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Dietary Phytate and Interactions with Mineral Nutrients

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Book cover Clinical Aspects of Natural and Added Phosphorus in Foods

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

Abstract

For decades phytate has been regarded as an antinutrient, as, during gastrointestinal passage, it may inhibit the absorption of some essential trace elements and minerals, which under certain dietary circumstances leads to calcium, iron and zinc deficiencies. In the last 25 years, however, important healthy beneficial properties of phytate have been observed (antioxidant, anticancer, renal stone prevention, etc.). In this chapter, the effects of phytate on mineral and trace element bioavailability are reported. From the available information it can be deduced that in balanced diets the inhibitory effects of phytate on mineral absorption are low, and little evidence exists from nutritional surveys that in well-nourished population groups,dietary phytate may really affect the status of iron, zinc and calcium. Under malnutrition and non-balanced diets, low in minerals and essential trace elements but high in phytate, however, the situation is different. Vulnerable groups in developing and developed countries, with inadequate intake or deficiencies of minerals and trace elements, need to increase total intake of these elements. This can be accomplishedvia the daily diet or improve their bioavailability, through modification of factors inhibiting or enhancing the bioavailability of the minerals and trace elements in the diet.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Dirección General de Investigación from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación del Gobierno de España (Ref. CTQ2010-18271) and CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CB06/03), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Renal Lithiasis Research, University Institute of Health Sciences Research (IUNICS), University of Balearic Islands, Ctra. Valldemossa km 7.5, 07122, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Felix Grases PhD, Rafel M. Prieto PharmD & Antonia Costa-Bauza PhD

  2. CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CB06/03), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain

    Felix Grases PhD, Rafel M. Prieto PharmD & Antonia Costa-Bauza PhD

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  1. Felix Grases PhD
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  2. Rafel M. Prieto PharmD
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  3. Antonia Costa-Bauza PhD
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Correspondence to Felix Grases PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama, USA

    Orlando M. Gutiérrez

  2. City Tower, Suite 400-ZOT:4088 UCI, School of Medicine, Orange, California, USA

    Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh

  3. University of Washington, Professor of Medicine, and Section Head Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Rajnish Mehrotra

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Grases, F., Prieto, R.M., Costa-Bauza, A. (2017). Dietary Phytate and Interactions with Mineral Nutrients. In: Gutiérrez, O., Kalantar-Zadeh, K., Mehrotra, R. (eds) Clinical Aspects of Natural and Added Phosphorus in Foods. Nutrition and Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6566-3_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6566-3_12

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