PURPOSE Iron is essential for development and growth in young children; unfortunately, iron deficiency (ID) is a significant public health problem in this population. Young Child Formulae (YCF), milk-derived products fortified with iron and ascorbic acid (AA, an enhancer of iron absorption) may be good sources of iron to help prevent ID. Furthermore, some YCF are supplemented with prebiotics, n...

Carrot, tomato and papaya represent important dietary sources of β-carotene and lycopene. The main objective of the present study was to compare the bioavailability of carotenoids from these food sources in healthy human subjects. A total of sixteen participants were recruited for a randomised cross-over study. Test meals containing raw carrots, tomatoes and papayas were adjusted to deliver an ...

A novel in vitro Caco-2 hepatocyte hybrid system was set up and tested for its ability to predict the oral bioavailability (F) in humans of 24 randomly chosen marketed drugs. Caco-2 cells were cultured on the transwell filters to form tight junctions. Pooled cryopreserved human hepatocytes were placed in the basolateral receiver compartment. To evaluate the permeability and hepatic first pass i...

b-Carotene (BC), b-cryptoxanthin (CX) and a-carotene (AC) are common carotenoids that form retinol. The amount of retinol (vitamin A) formed from carotenoid-rich foods should depend chiefly on the bioavailability (absorption and circulation time in the body) of carotenoids from their major food sources and the selectivity and reactivity of carotene cleavage enzymes towards them. The objective o...

Poor bioavailability of Docetaxel (DCT) arising due to its low aqueous solubility and permeability limits its clinical utility. The aim of the present study was to develop DCT loaded self-emulsified drug delivery systems (D-SEDDS) and evaluate its potential ability to improve the oral bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy of DCT. D-SEDDS were characterized for their in vitro antitumor activi...

We compared the toxicokinetics of methylmercury in captive common loon chicks during two time intervals to assess the impact of feather growth on the kinetics of mercury. We also determined the oral bioavailability of methylmercury during these trials to test for age-related changes. The blood concentration-time curves for individuals dosed during feather development (initiated 35 days post hat...

Calcium absorption tests have rarely been validated for being representative for absolute bioavailability (true absorption) or for intraindividual variation. Therefore, we investigated the reproducibility of the absolute bioavailability of strontium chloride, a marker for intestinal calcium absorption, in healthy male volunteers (n = 8) by measuring the area under the plasma strontium concentra...

CONTENTS I N T R O D U C T I O N . VITAMIN A A N D CAROTENOIDS . FOOD SOURCES , ABSORPTION AND TRANSPORT . CONVERSION O F CAROTENOIDS T O RETINOL . C O N C L U S I O N S . . V I T A M I N D . FOOD SOURCES . ABSORPTION . . PHYSIOLOGICAL C O N D I T I O N . C O N C L U S I O N S . . V I T A M I N E . FOOD SOURCES . ABSORPTION, T R A N S P O R T A N D METABOLISM . FACTORS I N F L U E N C I N G BIO...

INTRODUCTION The fate of various metals, including chromium, nickel, copper, manganese, mercury, cadmium, and lead, and metalloids, including arsenic, antimony, and selenium, in the natural environment is of great concern (Adriano, 1986; 1992), particularly near former mine sites, dumps, tailing piles, and impoundments, but also in urban areas and industrial centers. Soil, sediment, water, and ...

The vitamin folate is recognized as beneficial health-wise in the prevention of neural tube defects, anemia, cardiovascular diseases, poor cognitive performance, and some forms of cancer. However, suboptimal dietary folate intake has been reported in a number of countries. Several national health authorities have therefore introduced mandatory food fortification with synthetic folic acid, which...