Physiologic Availability of Riboflavin and Thiamine in “Chewable” Vitamin Products

Abstract
The physiologic availability of riboflavin and thiamine was determined in a number of “chewable” vitamin preparations. Of nine products studied, six showed incomplete availability of riboflavin, as measured by urinary excretion of the vitamin by human subjects. Of these, four were coated products or preparations containing them, while the other two were a riboflavin resin and a product containing riboflavin resin. Thiamine was fully available in all products studied. Two coated riboflavin products and a riboflavin resin found only partially available in man were fully available for growth in the rat. It was concluded that (1) any process used to coat or otherwise modify the rate of release of a vitamin for human use should be tested in man to ensure that the availability of the vitamin is not affected; (2) any process which interferes with the disintegration or solution of a vitamin product in the gastrointestinal tract may have a marked effect on the physiologic availability of riboflavin.

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