Kiwifruit makes the cover of The Journal of Nutrition

A recent paper by Dr Carlos Montoya and colleagues was selected as the focus of the front cover of The Journal of Nutrition . Montoya’s colleagues included Dr Jason Hindmarsh, Lucrecia Gonzalez, Dr Mike Boland, Distinguished Professor Paul Moughan, and Associate Professor Shane Rutherfurd. As an additional recognition of the interest in their work, they were invited to compile a short video explaining the main findings of the paper.

The study investigates how eating green kiwifruit can influence protein digestion in the stomach, as well as how quickly the stomach empties. Green kiwifruit contains the enzyme actinidin, which has previously been shown to increase both the gastric digestion and stomach emptying rate of some, but not all, protein sources. The findings suggest that it may be possible to increase amino acid absorption in the small intestine by including actinidin-containing foods, such as green kiwifruit, in the diet.

Reference: Montoya CA, Hindmarsh JP, Gonzalez L, Boland MJ, Moughan PJ, Rutherfurd SM. (2014). Dietary actinidin from kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa cv. Hayward) increases gastric digestion and the gastric emptying rate of several dietary proteins in growing rats. Journal of Nutrition, 144(4) :440-6.

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