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

ARECO VANESSA, RIVOIRA MARIA ANGELICA, RODRIGUEZ VALERIA, MARCHIONATTI ANA MARIA, CARPENTIERI AGATA ,TOLOSA DE TALAMONI NORI

NUTRITION RESEARCH REVIEWS

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2015

0954-4224

The intestine is the onlygate for the entry of Ca to the body in humans and mammals. The entrance of Caoccurs via paracellular and intracellular pathways. All steps of the latterpathway are regulated by calcitriol and by other hormones. Dietary andpharmacological compounds also modulate the intestinal Ca absorption process.Among them, dietary calcium and phosphorus are known to alter the lipid andprotein composition of the brush border and basolateral membranes and,consequently, the Ca transport. Calcium intakes are below the requirementsrecommended by health professionals in most countries triggering importanthealth problems. Chronic low Ca intake has been related to ill conditions suchas osteoporosis, hypertension, renal lithiasis and incidences of humancancer.  Carbohydrates, mainly lactose, andprebiotics have been described as positive modulators of the intestinal Caabsorption.  Apparently, high meat proteinsincrease the intestinal Ca absorption while the effect of dietary lipidsremains unclear. Pharmacological compounds such as menadione,DL-butionine-S,R-sulfoximine and ursodeoxycholic acid also modify theintestinal Ca absorption as a consequence of altering  the redox state of the epithelial cells. Theparacellular pathway of the intestinal Ca absorption is poorly known and isunder current study in some laboratories. Another field that needs to beexplored more intensively is the influence of the gene-by diet interaction onintestinal Ca absorption. Health professionals should be aware of this knowledgein order to develop nutritional or medical strategies to stimulate theefficiency of intestinal Ca absorption and to prevent diseases.