BIOAVAILABILITY

(what we get from what we have taken in)

 BIOAVAILABILITY
• Definition
• What makes it up
• Critical phase
• Hormonal factors in
• How its measured
• Membrane transporters
• Special cases for redox metals
 First basic law of nutrition:

No nutrient is
absorbed and utilized
to the full extent that it
is fed
Steven Blezinger
 Define Bioavailability
• That which becomes bioavailable
• The fraction (or percentage) of nutrient
absorbed that is useful to the body
• The degree to which an absorbed nutrient
is available to the system
Nutritional Definition

Bioavailability is a post-
absorption assessment of how
much of a nutrient that has
been absorbed becomes
functional to the system
Food Science Definition

Bioavailability is a assessment
of how much of a nutrient is
retained in the food product
after processing for the
consumer
Bioavailability in toto

Raw Food Product (100%) Total (proximate analysis)

Processed Food Chemically available

Digestion

Absorption

Cellular uptake Biologically available

Functional mineral
 Basic Scheme of Proximate Analysis
Air dried Sample (oven)

Water free sample

Extract with ether

Extract
Residue Boil in acid
(ignite)
Filtrate Residue
Fat Ash Nitrogen free extract
Boil in alkali
Residue (crude fiber)
ignite
Ash
Nitrogen
(Total N content)
 Biological Availability
(Bioavailability)
Definition can be based on either the percentage of a nutrient
ingested or the percentage of a nutrient absorbed that becomes
useful to the organism

The percentage ingested is preferred by some because

the percentage absorbed is difficult to determine and
relies on an indirect analysis

The percentage absorbed is, nonetheless, a more accurate

appraisal of bioavailability
 The
Thefraction
fractionof
ofthe
thetotal
totalamount
amountabsorbed
absorbedthat
thatperforms
performsaa
function
function
Digestion
Digestion

Absorption
Absorption

Blood
BloodTransport
Transport
Which is the most
critical phase for
minerals? Liver
Liver and
andkidney
kidneyexcretion
excretion

Losses along
Membrane
Membranetransport
transport the
way
Intracellular
Intracellularmovement
movement

Functional
FunctionalSite
Site
Recall

A nutrient is considered outside

the body until it passes thru the
intestinal barrier
 The amount that gets absorbed depends on:

Digestibility of the food source

Extrinsic
ExtrinsicFactors
Factors
Solubility of the mineral
Elements in the food source that hinder or
facilitate absorption

With a focus on the organism, bioavailability

depends on: Age
Health
Nutritional state
Intrinsic Factors Physiological state
Intrinsic Factors Genetic predisposition
Gender
Developmental stage
Species
 Components of Bioavailability
• Digestion
Absorptive
• Absorption
Phase
• Liver surveillance
• Transport
• Transmembrane movement Assimilation
• Intracellular movement Phase
• Target binding
Why Not Absorption Alone as an index of Bioavailability

As pointed out by O’Dell, assimilation may be a major part of a mineral’s

bioavailability and needs to be assessed separately

Absorption % Retention %a
75Se as selenite 92 <50

75Se as selenomethionine 96 >80

a
Arbitrary units

2-picolinic acid enhances zinc absorption in rats by nearly 60%. But,

also increases zinc excretion so there is no net effect on retention and
hence no increase in bioavailability
Assessing bioavailability by the slope ratio method

Assessing Phytate (in soy flour) as a factor in Zinc bioavailability

Zn carbonate

Zn Beef
Beef/carbonate = 0.97
Body wt
of 3 wk Soy/carbonate = 0.31
old chicks
Zn Soy flour

4 6 8 10 14

Zn in the diet (mg/kg)

Quantifying Bioavailability

% Bioavailable = % absorbed x % assimilated x 10-2

If a diet contained 5 mg of a metal ion and 42% of the 10% absorbed

was retained in the system, the % bioavailable would be ___________

which means ________ mg was rendered functional

420 2.1
0.21
42
0.42
.021 4.2
Solution

5 mg 4.5 mg (90%) stays in lumen

Intestine

0.5 mg absorbed (10%) % BA = %Abs x %Fun x 10-2

= 10 x 42 x 10-2

Functional site = 4.2 or 0.21 mg of the 5 mg

taken in the diet

0.21 mg (42%) of absorbed becomes functional

0.29 (58%) of absorbed is non-functional

 Exam 1
An Overall Assessment of Minerals

• What they are (chemistry)

• What they do (biochemistry)
• How they get in our body (absorption)
• How they get into cells (transport,
assimilation)
• How efficient are they (bioavailability)
• How are they regulated
Chemistry
1. Chemical properties relative to function
1. Ionization
2. Solubility
3. Valence
4. Electronic configuration
Biochemistry
1. Biochemical properties relative to function
1. Macro vs microminerals
2. Enzyme cofactors
3. Pathway components
4. Crystallization
5. Binding proteins
Absorption
1. Solubility
1. Mucins, ligands, pH
2. Valence
3. Transport proteins (intestinal sites)
4. Cytosolic transport and storage
5. Export factors
Transport and Assimilation

1. Transport proteins in plasma

2. Membrane receptors and channels
3. Membrane transport
1. Simple diffusion
2. Mediated diffusion
3. Active transport
4. Receptor mediated endocytosis
4. Cytosolic transport
1. Vesicles
2. Metallochaperones
Regulation
1. Regulation of iron absorprtion
1. Iron control of ferritin and transferrin receptor (IRPs)
2. Hemochomatosis factors hepcidin and HFE
2. Regulation of calcium absorption
1. Control of calbindin and CaT1 by dihydroxy-vitamin D3

Bioavailability
1. Ways to measure mineral bioavailability