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A NON‐INVASIVE TOOL FOR PREDICTING HUMAN ZINC DEFICIENCY
Author(s) -
Harland Barbara,
Edmonds Janet Harland
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.860.1
Subject(s) - zinc , phytic acid , zinc deficiency (plant disorder) , food science , chemistry , molar ratio , micronutrient , phosphorus , biochemistry , organic chemistry , catalysis
PHYTATE (also known as Phytic Acid or Inositol hexaphosphate (IP6)), is a form of phosphorus found in grains, beans, nuts, and a variety of other plant‐based foods. It is frequently consumed in over‐abundance throughout the world where the vegetarian/vegan diet is predominant. Phytate binds very tightly with minerals, especially zinc, causing the inhibition of absorption/re‐absorption of the di‐valent cations. Zinc is essential for numerous functions in the body, such as providing structural integrity to an enzyme as a cofactor, and as an essential component of zinc‐finger proteins. Zinc deficiency is common in regions where phytate consumption is high. A phytate:zinc molar ratio defines homeostasis of zinc from foodstuffs. When the phytate:zinc molar ratio is greater than 10, a zinc deficiency is defined. Phytate HPLC methods have been used to determine the amount of phytate in foods. Available zinc values contribute to the calculation of the pertinent phytate:zinc molar ratio for each food. This study presents analytical phytate:zinc values for several common foodstuffs. Funding for this research is from Howard University Nutritional Sciences Department and College of Medicine, Washington, DC.