Mineral absorption

About: Mineral absorption is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 346 publications have been published within this topic receiving 11296 citations.

Calcium Bioavailability from Diets Based on White Cheese Containing Probiotics or Synbiotics in Short-Time Study in Rats

Abstract: One of the postulated effects of proand prebiotics is their beneficial influence on mineral absorption from a diet. In the present study, calcium absorption from diets containing white cheese with the potentially probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum strain with a prebiotic addition such as inulin HPX (high performance for high temperature processes) and maltodextrin was investigated. 2.5% of each prebiotic was added to the cheese preparation. The bioavailability of minerals was expressed as apparent absorption and retention indexes. The highest calcium absorption (mg 5 day ) was noted in group receiving probiotic -1 cheese, however there was no significant difference between this and the group receiving control diet without proand prebiotics. Maltodextrin addition to the diet caused a negative effect on Ca balance. Both, apparent absorption (%, mg 5 days ) and retention (mg 5 days ) indexes in this group were significantly lower (P < -1 -1 0.05) compared to other groups. The apparent retention (mg 5 days ) of calcium was significantly higher (P -1 < 0.05) in rats receiving probiotic cheese. Feeding rats with probiotic cheese, containing Lactobacillus plantarum strain, resulted in increased calcium retention compared to control and synbiotic diets.

Mineral absorption in tapirs (Tapirus spp.) as compared to the domestic horse

Abstract: To test whether mineral recommendations for horses are likely to guarantee adequate mineral provision for tapirs (Tapirus spp.), we investigated the apparent absorption (aA) of macro and micro-minerals in 18 tapirs from five zoological institutions in a total of 24 feeding trials with total faecal collection. Samples of feeds and faeces were analysed for Ca, P, Mg, Na, K, Fe, Cu and Zn. The resulting aA coefficients and the linear relationships of apparently absorbable dietary mineral content to total dietary mineral content (per 100 g dry matter) were compared with data for domestic horses. While there were no apparent differences in the absorption patterns for P, K, Na, Fe, Cu or Zn, the absorption of both Ca and Mg was distinctively higher in tapirs than in horses. Tapirs are browsers that are adapted to a diet of higher Ca content and higher Ca:P ratio than equids, and high absorptive efficiency for Ca might have evolved to ensure that high dietary Ca concentrations do not lead to the binding of dietary P in the intestine, making it unavailable for hindgut microbes. Similar to other hindgut fermenters, in tapirs, absorption coefficients for Ca increased with dietary Ca:P ratio, and urinary Ca:creatinine ratios increased with dietary Ca. Several zoo diets used were deficient in one or more minerals. When compared with faeces of free-ranging animals, faeces of zoo animals had higher concentrations of most minerals, probably indicating a lesser diluting effect of indigestible fibre in zoo animals.

Phytase studies in pigs and poultry: effect on protein digestion and energy utilization

Abstract: Phytase is applied for improving digestibility of phosphorus in pig and poultry diets Indepen-dently, phytase also improves animal performance The mechanisms to explain this effect were investigated and quantified Protein can be complexed with phytate, especially under the acid conditions that occurs in the stomach of animals Dietary phytase supplementation pre-vents formation of such complexes or, if such complexes are formed, helps to release protein faster and to a larger extent from phytate Consequently, protein digestibility may increase This effect was confirmed in a meta-analysis of digestibility experiments, both in poultry and pigs The higher protein digestibility explains, only in part, the improved performance In poultry, the apparent metabolizable energy level increased with dietary phytase, mainly as the result of higher protein and fat digestion Because in literature no effect of phytase on energy digestibility in pigs was shown, post-absorptive energy utilization was investigated Using indirect calorimetry, no clear effect of phytase could be shown on energy partitioning Phytase improved, however, energy utilization during the first two weeks post-weaning of ad libitum fed piglets This may indicate that adaptation of piglets is somewhat facilitated by phytase In an experiment with restrictedly-fed piglets, three weeks post-weaning, energy digestibility increased with phytase, but not energy metabolizability A number of observations indicated, however, that energy metabolism of the piglets was affected Processes that increase or de-crease heat production balance each other out Phytase increased digestibility of minerals considerably, including the monovalent cations sodium and potassium Mineral absorption and excretion are, in part, active processes, increasing heat production Using a mathematical model, this effect was estimated at about 1% of energy requirements for maintenance A lower energy requirement may result from a reduced produc-tion of endogenous protein In growing pigs, dietary phytase supplementation decreased gastric mucin production Possibly, the for-mation of inositol mono-, di- or tri-phosphates may act positively on the growth of animals, but this remains to be confirmed In conclusion, phytase improved digestibility of amino acids, both in poultry and pigs It also improved energy metabolizability in poultry Energy utilization in pigs is probably affected, but the mechanism needs further clarification and quantification

Ionic absorption by tomato plants as correlated with variations in the composition of the nutrient medium.

Abstract: The nutritive values of food crops and the factors which may modify them are subjects of increasing interest. In recent years vitamin and mineral constituents of plants have been used to evaluate some aspects of nutritive value, and the importance of a variable supply of minerals from plant sources in animal nutrition has been discussed by Maynard (15). During the summers of 1941 and 1942, extensive experiments have been conducted at this laboratory on the effects of varying the relative proportions of macro-nutrients1 supplied to tomato plants on the vitamin content of tomato fruits (6, 11). Although variations in the mineral constituents of the tomato fruit are of relatively minor nutritional importance (10), studies relative to mineral composition were made to aid in an understanding of the physiological processes involved in mineral absorption by plants. In soil studies of the mineral nutrition of plants, Jenny and Ayers (12) have clearly distinguished two aspects of the problem : 1. Soil colloidal phenomena as they are influenced by fertilization and as they in turn influence the composition of soil solutions ; and 2, the absorption and accumulation of the nutrients by plants from the soil solution. For convenience, they have termed the second aspect "the biological accumulation phase by root hair cells." More exactly this aspect might include the localized retention of ions by the living system. Since the cytoplasmic constituents of any organism are changing continuously, chemical analysis of any organ at any given interval can only be empirical. Investigations with artificial culture solutions of known composition have been profitable in studying those empirical relationships involved in ionic absorption by plants. Such factors of nutrient composition as the presence of essential ions, the relative concentration of the constituent ions, the osmotic concentration of the solution, the reaction of the medium, and the total quantity of the nutrient available to the plant can be varied over wide ranges under carefully controlled conditions. It is the purpose of this paper to present data concerned primarily with the mineral composition of tomato plants as it is influenced by the composition of the nutrient medium with special attention given to ionic interaction. In many investigations of the effect of changes in nutrient supply on plant composition, nutrient solutions of fixed composition were utilized to ? The term macro-nutrients as used in this paper refers to the six nutrients (Ca, K, Mg, N03, S04, and P04) in contrast to the micro-nutrients (Cu, Mn, B, Zn, Mo, and Fe). The distinction between these two groups of nutrients is based upon the fact that the former group is needed by the plants in much greater amounts than the latter group.