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We studied the effects of goat and cow milk fat on the digestive utilization of this nutrient and on some of the biochemical parameters that are related to the metabolism of lipids, using rats with a resection of 50% of the distal small intestine and control animals (transected). The fat content in all the diets was 10% but the lipid quality was varied: the standard diet was based on olive oil, while the other two diets included fat obtained from lyophilized goat milk and cow milk, respectively. The digestive utilization of the fat was lower in the resected animals than in the transected ones for all three diets studied. In both resected and transected animals, the apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) of the fat was greater with the standard diet (olive oil) than with diets whose fat content was provided by goat or cow milk. The digestive utilization of the fat was greater in the transected and resected rats receiving a diet of goat's milk (rich in medium-chain triglycerides) than those given a cow-milk-based diet, and more closely approached the values obtained for olive oil. The consumption of goat milk reduced levels of cholesterol while levels of triglycerides, HDL, GOT and GPT remained within the normal ranges, for both transected and resected animals. The advantageous effect of goat milk on the metabolism of lipids with respect to cow milk suggests that the former should be included in the diet in cases of malabsorption syndrome.

The influence of the source of dietary Fe (ferric citrate alone or mixed with bovine blood at a proportion of 1 : 1 (v/v)) on the digestive utilization of Fe, P, Ca and Mg, and on haemoglobin regeneration efficiency (HRE) was investigated in control and Fe-deficient rats. Diet A contained (by analysis) 43.5 mg Fe/kg diet (as ferric citrate), and diet B contained 44.3 mg Fe/kg diet (ferric citrate-bovine blood). In Fedeficient rats fed on diet A or B the apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) of Fe increased by 42.3 and 45.7 YO respectively. The ADC of Ca and Mg decreased significantly in Fe-deficient rats regardless of the source of dietary Fe. The H R E increased by 72.9% in Fe-deficient rats fed on diet A, and by 91

The search for diets that improve the digestive and metabolic use of iron and copper in malabsorption syndrome led us to study goat milk for particular nutritional characteristics and compare it with cow milk, which is usually supplied. We studied the metabolism of iron and copper in transected rats (control) and in resected rats (resection of 50% of the distal small intestine). The diets used were the standard diet recommended by the American Institute of Nutrition and diets based on goat or cow milk. Intestinal resection reduced the apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) of iron in the three diets tested. In the transected and resected rats, the ADC of iron was highest with the goat milk diet, followed by the standard diet and lowest with the cow milk diet. The ADC of copper was not affected by intestinal resection in the animals fed the goat milk diet, and was higher than that in the two groups of animals fed the other diets. Intestinal resection reduced the ADC of copper with the standard diet and the cow milk diet. When both groups of animals were fed the goat milk diet, the deposit of iron in the organs was greater than with those fed the cow milk diet and similar to that in those animals given the standard diet. The copper content in the kidneys was lower in the resected than in the transected animals, except in the case of those fed the goat milk diet, in which it was similar to that of the control (transected) rats. This study shows the beneficial effect of goat milk, with respect to cow milk, on the metabolism of iron and copper in control rats, especially those with malabsorption syndrome.

There has been considerable debate regarding the nutritional benefits of pollen and the propolis produced by bees, although most contributions have lacked scientific soundness. This paper describes the possible beneficial effect of their use in pharmacological products in cases of anemic syndrome. We studied the effect of these two natural products on the digestive utilization of iron, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, using control rats and rats with nutritional ferropenic anemia. The addition of these products to the diet produced a positive effect on weight gain; this fact could constitute a scientific basis for the application of pollen and propolis as fortifiers. They improve the digestive utilization of iron and the regeneration efficiency of hemoglobin, especially during recovery from an anemic syndrome. They also have a positive effect on phosphocalcic metabolism and maintain an appropiate level of magnesium metabolism. Furthermore, in iron-deficient rats, these natural products palliate, to a large extent, the adverse effects of iron deficiency on calcium and magnesium metabolism as a result of the improvement in the digestive utilization of these minerals.