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Bioavailability of folic acid from fortified pasteurised and UHT-treated milk in humans

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 59, pages 906–913 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate whether milk fortified with folic acid enhances the folate status of humans and whether the presence of folate-binding proteins (FBP) in pasteurised milk affects the bioavailability of folic acid from fortified milk. In untreated and pasteurised milk, folate occurs bound to FBP, while FBP is (partly) denatured in ultra-high-temperature (UHT)-treated milk. The effect of FBP on folate bioavailability is still unclear.

Design, subjects and setting

Healthy, free-living subjects (n=69) aged 18–49 y participated in a 4-week double-blind, placebo-controlled dietary intervention study.

Intervention

In addition to a fully controlled diet, the subjects consumed each day 500 ml of pasteurised or UHT milk, either fortified or not with 200 μg folic acid.

Results

Consumption of fortified milk increased folate concentrations in serum and in red blood cells (RBC) by 6.6–7.0 nmol/l (P<0.001) and 32–36 nmol/l (P<0.01), respectively. Similarly, plasma homocysteine concentrations were lowered 0.88–0.89 μmol/l (P=0.001) in subjects who consumed fortified milk. The bioavailability of folic acid from pasteurised milk relative to that of folic acid from UHT milk was 74–94% (NS), depending on the parameter used.

Conclusions

Milk fortified to supply an additional 200 μg of folic acid/s substantially increased folate status, and decreased plasma total homocysteine concentrations in young, healthy subjects. Milk is therefore a suitable matrix for fortification to enhance the folate status in humans. No significant effect of endogenous FBP was found on the bioavailability of folic acid from milk.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the European Commission under the Framework 5 Programme: Key Action 1 – Food, Nutrition and Health; ‘Folate – from food to functionality and optimal health’ (QLK1-1999-00576); and Campina (Zaltbommel, The Netherlands). We thank Gertjan Schaafsma (TNO Nutrition and Food Research) for his advice and Frank Elbers and Jan Steijns (Campina Centre of Expertise Nutrition, Wageningen, The Netherlands) for developing and supplying the milk products. We thank the participants for their cooperation; the late Peter van de Bovenkamp for his analytical advice; Tineke van Roekel, Truus Kosmeijer and Jan Harryvan (Wageningen University), Karin Arkbåge (Swedish Agricultural University, Uppsala, Sweden), Hans Mocking (TNO Nutrition and Food Research, Zeist, The Netherlands) and Susanna Kariluoto (University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland) for carrying out the analyses; and Jan Burema and Hans Verhoef for their statistical advice.

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Author notes

  1. C E West: This article is dedicated to the coauthor Professor Clive E West who passed away on August 27, 2004.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. TNO-WU Centre for Micronutrient Research, Zeist and Wageningen, The Netherlands

    R J de Jong, M Verwei, C E West, H van den Berg & J J M Castenmiller

  2. Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    R J de Jong, M Verwei, C E West, E Siebelink & J J M Castenmiller

  3. Physiological Sciences, TNO Nutrition and Food Research, Zeist, The Netherlands

    M Verwei & T van Vliet

  4. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Centre Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    C E West

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  1. R J de Jong
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Correspondence to M Verwei.

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Guarantor: M Verwei.

Contributors: The study was designed by HvdB, JJMC and CEW. The practical work was prepared by JJMC, carried out by RJdJ with the assistance of MV, and supervised by CEW. ES was involved in the dietary aspects of the trial. RJdJ carried out the data analysis with assistance of CEW, JJMC and TvV. All authors contributed to the final version of the manuscript.

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de Jong, R., Verwei, M., West, C. et al. Bioavailability of folic acid from fortified pasteurised and UHT-treated milk in humans. Eur J Clin Nutr 59, 906–913 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602159

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