Vv. Agte et al., EFFECT OF NATURAL FERMENTATION ON IN-VITRO ZINC BIOAVAILABILITY IN CEREAL-LEGUME MIXTURES, International journal of food science & technology, 32(1), 1997, pp. 29-32
There is increasing concern about zinc availability from cereal-based
vegetarian diets and the need to improve its native bioavailability. E
ffects of natural fermentation on zinc availability were assessed by i
n vitro assay with a Zn-65 extrinsic tag on four cereals (rice, wheat,
sorghum and pearl millet), four decorticated legumes (red gram, benga
l gram, green gram and black gram) and their 16 binary combinations. F
ermentation significantly increased zinc solubility (2-28%) and zinc u
ptake by intestinal segment (1-16%). Two-way ANOVA indicated significa
nt effects of combinations on zinc solubility but not on zinc uptake i
n both fermented and unfermented states. Levels of phytate-P were redu
ced while titratable acid and ascorbic acid levels were increased by f
ermentation. However, tannins were unchanged.