The challenge of monitoring the hydrolysis of foods lipids during gastrointestinal digestion

During the last decade obtaining further knowledge on lipid digestion has become a challenging task in the field of Food Science and Nutrition research. However, the great complexity of this process requires the use of sound, accurate and simple analytical techniques which are able to provide as much information as possible; only thus can a global view and therefore a better understanding of the ongoing process be obtained. This review tackles the advantages and drawbacks of the different methodologies currently employed for this purpose, focusing on a new approach, recently developed and based on Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (H NMR) spectroscopy. This new methodological approach not only provides a great deal of information in a simple, rapid and accurate way, but also overcomes many of the disadvantages of the techniques employed to date. In this sense, H NMR can be considered a very promising alternative for research on lipid digestion, contributing to shed more light on the complex digestion process of lipids and the factors that may affect it.