bioaccessibility, and antioxidant activity of polyphenols in dried fruits, vegetables, and herbs using in vitro gastrointestinal digestion models. Across matrices, the oral phase contributed minimally to polyphenol release, whereas the gastric phase generally represented the main liberation step. The intestinal phase displayed compound-dependent behaviour, acting either as a secondary release stage for bound or matrix-associated phenolics or as a stage of degradation and reduced recovery for anthocyanins and other labile flavonoids. Phenolic acids were generally the most digestion-recoverable polyphenols, while flavan-3-ols, flavonols, and anthocyanin derivatives showed greater dependence on matrix structure, oxidation, glycosylation/acylation, and pH stability. Drying methods that balanced moderate structural disruption with low oxygen exposure, such as vacuum, microwave-vacuum, ultrasound-assisted vacuum, infrared, and low-temperature vacuum drying, often improved bioaccessibility compared with conventional hot-air or freeze-drying methods, although matrix-specific exceptions occurred. Measured antioxidant activity reflects not only total polyphenol release but also compound transformations, degradation products, and the inherent sensitivity of the analytical assay. Overall, the review highlights the need to move beyond retention-based evaluation toward bioaccessibility- and bioavailability-oriented process design, supported by harmonized digestion protocols and compound-specific profiling.
(Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: Anthocyanins; Bioaccessibility; Drying technologies; Flavonoids; In vitro digestion; Polyphenols
Substance Nomenclature: 0 (Polyphenols)
0 (Antioxidants)
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260706 Date Completed: 20260707 Latest Revision: 20260706
Update Code: 20260707
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2026.119581
PMID: 42409523
Database: MEDLINE
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  Data: How drying technologies shape digestive fate of polyphenols in fruits and vegetables: A critical evaluation.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Ali+Redha+A%22">Ali Redha A</searchLink>; Department of Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development, Institute of Food and One Health, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167 Hannover, Germany. Electronic address: redha@foh.uni-hannover.de.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Harahap+IA%22">Harahap IA</searchLink>; Department of Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development, Institute of Food and One Health, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167 Hannover, Germany; Research Center for Food Technology and Processing, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Gading, Playen, Yogyakarta, Gunungkidul, 55861, Indonesia. Electronic address: iskandar.azmy.harahap@brin.go.id.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Capanoglu+E%22">Capanoglu E</searchLink>; Department of Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development, Institute of Food and One Health, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167 Hannover, Germany; Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, 34469 Maslak, Istanbul, Türkiye. Electronic address: capanogl@itu.edu.tr.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Esatbeyoglu+T%22">Esatbeyoglu T</searchLink>; Department of Molecular Food Chemistry and Food Development, Institute of Food and One Health, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Am Kleinen Felde 30, 30167 Hannover, Germany. Electronic address: esatbeyoglu@foh.uni-hannover.de.
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  Data: <i>Original Publication</i>: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada : Published on behalf of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology by Elsevier Applied Science, c1992-
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Polyphenols%22">Polyphenols*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Polyphenols+analysis%22">analysis</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Polyphenols%22">Polyphenols*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Polyphenols+pharmacokinetics%22">pharmacokinetics</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Fruit%22">Fruit*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Fruit+chemistry%22">chemistry</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Desiccation%22">Desiccation*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Desiccation+methods%22">methods</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Vegetables%22">Vegetables*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Vegetables+chemistry%22">chemistry</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Food+Handling%22">Food Handling*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Food+Handling+methods%22">methods</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Digestion%22">Digestion*</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Antioxidants%22">Antioxidants</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Antioxidants+analysis%22">analysis</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Food%2C+Processed%22">Food, Processed</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Humans%22">Humans</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Nutritive+Value%22">Nutritive Value</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Biological+Availability%22">Biological Availability</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Drying is widely applied to fruits and vegetables to extend shelf life, reduce post-harvest losses, and produce stable, bioactive-rich ingredients. However, the nutritional value of dried products is still often assessed solely based on polyphenol retention, despite the fact that drying-induced changes in tissue architecture, oxygen exposure, enzyme activity, and matrix integrity can strongly affect gastrointestinal release and bioaccessibility. This critical evaluation synthesizes 17 studies examining how different drying technologies influence the release behaviour, bioaccessibility, and antioxidant activity of polyphenols in dried fruits, vegetables, and herbs using in vitro gastrointestinal digestion models. Across matrices, the oral phase contributed minimally to polyphenol release, whereas the gastric phase generally represented the main liberation step. The intestinal phase displayed compound-dependent behaviour, acting either as a secondary release stage for bound or matrix-associated phenolics or as a stage of degradation and reduced recovery for anthocyanins and other labile flavonoids. Phenolic acids were generally the most digestion-recoverable polyphenols, while flavan-3-ols, flavonols, and anthocyanin derivatives showed greater dependence on matrix structure, oxidation, glycosylation/acylation, and pH stability. Drying methods that balanced moderate structural disruption with low oxygen exposure, such as vacuum, microwave-vacuum, ultrasound-assisted vacuum, infrared, and low-temperature vacuum drying, often improved bioaccessibility compared with conventional hot-air or freeze-drying methods, although matrix-specific exceptions occurred. Measured antioxidant activity reflects not only total polyphenol release but also compound transformations, degradation products, and the inherent sensitivity of the analytical assay. Overall, the review highlights the need to move beyond retention-based evaluation toward bioaccessibility- and bioavailability-oriented process design, supported by harmonized digestion protocols and compound-specific profiling.<br /> (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)
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  Data: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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  Data: <i>Keywords: </i>Anthocyanins; Bioaccessibility; Drying technologies; Flavonoids; In vitro digestion; Polyphenols
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  Data: 0 (Polyphenols)<br />0 (Antioxidants)
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