Effects of different infant formula components on calcium dialysability

The in vitro methods proposed for estimating calcium bioavailability can be useful in studying the effect of dietetic factors. The aim of our work was to study the possible influence of different infant formula components - c alcium, phosphorus, lactose, citric acid, ascorbic acid and proteins - on c alcium bioavailability, considering dialysability to be an estimate of bioa vailability. The 1981 method of Miller et al. with slight modifications (co ncerted action n degrees 10 - FLAIR project) was applied to 18 commercial i nfant formulas of six different types: adapted, follow-up, preterm, hydroly sates, lactose-free and soy-based. Significant positive linear correlations between the amount of calcium dialysed and the calcium and phosphorus cont ents were found. However, there were no statistically significant correlati ons between the amount of calcium dialysed and the lactose, ascorbic acid o r citric acid contents, In the case of proteins an exponential relationship was found between the amount of calcium dialysed and the protein content.