Effect of Particle Size of Pulverized Citrus Peel Tissue on Elution Characteristics of Intracellular Substances As Influenced by Type of Solvent

To examine the effect of structural attributes of edible plant tissues on the release of intracellular substances from cell matrices at the postprandial stage, a flavedo layer powder of citrus peel was used as a model of mechanically damaged plant tissue, and elution characteristics of intracellular substances with three types of solvent were investigated. The results showed that the absorbance spectra of extraction solutions were changed by the type of solvent and the average diameter of classified powders. In particular, the influence of particle size on the absorbance spectra appeared as differences in the absorbance level at each wavelength, e.g., the absorbance level of extractions with an average particle size of 711 mu m was almost half of that of 71 mu m at the range from 490 nm to 520 nm, although each fraction was made from the same source. Additionally, the microscopic observation showed that the percentage of disrupted cells in powders decreased with the average particle size increased. This suggested that the structural attributes of cell-based plant tissue could be linked to the elution properties of intracellular materials and the postprandial nutritional properties of plant-based foods.