A mathematical model of the effect of pH and food matrix composition on fluid transport into foods: An application in gastric digestion and cheese brining

- Diffusion of NaCl during cheese brining is concentration dependent.
- Diffusion of gastric fluid in carrot and cheese is dependent on pH and structure.
- We developed a model of pH-dependent soluble particle loss during digestion.
- The model specifies the relationship between food structure and food degradation.
- This helps in the development of novel foods with desired functionality.

The question of bioaccessibility of nutrients within a food matrix has become of increasing interest in the fields of nutrition and food science as bioaccessibility is the precursor to bioavailability. By analyzing the propagation of the wetting front of acidic water in raw carrot core and Edam cheese as model systems, we show that the diffusion of the acidic water is dependent on the pH of the gastric fluid and the food matrix. In addition, we demonstrate that the diffusion of NaCl during cheese brining is also dependent upon the concentration of the NaCl. This demonstrates that Fickian diffusion, along with a concentration dependent diffusion coefficient, is a valid model for describing concentration profiles in multiple food systems.Utilizing the diffusion rates found at various pH levels (1.50, 2.00, 3.50, 4.30, 5.25 and 7.00), we developed a model to describe the measured non-linear rate of soluble solid loss during digestion at various constant pH levels. Additionally, we have developed a model to predict the likely rate of soluble solid loss during digestion in the stomach where pH decreases with time. This model can be used to help understand and optimize the relationship between food structure/composition and food degradation in the human stomach, which may help in the development of novel foods with desired functionality.