Buffering Capacity of Foods and its Effects on Digestion

Student Name: 
Jonathan Liu
UCD Department: 
Food Science and Technology
UCD Mentor: 
Dr. Bornhorst, Dr. Ferrua, and Dr. Singh

The buffering capacity of foods plays a pivotal role in food breakdown during gastric digestion. The ability of foods to resist changes in pH alters the acidity of the stomach, influencing acid secretion, enzyme function, and chyme viscosity[SO1] . All of these properties directly influence the stomach’s ability to break down foods. Therefore, a comprehensive and replicable method to determine the buffering capacity of foods would prove beneficial for helping to predict and compare digestive properties [SO2] of different foods. We have developed a preliminary methodology for determining the buffering capacities of certain categories and subcategories of undigested foods, and used these to determine buffering properties of certain semisolid foods before digestion.