KOLDAEV V.M.
Международный журнал прикладных и фундаментальных исследований 2026; (3): 5-9
Green plant pigments, chlorophylls, reduce the risks of many diseases and are consumed daily in food, but the processes of their digestion have not been fully studied. The purpose of the work was to analyze publications on the transformation of chlorophylls and the influence of their derivatives on food components during digestion. The review summarizes information from the bibliographic databases Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, Library on chlorophyll transformations, absorption in the gastrointestinal tract and bioavailability. In the oral part of the digestive chain, chlorophylls pass through without significant changes; in the acidic environment of the stomach, the central tetrapyrrole magnesium atom is replaced by two protons and chlorophyll is converted into pheophytin, which in the alkaline environment of the small intestine loses phytol and degrades to pheophorbide. Chlorophyll-a is converted into pheophorbide 2.5 - 9 times more efficiently compared to chlorophyll-b. Water-insoluble chlorophyll conversion products form hydrophilic micelles, which are absorbed by intestinal epithelial cells and then delivered through the bloodstream to target organs. In addition, the products of chlorophyll transformation reduce the activity of amylase and pancreatic lipase and suppress the digestion of polysaccharides and lipids. In the future, it would be advisable to study the effect of chlorophylls on the digestion of accompanying components of the bolus.
