PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

E R Morris

Publications and source records attributed to E R Morris.

66 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

Isolation of monoferric phytate from wheat bran and its biological value as an iron source to the rat.

The objectives of the study were to isolate and chemically characterize the iron in wheat and to determine the biological availability to the rat of the iron as the purified complex(es). Hard wheat bran contained no butanol extractable or water extractable iron, but approximately 60% of the iron was extracted by 1 to 1.2 M NaCl or ammonium acetate solution. This salt extractable iron complex was purified and identified as monoferric phytate. The purified monoferric phytate was soluble in water. Synthetic monoferric phytate was prepared from sodium phytate and ferric chloride and determined to have spectral characteristics and gel filtration chromatography behavior identical to the complex isolated from wheat bran. The butanol-water-salt extracted bran residue contained no detectable phytate and an as yet uncharacterized form of iron. The biological availability of the iron to the rat was determined by a hemoglobin depletion-repletion bioassay. The relative biological value of the iron as monoferric phytate, either isolated from wheat bran or the synthetic product, was equal to the reference compound, ferrous ammonium sulfate. In contrast, the biological availability of the iron in the bran residue was significantly lower and the low biological availability of an insoluble form of ferric phytate was confirmed. It is concluded that the major portion of the iron in wheat is monoferric phytate and has a high biological availability to the rat. Monoferric phytate in bran may be bound to cationic sites of proteins or other cellular components and utilization of the iron may be through solubilization of the monoferric phytate by ion exchange type mechanism rather than by hydrolysis of the phytate as has been postulated.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Usefulness of the dietary phytic acid/zinc molar ratio as an index of zinc bioavailability to rats and humans.

Evidence suggests that rats can tolerate a dietary phytate/Zn molar ratio greater than 15 if the dietary Zn concentration is high. High dietary Ca exacerbates the effect of phytic acid on Zn utilization by rats. In a short term (15 d) balance trial with adult men, we observed slightly greater Zn balance when whole compared to dephytinized wheat bran was consumed (molar ratios 12 and 1.2, respectively). There was, however, greater fecal excretion of Zn during the first 5 d whole bran was consumed. In a second study, Na phytate was the major source of phytic acid and Zn balance was less when the phytate/Zn molar ratio was greater than 16 compared to 4. The difference was not significant, however, and there was evidence of physiological adjustments to maintain homeostasis when the high ratio diet was consumed. Mean Zn intake averaged 17 mg (0.26 mmole) and 11 mg (0.17 mmole) daily for the bran and Na phytate studies, respectively. The level of Zn intake may influence the response of humans to varying phytate/Zn ratios. Comparison of isotope retention studies and the balance data is discussed. Some information on the relationship of dietary Ca to the phytate/Zn effect in human diets is gathered from current literature. The phytate/Zn molar ratio is a useful index of Zn bioavailability.

Absorption↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Family practice residents' compliance with preventive medicine recommendations.

We conducted a medical records survey of 270 randomly selected patients 20 years of age or older seen by family practice residents in a university-based training program. This study concerned residents' compliance with certain preventive recommendations made by four expert groups: the American Cancer Society, the Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination, the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee, and the National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference on treating elevated cholesterol. The interventions studied were breast examination, mammography, pelvic examination, Pap testing, digital rectal examination, stool guaiac slide testing, serum cholesterol screening, and pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations. We calculated the percentage of eligible patients receiving each of these interventions. The highest rates of resident compliance with health screening recommendations were for Pap testing in women 20-34 and 35-59 years of age (31.7% and 22.6%, respectively), breast examination in women 20-39 years of age (27.3%), and influenza vaccination (23.0%). There were no other rates of compliance that exceeded 20%. Our data thus indicate that residents in this program did not comply well with health maintenance recommendations.

Adult↗