The effect of reducing the phytate in soy-protein isolates on nonheme-iron absorption was examined in 32 human subjects. Iron absorption was measured by using an extrinsic radioiron label in liquid-formula meals containing hydrolyzed corn starch, corn oil, and either egg white or one of a series of soy-protein isolates with different phytate contents. Iron absorption increased four- to fivefold when phytic acid was reduced from its native amount of 4.9-8.4 to less than 0.01 mg/g of isolate. Even relatively small quantities of residual phytate were strongly inhibitory and phytic acid had to be reduced to less than 0.3 mg/g of isolate (corresponding to less than 10 mg phytic acid/meal) before a meaningful increase in iron absorption was observed. However, even after removal of virtually all the phytic acid, iron absorption from the soy-protein meal was still only half that of the egg white control. It is concluded that phytic acid is a major inhibitory factor of iron absorption in soy-protein isolates but that other factors contribute to the poor bioavailability of iron from these products.

To assess the nutritional relevance of absorption studies that use extrinsically labeled single meals, we developed a method for measuring nonheme-iron absorption from the diet and compared the results with absorption from single meals. When subjects consumed their usual diet, there was good agreement between dietary absorption (6.4%) and representative single meals fed in the laboratory (6.1%). Nonheme-iron availability, as estimated by a model that incorporated the effect of both enhancers and inhibitors, correlated significantly with absorption from single meals but not with dietary absorption. When the diet was modified to promote iron absorption maximally, dietary absorption increased only slightly (8.0%) and remained significantly lower than it was from single meals (13.5%). With an inhibitory diet, the decrease in absorption from single meals was similarly exaggerated. These results indicate that in the context of a varied Western diet, nonheme-iron bioavailability is less important than absorption studies with single meals would suggest.

The effect of the two major bovine milk protein fractions on the dialyzability of iron in vitro under simulated gastrointestinal conditions and on the absorption of Fe by humans was studied. Liquid-formula meals were prepared from hydrolyzed maize starch, corn oil, and either spray-dried egg white or a milk-protein product. In meals containing egg white, 3.32% of the Fe was dialyzable. The substitution of casein and whey protein products reduced the dialyzable fraction to 0.19-0.56% and 0.86-1.60%, respectively. Percentage Fe absorption was also reduced by the substitution of casein or whey protein for egg white. Mean absorption values fell from 6.67 to 3.65% and 2.53 to 0.98%, respectively. When the intact milk-protein products were replaced by enzyme- or acid-hydrolyzed preparations, the dialyzable fraction increased markedly and in proportion to the extent of hydrolysis. A similar but much smaller effect on absorption was observed. These studies suggest that bovine casein and whey proteins are responsible at least in part for the poor bioavailability of the Fe in some infant formulas.