ENHANCEMENT OF ALUMINUM DIGESTIVE ABSORPTION BY FLUORIDE IN RATS

Aluminum, responsible of dialysis encephalopathy, is suspected to be i nvolved in other neurological disorders such as Alzheimer disease. Abs orption of aluminum from the digestive tract can be enhanced by the co ncommittant intake of substances such as citrate. We studied in rats a nd mice the interactions between fluoride and aluminum for their diges tive absorption and showed that fluoride increased the levels of alumi num in plasma as much as citrate whereas aluminum decreased the absorp tion of fluoride. This results could be the consequence of the high af finity between aluminum and fluoride which form complexes able to incr ease the absorption of aluminum and to decrease the absorption of fluo ride.