Activated almonds are raw almonds that have been soaked in water for 12-24 hours at room temperature sometimes followed by a 24-hour drying period at low temperature (50C ± 5C). This treatment is thought to enhance mineral bioavailability in almonds by degrading D-myo-inositol hexaphosphate (InsP6), through the activation of phytase and/or passive diffusion of InsP6 into the soaking water. At physiological pH, InsP6 can form insoluble complexes with essential minerals such as iron and zinc thereby decreasing their bioavailability and adsorption in the gut. It is hypothesized that hydrating almond kernels (i.e. soaking them in water) triggers the degradation of InsP6 into lower myo-inositol phosphates (InsP1-5) that have less binding capacity. Anion exchange chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to quantify myo-inositol mono-, di, tri-, tetra-, penta- and hexa- phosphates (InsP1-6) in raw pasteurized activated almonds. At least 24 hours of soaking at ambient temperature was required to reduce InsP6 content from 14.71 µmol/g to 14.01 µmol/g. A statistically significant (p &lt; 0.05) 4.75% reduction of InsP6 is observed in raw pasteurized almonds after 24 hours of soaking. These results indicate that activating almonds does not reduce InsP6 to a level that results in a significant enhancement of mineral bioavailability.

Impact of activating almonds on D-myo-inositol phosphate and mineral bioavailability

256th National Meeting (2018)

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