Assessment of intestinal absorption of trace metals in humans by means of stable isotopes.

This study is aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of stable isotopes for the assessment of reliable data on fractional intestinal absorption of trace metals in healthy humans. Among the various methods available, the double isotope technique, i.e. one isotope given orally together with the test substance to be investigated and another isotope injected intravenously to correct for retention and endogenous excretion of the particular trace metal, provides quantitative figures of intestinal absorption at reasonable expenses with regard to costs for materials and number of samples to be evaluated. The trace metals exemplarily included in this study, i.e. iron, cobalt and molybdenum show diverging relations between absorbed fractions and amounts administered which are indicative for different regulatory mechanisms of their body content. Food ligands influence the fractional absorption significantly so that the uptake from a composite meal cannot be derived from results on uptake from particular foodstuffs. Therefore, validated data on the behaviour of intestinal absorption will significantly contribute to a better understanding of human trace metal metabolism.

Intestinal absorption of calcium from foodstuffs as compared to a pharmaceutical preparation.

Only few data are available on intestinal calcium absorption from foodstuffs and composite meals in humans. The aim of the study was to compare intraindividually the calcium absorption from milk and from a breakfast with that from a pharmaceutical calcium preparation of equal calcium content. In 8 healthy volunteers between 44 and 58 years of age, the intestinal calcium absorption was measured in randomized order applying the double isotope technique from: (1) 500ml of fresh milk (equivalent to 620mg Ca), (2) a test meal composed of 250 g curd, 150g yoghurt, 3 slices pineapple, 2 breakfast rolls, 2 cups of coffee, 10g of coffee cream, 20g butter, 50g jam and 20g honey (equivalent to 580mg Ca), and (3) a lactogluconate effervescent tablet (equivalent to 500mgCa). All test doses were given on an empty stomach and labelled with 20mg 44Ca. Simultaneously, 5mg 42Ca in a sterile isotonic solution were injected intravenously. The mean values of the absorbed fractions are 24.0% +/- 5.4% (mean +/-SD), 17.9% +/- 7.1%, and 28.7% +/- 9.1% for the milk, for the meal and for the tablet respectively. The data show that less calcium is absorbed from foodstuffs as compared to a preparation of optimal bioavailability. But in this study only the difference between absorption from the milk and from the meal was statistically significant. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a sufficient calcium supply of the human body also by properly selected foodstuffs.