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Bioavailability of vitamins A and E from whole and vitamin-fortified milks in control subjects

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Abstract

Background

Dairy products fortified with vitamins and minerals represent a growing market that is of interest to those sectors of the population with unbalanced diets and increased needs. However, there is little information on the bioavailability of micronutrients in milk products at dietary intake levels.

Aim of the study

To evaluate the bioavailability of vitamins A and E in whole milk and fortified whole and skimmed milk in control subjects.

Methods

A single-dose bioavailability study was performed using three commercially available milks (unfortified whole milk and whole and skimmed milk fortified with vitamins A and E). Nineteen volunteers (10 women and 9 men) ingested 430 ml of each milk on different days. The contents of retinol and α-tocopherol provided in the milks and the retinyl esters and α-tocopherol in triglyceride-rich lipoprotein fractions (TRL) from plasma collected for 6.5 h postprandially were assayed using a quality-controlled HPLC method. The relative absorption of vitamins A and E from milks was calculated on the basis of area under the curve (AUC) versus time curve estimations, adjusted for plasma volume and expressed as percentage of the amount of nutrient provided.

Results

The total amounts of retinol and α-tocopherol provided ranged between 0.48 and 4.15 μmol and 0.41 and 32.49 μmol, respectively. The AUC value of retinyl palmitate in TRL was higher for fortified whole milk than for the other two milks (unfortified whole and fortified skimmed milk). The percent relative absorption of vitamin A did not differ among the three types of milk. The AUC for α-tocopherol was no different after the ingestion of any of these milks.

Conclusion

The mean percentage of retinol absorption was apparently similar for the three types of milk, regardless of the amount of fat ingested with each type of milk and the vitamin A provided.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS 98/0386) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (RCMN C03/08), Spain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Servicio de Endocrinología y Nutrición Unidad de Vitaminas, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, C/ San Martín de Porres, 4, 28035, Madrid, Spain

    Carmen Herrero-Barbudo, Begoña Olmedilla-Alonso, Fernando Granado-Lorencio & Inmaculada Blanco-Navarro

  2. Instituto del Frío, CSIC, Madrid, Spain

    Begoña Olmedilla-Alonso

Authors
  1. Carmen Herrero-Barbudo
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  2. Begoña Olmedilla-Alonso
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  3. Fernando Granado-Lorencio
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  4. Inmaculada Blanco-Navarro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Begoña Olmedilla-Alonso.

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Herrero-Barbudo, C., Olmedilla-Alonso, B., Granado-Lorencio, F. et al. Bioavailability of vitamins A and E from whole and vitamin-fortified milks in control subjects. Eur J Nutr 45, 391–398 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-006-0612-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-006-0612-0

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