Development of Functional Bread Fortified with Hawthorn Leaf Phenolic Extract: Evaluation of Technological Performance and Phenolic Bioaccessibility

ABSTRACT

The leaves of hawthorn trees ( Crataegus spp.) are rich in phenolic compounds that have well‐documented antioxidant properties. However, the use of these compounds in bakery products and their behavior during gastrointestinal digestion remain largely unexplored. This study investigated the effects of incorporating different concentrations (0.30%–1.50%) of hawthorn leaf phenolic extract (HLPE) into bread formulations on its technological properties, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant capacity, and in vitro gastrointestinal bioaccessibility. Bread supplementation with HLPE significantly increased the TPC from 64.77 to 272.84 mg GAE/100 g and the TFC from 50.69 to 234.23 mg QE/100 g, markedly enhancing antioxidant activity. ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP values reached 308.63, 162.47, and 193.47 mg TE/100 g, respectively, at 1.50% HLPE supplementation. However, increasing HLPE levels adversely affected loaf volume, specific volume, texture, and color, resulting in a pronounced quality deterioration at the highest supplementation level. Simulated gastrointestinal digestion revealed that post gastric fraction (PG) increased phenolic extractability (126.31–297.06 mg GAE/100 g), whereas dialyzable fraction (IN) showed lower phenolic recovery (66.48–84.49 mg GAE/100 g), corresponding to bioaccessibility values of approximately 13.17%–14.03%. The highest TPC and TFC values were observed in the non‐dialyzable fraction (OUT), which retained high antioxidant activity. Among all formulations, 1.20% HLPE was identified as the optimal level, balancing enhanced bioactive properties with acceptable technological quality. These findings suggest that HLPE‐enriched bread could serve as a promising functional food, providing phenolic compounds throughout the digestive process.