NoteStability and Bioavailability of Antioxidants in ( Chi : ysanthemum coronarium L . ) Garland JsgA

addition to their activity in vitro. Food ingredients usually have to undergo the processes of cooking, ingestion, absorption and metabolism before being transported to each organ and tissue in the body. They are exposed to seasonings and/or heat during cooking, and then to acidic gastric juice, alkaline intestinal juice, etc, in the digestive organs, They consequently have to be stable under these conditions for their effective uptake into the body. Most of the rninor functional ingredients of plant origin can be "strangers'' to the human body and may not be absorbed in an intact form due to conjugation and enzymatic degradation when they pass through the highly selective digestive and metabolic system. It is, therefore, essential for an evaluation of their biological functions to know whether the compounds