Dietary and pharmacological compounds altering the intestinal Ca absorption in humans and animals

ARECO, V; RIVOIRA M; RODRÍGUEZ V; MARCHIONATTI A; CARPENTIERI A; TOLOSA DE TALAMONI N

NUTRITION RESEARCH REVIEWS

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2015 vol. 28 p. 83 - 99

0954-4224

The intestine is the only gate for the entry of Ca to the body in humans and mammals. The entrance of Ca occurs via paracellular and intracellular pathways. All steps of the latter pathway are regulated by calcitriol and by other hormones. Dietary and pharmacological compounds also modulate the intestinal Ca absorption process. Among them, dietary calcium and phosphorus are known to alter the lipid and protein composition of the brush border and basolateral membranes and, consequently, the Ca transport. Calcium intakes are below the requirements recommended by health professionals in most countries triggering important health problems. Chronic low Ca intake has been related to ill conditions such as osteoporosis, hypertension, renal lithiasis and incidences of human cancer. Carbohydrates, mainly lactose, and prebiotics have been described as positive modulators of the intestinal Ca absorption. Apparently, high meat proteins increase the intestinal Ca absorption while the effect of dietary lipids remains unclear. Pharmacological compounds such as menadione, DL-butionine-S,R-sulfoximine and ursodeoxycholic acid also modify the intestinal Ca absorption as a consequence of altering the redox state of the epithelial cells. The paracellular pathway of the intestinal Ca absorption is poorly known and is under current study in some laboratories. Another field that needs to be explored more intensively is the influence of the gene-by diet interaction on intestinal Ca absorption. Health professionals should be aware of this knowledge in order to develop nutritional or medical strategies to stimulate the efficiency of intestinal Ca absorption and to prevent diseases.