Background-Black tea is known to be a potent inhibitor of intestinal absorption of non-haem iron at least in healthy subjects. Aims-To investigate this eVect in patients with genetic haemochromatosis, and, more importantly, the eVect of regular tea drinking on the accumulation of storage iron in these patients over one year. Patients-Investigations were carried out on 18 patients with clinically proven genetic haemochromatosis. For the study of storage iron accumulation, they were separated into a group instructed to drink a particularly tannin rich tea regularly with meals and a control group. Methods-Intestinal iron absorption from a test meal was measured using whole body counting. Body iron stores were evaluated quantitatively by exhaustive phlebotomy, using haemoglobin, saturation of serum iron binding capacity, and serum ferritin for the assessment of body iron status. Results-A significant reduction in iron absorption was observed when the test meal was accompanied by drinks of tea instead of water. In the tea drinking group, the increase in storage iron was reduced by about one third compared with that of the control group. Conclusions-Regular tea drinking with meals reduces the frequency of phlebotomies required in the management of patients with haemochromatosis. (Gut 1998;43:699-704)

Three metabolites were formed from ochratoxin A in the presence of rabbit liver microsomal fractions and NADPH. They were isolated by extraction, thinlayer chromatography, and high-pressure liquid chromatography. Two of them were identified as (4R)-and (4S)-4-hydroxyochratoxin A. It is suggested on the basis of mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy that the third metabolite is 10-hydroxyochratoxin A. The formation of the metabolites was inhibited by carbon monoxide and metyrapone and was stimulated when microsomes from phenobarbital-treated animals were used. The results suggest that cytochrome P-450 catalyzes the formation of these metabolites.

Two metabolic products were formed from ochratoxin A by human, pig, and rat liver microsomal fractions in the presence of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate. They were isolated from the incubation mixture in the presence of pig liver microsomes by extraction, thin-layer chromatography, and high-pressure liquid chromatography. Their structures are suggested to be (4R)and (4S)-4-hydroxyochratoxin A on the basis of mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Km and the maximum velocity for the formation of the two metabolites by human, pig, andrat microsomes were determined. Their formation was inhibited by carbon monoxide and metyrapone. The results indicate that the microsomal hydroxylation system is a cytochrome P-450 and that different species are involved in the formation of the two epimeric forms of 4hydroxyochratoxin A.

Not only is the calcium content of a preparation significant for providing adequate calcium supplementation for the prophylaxis and therapy of osteoporosis, but also its bioavailability is of essential importance. In the present study, the bioavailability of calcium citrate and calcium lactogluconate/carbonate from a therapeutic dose (= 500 mg Ca2+) was compared in men aged between 45 and 60 years on an intra-individual basis. Calcium citrate was administered both as a solution and as a suspension to 18 healthy volunteers. Using a double-isotope method, the intestinal absorption from the three preparations was determined in randomized order at intervals of 2-4 weeks. The stable isotope 44Ca (20 mg), in highly enriched form, was added in each case to the ready-to-drink solutions and, at the same time, a sterile and pyrogen-free solution containing 5 mg of the stable isotope 42Ca was injected intravenously. The intestinal calcium absorption was then determined after 24 h on the basis of the ratio of the two isotopes in the plasma. There was a significantly higher absorption of 29% from the citrate solution than from the lactogluconate/carbonate solution (25%). Absorption from the citrate suspension was similar to that from the lactogluconate/carbonate solution. While no correlation was found between the measured values for calcium absorption from the three preparations and the plasma concentration of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, significant inverse correlations with the basal parathyroid hormone concentration were observed for the citrate and lactogluconate/ carbonate solution. The results of this study show that quantitative data on intestinal calcium absorption can be obtained without employing radioactive isotopes in humans. Moreover, they show that calcium absorption is not determined only by the solubility and the degree of ionization of the calcium salt administered, but rather that it is of a complex nature.