PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Lena Hulthén

Publications and source records attributed to Lena Hulthén.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Improved iron bioavailability in an oat-based beverage: the combined effect of citric acid addition, dephytinization and iron supplementation.

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency in children is a major worldwide nutritional problem. An oat beverage was developed for 1- to 3-year-old children and different treatments were used to improve the iron bioavailability. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the effects of citric acid addition, phytase treatment and supplementation with different iron compounds on non-heme iron absorption in human from a mineral-supplemented oat-based beverage. METHODS: A 240 g portion of a 55Fe-labeled test product (T) or a 59Fe-labeled reference dose (R) was served as breakfast after overnight fasting on four consecutive days in the order of TRRT. On day 18 the retention of 59Fe was measured by a whole-body counter and the erythrocytes uptake of 55Fe and 59Fe by a liquid-scintillation counter. Forty-two healthy subjects (men and women) were randomized into four study groups, members of each being given one of the studied four products (A, B, C, and D) supplemented with Fe (1.3 mg/portion), Zn, Ca, Se and P. Ferric ammonium citrate (FeAC) was added to products A, B, and C and ferric pyrophosphate (FePP) to product D. Citric acid (60 mg/portion) was added to products B, C, and D and phytase treatment applied to products C and D. RESULTS: Citric acid improved iron absorption by 54% from 3.9% in product A to 6.0% in product B (p = 0.051). Phytase treatment increased iron absorption by 78% (from 6.0 to 10.7%, p = 0.003) by reducing the phytate-phosphorus content per portion from 16.3 mg in product B to 2.8 mg in product C. The two compounds gave similar iron absorption rates (p = 0.916). CONCLUSIONS: A combination of citric acid addition, dephytinization and iron supplementation significantly increased the iron absorption in an oat-based beverage. Such a beverage can be useful in the prevention of iron deficiency in 1- to 3-year-old children.

6-Phytase↗

Validation of the clinical approach of using the induced serum iron increase after 1h as a measure of iron absorption.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: To evaluate the correlation between the iron absorption and the induced increase in serum iron concentration (S-Fe) after 1 h. METHODS: Eleven subjects were after an over night fast served a wheat roll fortified with 100-mg iron as ferrous sulfate labelled with radio iron. The S-Fe response and the iron absorption measured by whole body counting, were studied. RESULTS: There was a significant correlation between the iron absorption and the S-Fe increase (R2 = 0.75, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This short and valid observation period proposes the S-Fe procedure as an uncomplicated and clinically applicable tool when evaluating the iron absorption capacity of patients.

Adult↗

Validity of the ActiReg system in assessing energy requirement in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Malnutrition and weight loss are common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and effective nutritional support relies on accurate assessment of energy requirement. This could only be performed by measuring energy expenditure using objective methods. The aim of this study was to examine the validity of the ActiReg system in assessing energy requirement in non-hospitalized patients with severe COPD, using doubly labelled water (DLW) as criterion method. METHODS: Total energy expenditure (TEE) was assessed from 14 days DLW analysis in 13 patients. During the first 7 days TEE was simultaneously assessed using the ActiReg system, combining measured resting energy expenditure (REE) with physical activity monitoring. RESULTS: A difference of -88 (782) kJ d(-1) (P = 0.69) was observed between the ActiReg system and DLW. REE explained 52% of the variation in TEE from DLW. Adding physical activity energy expenditure from the ActiReg system (PAEE(AR) = TEE(AR)-REE) increased the explained variation in TEE from DLW with 16%. CONCLUSIONS: The ActiReg system is valid in assessing energy requirement in non-hospitalized patients with severe COPD. The unique feature of being able to discriminate within both the low intensity activity range and moderate-to-high intensity activity range makes the ActiReg system a valuable tool in clinical nutritional support.

Aged↗

The relative bioavailability in humans of elemental iron powders for use in food fortification.

BACKGROUND: Bioavailability data in humans of elemental iron powders is limited although elemental iron is a common form of iron when used as a fortificant. AIM OF THE STUDY: The relative bioavailability (RBV) of seven elemental iron powders, five commercially available and two developmental are evaluated. In addition, one commercial electrolytic iron powder given with ascorbic acid (AA) was examined. METHODS: Based on a validated method this double-blinded randomized crossover study included three groups of male blood donors (n = 3*16) who were served rolls fortified with different elemental iron powders or ferrous sulfate (FeSO(4)) nine weeks apart. Blood samples were drawn every hour for six hours. RBV was obtained by comparing the increase in serum iron concentration induced by the elemental iron with the increase induced by FeSO(4). RESULTS: All elemental iron powders studied were significantly less well absorbed compared to FeSO(4). The electrolytic iron given with 50-mg AA was as well absorbed as FeSO(4) (molar ratio = 1:6, AA:Fe). The mean RBVs of the iron powders were: electrolytic (A-131, RBV = 0.65); electrolytic (Electrolytic, RBV = 0.59); carbonyl (Ferronyl, RBV = 0.58); H-reduced (AC- 325, RBV = 0.56); H-reduced (Hi-Sol, RBV = 0.50); carbonyl (CF, RBV = 0.37); reduced (Atomet 95SP, RBV = 0.36). The reduced iron was distinguished by having significantly lower RBV (0.36) although no significant overall ranking was possible. CONCLUSION: Based on a validated method this doubleblinded cross-over study in humans showed that the evaluated elemental iron powders currently available for commercial use are significantly less well absorbed compared to FeSO(4). The results indicate that the reduced iron powder was absorbed to a lower extent compared to the other iron powders and only 36% compared to FeSO(4). Ascorbic acid seems to improve the bioavailability of elemental iron even though a rather low molar ratio is used. Thus, if confirmed, this enhancing effect of ascorbic acid on elemental iron when used as a fortificant could be used by co-fortifying them.

Adult↗

The validation of using serum iron increase to measure iron absorption in human subjects.

The objectives of the present study were to study the correlation between the change in serum Fe and Fe absorption when administering 100 mg Fe (as FeSO4) orally, and to study the correlation between the absorption from a 3 mg and a 100 mg Fe (as FeSO4) dose. The study was conducted in a group of eleven male blood donors, without any evident infection, who had given blood 8 weeks before the study. On three consecutive mornings the subjects were served a wheat roll fortified with Fe. On the first 2 d the roll was fortified with 3 mg Fe labelled with 59Fe; on day 3 the roll was fortified with 100 mg Fe labelled with 55Fe. The serum Fe response to the 100 mg dose was followed for 6 h. Fe absorption was measured by whole-body counting. High correlations were seen between the absorption of Fe and the change in serum Fe after 100 mg Fe (r2 0.94, P<0.001), between the absorption from 3 mg and 100 mg Fe (r2 0.88, P<0.001), and between the absorption from 3 mg Fe and change in serum Fe after 100 mg Fe (r2 0.90, P<0.001). This strengthens the evidence that it is possible to use the change in serum Fe as a measure of Fe absorption, e.g. when establishing the relative bioavailability for Fe powders. The results also imply that the induced serum Fe increase following 100 mg Fe added to a food could predict the Fe absorption of a small dose of Fe added to the same meal.

Absorption↗

Serum insulin-like growth factor I reference values for an automated chemiluminescence immunoassay system: results from a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: Analysis of insulin-like growth factor I in serum (S-IGF-I) is an integral component in the diagnosis of GH-related disorders and is going to be of interest in the diagnosis and follow-up of many disorders. The objective of the present study was to develop cross-sectional reference values for S-IGF-I measured by an automated chemiluminescence immunoassay (Nichols Advantage). METHODS: The study included samples from 3,961 healthy subjects (2,201 males, 1,760 females) aged 1 month to 88 years. Six laboratories were involved in this study and the samples were analyzed by one of seven automated immunoassay systems run in these laboratories. For data analysis, polynomial age and sex-specific models were fitted after transformation of S-IGF-I values. RESULTS: The results show the well-known age dependency of S-IGF-I levels. At ages <20, higher S-IGF-I levels were seen in girls with an estimated mean peak of 410 microg/l at age 14 and an estimated mean peak of 382 microg/l at age 16 in boys. Thereafter, a rapid decrease was seen to approximately 25 years of age, followed by a slow age-dependent decrease. In adulthood, S-IGF-I in males were slightly, but significantly higher than in females. It could be shown that the mean values of some reference sample subgroups differed significantly from the total mean. However, the multicenter approach used in this study reduces the impact of systematic population, sample handling and laboratory differences on the calculated reference mean. CONCLUSION: The present study establishes age- and sex-specific reference values for a fully automated immunoassay system based on a large population of healthy subjects. The established reference values may be used for this immunoassay system in different laboratories provided that the systematic difference between systems is low.

Adolescent↗

The role of meat to improve the critical iron balance during weaning.

BACKGROUND: Iron requirements during the weaning period are the highest per unit body weight during human life, and diet is often insufficient to cover iron needs. For the first time in infant nutrition the absorption of both nonheme and heme iron from a typical weaning gruel after addition of meat with and without ascorbic acid (AA) to improve bioavailability was studied. METHODS: Nonheme and heme iron absorption from gruel was measured in 33 adults using 2 radioiron isotopes--an inorganic iron salt to label nonheme iron, the other biosynthetically labeled rabbit hemoglobin to label heme iron. Iron absorption was measured from the basal gruel (based on milkpowder and cereals) and from basal gruel added 20 g red powdered meat, alone and together with 20 mg AA in 4 different trials. RESULTS: Nonheme iron absorption from the basal meal was 0.33 mg/1000 kcal and the increase from added 20 mg AA was 39%, whereas addition of red meat increased nonheme iron absorption by 85%. This latter increase was unexpectedly high. Total iron absorption was further increased by heme iron absorption of 0.23 mg Fe/1000 kcal. When adding both meat and AA, total iron absorption amounted to 1.08 mg iron/1000 kcal, ie, exceeding 1 mg/1000 kcal, a level estimated to correspond with daily iron requirements in 95% of infants aged 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Addition of powdered red meat to weaning gruels markedly increased total iron absorption. A weaning diet with added powdered meat and AA may serve as a viable option to satisfy the body's high iron requirements during this critical period.

Adult↗

Perspectives on iron absorption.

Newly established relationships between dietary iron absorption and serum ferritin and between serum ferritin and iron stores permit calculation of amounts of stored iron under different conditions at steady states when absorption equals losses. The rate of growth of stores can also be calculated. All calculations are based on observations and require no model assumptions. Present analyses demonstrated an effective control of iron absorption preventing development of iron overload in otherwise healthy subjects even if the diet is fortified with iron and even if meat intake is high. There are strong relationships between iron requirements, bioavailability of dietary iron, and amounts of stored iron. Our observations that a reduction in iron stores and a calculated decrease of hemoglobin iron had the same increasing effect on iron absorption suggest that the control of iron absorption is mediated from a common cell, which may register both size of iron stores and hemoglobin iron deficit. We suggest that the hepatocyte is that cell. Nutritional iron deficiency is especially critical in menstruating women, in the latter third of pregnancy, during adolescence for both girls and boys, and in the weaning period from 4 to 6 months to 2 years of age. The body possesses remarkable, potential control systems of probable very ancient origin capable of preventing both iron deficiency and iron overload. Present problems with iron deficiency being the most frequent deficiency disorder are related to nonbiological changes in our societies over the most recent 10,000 years. This perspective on iron homeostasis or iron balance is mainly based on studies in humans of clinical and epidemiological observations, trying to understand why iron deficiency is the most frequent deficiency disorder in the world in spite of the ingenious mechanisms in the body that should prevent it. Withdrawal of iron fortification of flour in Sweden in 1994 led to a significant increase in iron deficiency (defined as serum ferritin < 16 g/L) in 15- to 16-year-old girls examined, from 39.3 to 50.4%, and after elimination of possible confounding factors such as effect of common infections. Addition of powdered red meat to weaning foods increased iron absorption three times and up to the level required to meet the high iron requirements during weaning.

Adolescent↗