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Minerals, trace elements, Vit. D and bone health

Effect of phytase on zinc absorption from a millet-based porridge fed to young Burkinabe children

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 71, pages 137–141 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

Fortifying cereal staples with zinc is a strategy for increasing zinc intake in young children in developing countries. However, phytic acid (PA) naturally present in cereals strongly decreases zinc absorption. A stable-isotope zinc absorption study was conducted in young children to investigate the ability of the PA-degrading enzyme phytase to improve zinc absorption, when added to a cereal porridge immediately before consumption.

Subjects/Methods:

Fractional absorption of zinc (FAZ) was estimated in 35 young healthy Burkinabe children using the double-isotopic tracer ratio method with 67Zn as oral tracer and 70Zn as intravenous tracer, in a crossover design. The test meals were: (a) a millet-based porridge containing 1.4 mg total zinc (native plus 1 mg added as ZnSO4) with a PA:Zn molar ratio of 7.7; (b) the same porridge with the enzyme phytase (20.5 phytase units (FTU)) added immediately before consumption. The exchangeable zinc pool (EZP) was determined as a potential measure of long-term zinc intake in 20 of the 35 children and compared with FAZ.

Results:

Mean FAZ increased from 9.5±3.4 to 16.0±5.1% (P<0.0001), when phytase was added to the meal. The mean EZP was 3.6±0.5 mg/kg. There was no correlation between the EZP and FAZ values for either of the two test meals.

Conclusions:

Adding phytase immediately prior to consumption of a zinc-fortified cereal-based complementary food can improve zinc absorption in young children.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the technical assistance of Adam Krzystek, and of all the collaborators of the pediatric and the pharmacy department of the University Hospital Yalgado Ouédraogo in Ouagadougou, particularly, professor Ludovic Kam, professor Pierre Guissou, Robert Tionsa and Mariam Lankoandé. We thank all the participants and their families for their participation in the study. We thank Dr Tahirou Traoré from GRET—Projet Nutrifaso, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso for the supply of the unfortified MISOLA flour. We express thanks to DSM Nutritional Products, Switzerland for donating the phytase. This study has been supported by the INSTAPA project, which received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 211484.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, Laboratory of Human Nutrition, Zurich, Switzerland

    M Brnić, R F Hurrell, C Zeder & R Wegmüller

  2. Département Technologie Alimentaire (DTA), Institut de Recherche en Sciences Appliquées et Technologies (IRSAT), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

    L T Songré-Ouattara & B Diawara

  3. Département Pédiatrie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Yalgado Ouédraogo, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

    A Kalmogho-Zan & C Tapsoba

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Correspondence to M Brnić.

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Brnić, M., Hurrell, R., Songré-Ouattara, L. et al. Effect of phytase on zinc absorption from a millet-based porridge fed to young Burkinabe children. Eur J Clin Nutr 71, 137–141 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.199

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