A dynamic continuous-flow dialysis system with on-line electrothermal atomic-absorption spectrometric and pH measurements for in-vitro determination of iron bioavailability by simulated gastrointestinal digestion

Abstract

A dynamic continuous-flow dialysis (CFD) method with on-line electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric (ETAAS) and pH measurements for study of simulated gastrointestinal digestion has been developed for prediction of iron bioavailability. The method used to estimate mineral bioavailability was based on gastric digestion in a batch system then dynamic continuous-flow intestinal digestion. The intestinal digestion was performed in a dialysis bag placed inside a chamber containing a flowing stream of dialyzing solution. Mineral concentration and dialysate pH were monitored by ETAAS and use of a pH meter, respectively. The amount of dialyzed minerals in the intestinal digestion stage was used to evaluate the dialyzability. The dialysis profile and pH change can be used to understand or examine differences between the dialyzability of different food samples. To test the proposed system it was used to estimate the iron dialyzability of different kinds of milk. Iron dialyzability for powdered cow milk, cereal milk, and two brands of soymilk was found to be 1.7, 20.4, 24.9, and 37.7%, respectively. The developed CFD-ETAAS-pH system is a simple, rapid, and inexpensive tool for bioavailability studies, especially for minerals at ultratrace levels. © Springer-Verlag 2005.