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Review
. 2021 Jan;20(1):652-685.
doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.12669. Epub 2020 Nov 23.

Opportunities for plant-derived enhancers for iron, zinc, and calcium bioavailability: A review

Yianna Y Zhang  1   2 , Regine Stockmann  2 , Ken Ng  1 , Said Ajlouni  1
Affiliations
Review

Opportunities for plant-derived enhancers for iron, zinc, and calcium bioavailability: A review

Yianna Y Zhang et al. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2021 Jan.

Erratum in

Abstract

Understanding of the mechanism of interactions between dietary elements, their salts, and complexing/binding ligands is vital to manage both deficiency and toxicity associated with essential element bioavailability. Numerous mineral ligands are found in both animal and plant foods and are known to exert bioactivity via element chelation resulting in modulation of antioxidant capacity or micobiome metabolism among other physiological outcomes. However, little is explored in the context of dietary mineral ligands and element bioavailability enhancement, particularly with respect to ligands from plant-derived food sources. This review highlights a novel perspective to consider various plant macro/micronutrients as prospective bioavailability enhancing ligands of three essential elements (Fe, Zn, and Ca). We also delineate the molecular mechanisms of the ligand-binding interactions underlying mineral bioaccessibility at the luminal level. We conclude that despite current understandings of some of the structure-activity relationships associated with strong mineral-ligand binding, the physiological links between ligands as element carriers and uptake at targeted sites throughout the gastrointestinal (GI) tract still require more research. The binding behavior of potential ligands in the human diet should be further elucidated and validated using pharmacokinetic approaches and GI models.

Keywords: bioavailability enhancers; digestive tract; functional foods; mineral bioaccessibility; pulse protein.

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References

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