Nutritional and functional characterization of mexican medicinal plants : Ludwigia octovalvis, Cnidoscolus aconitifolius, and Crotalaria longirostrata, with implications for food system integration and glycemic response reduction

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the potential of three underutilized Mexican medicinal plants—Ludwigia octovalvis (Jacq.) P.H. Raven, Cnidoscolus aconitifolius, and Crotalaria longirostrata—to improve the nutritional quality, physicochemical properties, and predicted glycemic response of wheat-based bread. The research integrates biochemical, structural, and technological evaluations across three peer-reviewed studies. The first stage characterizes the chemical composition, phenolic profile, and in vitro inhibitory activity of the plants against key digestive enzymes (α-amylase, α-glucosidase, lipase, and pepsin), establishing their metabolic relevance and bioactive potential. The second stage evaluates the incorporation of plant flours into wheat dough (5% w/w), examining gluten functionality, dough rheology, phenolic–protein interactions, and microstructural modifications during fermentation. The third stage assesses the nutritional composition, dietary fiber fractions, starch digestibility (RDS, SDS, RS), and predicted glycemic index (pGI) of breads enriched with C. aconitifolius and C. longirostrata, using standardized in vitro digestion protocols. Collectively, the findings demonstrate that these medicinal plants modulate dough development, influence starch digestion kinetics, and can effectively reduce the pGI of bread through combined mechanisms of enzymatic inhibition and matrix driven structural modifications. This work provides a mechanistic and formulation based foundation for the development of functional foods derived from ethnobotanically relevant Mexican species, contributing to dietary strategies aimed at reducing postprandial glycemic responses.