EFFECTIVENESS of ORGANIC CHELATORS IN SOLUBILIZING CALCIUM AND ZINC IN FORTIFIED CEREALS UNDER SIMULATED GASTROINTESTINAL pH CONDITIONS

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Abstract
The effectiveness of various chelating agents on the solubilization of zinc and calcium, in a calcium-fortified wheat flake cereal, has been evaluated using an in vitro method. This method is based on solubility during a sequential pH treatment simulating gastrointestinal conditions (endogenous pH of cereal, to pH 2, to pH 7.5). Zinc oxide was added to the cereal at 100% of the U.S. RDA for zinc, alone or in combination with the following organic chelators: citrate, malate, a combination of citrate and malate, lactate and malate, citrate and lactate, glucose, histidine, cysteine, and a combination of histidine and cysteine. The complexation of zinc by citric acid in a 10:1 or 25:1 ligand:zinc molar ratio increased the solubility of both zinc and calcium as compared to the calcium-fortified cereal where zinc was added without ligand. Histidine, cysteine, and the combination of histidine and cysteine enhanced zinc solubility, but did not affect calcium solubility. The other ligands (malate, citrate and malate, lactate and malate, citrate and lactate, glucose) did not have a significant effect on zinc and calcium solubilization.