efsa-opinion-chromium-food-drinking-water
efsa-opinion-chromium-food-drinking-water
efsa-opinion-chromium-food-drinking-water
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Chromium in <strong>food</strong> and <strong>drinking</strong> <strong>water</strong><br />
In a former <strong>opinion</strong> (EFSA, 2008b), the EFSA Scientific Panel on Food Additives Flavourings,<br />
Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food (AFC Panel) referred to a study provided by a<br />
petitioner reporting an animal study, designed to determine the absorption of radioactive <strong>chromium</strong><br />
from a <strong>chromium</strong> amino acid chelate (composition not specified by the petitioner in the application) in<br />
comparison to the absorption of <strong>chromium</strong> from inorganic trivalent <strong>chromium</strong> chloride. In this study<br />
two groups of rats were slightly anesthetised and then intragastrically intubated with equal amounts of<br />
<strong>chromium</strong> as either 51 CrCl 3 or the 51 Cr-amino acid chelate. Blood was drawn at 1-hour intervals for<br />
3 hours and the radioactivity of equal volumes (100 μL) were measured for corrected disintegration<br />
counts per minute. Data show that the absorption of <strong>chromium</strong> nearly doubled when supplied as<br />
<strong>chromium</strong> amino acid chelate, in comparison to inorganic chromic(III) chloride.<br />
A review article by Lukaski (1999) summarised two articles on the absorption of <strong>chromium</strong> and stated<br />
that amino acids when chelating the dietary <strong>chromium</strong> prevent precipitation within the alkaline milieu<br />
of the small intestine. Similarly, nicotinic acid when administered with trivalent <strong>chromium</strong> may<br />
enhance absorption.<br />
In the intestine of black ducks, administration of saline solutions of <strong>chromium</strong> potassium sulphate<br />
(KCr(SO 4 ) 2 ) and <strong>chromium</strong> trioxide (CrO 3 ) resulted in <strong>chromium</strong> absorption about 1.5 to 2.0 times<br />
greater than observed with solutions of <strong>chromium</strong> nitrate (Cr(NO 3 ) 3 ) and the organic salt,<br />
2,4-pentanedione <strong>chromium</strong> (Cr(C 5 H 7 O 3 ) 3 ) (Eastin et al., 1980). Small differences in the absorption of<br />
Cr(III) between the inorganic salts <strong>chromium</strong> chloride and <strong>chromium</strong> nitrate, and the organic salt<br />
<strong>chromium</strong> picolinate, have been reported, using an in vitro model of the rat jejunum, with a more<br />
efficient absorption of the organic form in comparison to the inorganic salts (Gammelgaard et al.,<br />
1999).<br />
No increase in the absorption of trivalent <strong>chromium</strong> ( 51 CrCl 3 ) was observed following intraduodenal<br />
or intrajejunal administration in comparison to oral administration in humans and rats (Donaldson and<br />
Barreras, 1966).<br />
The absorption rate of trivalent <strong>chromium</strong> from <strong>chromium</strong> polynicotinate, <strong>chromium</strong> nicotinateglycinate<br />
and <strong>chromium</strong> picolinate was several times higher than that from <strong>chromium</strong> chloride, as<br />
indirectly estimated from urinary excretion of <strong>chromium</strong> in human volunteers (DiSilvestro and Dy,<br />
2007).<br />
Trivalent <strong>chromium</strong> in the form of propionate or amino acid chelates are also suggested to have a<br />
higher absorption rate than inorganic Cr(III) compounds (Ohh and Lee, 2005).<br />
Other studies reported that oral absorption of Cr(III) complexed with an organic ligand was also very<br />
low and not higher than the absorption of inorganic forms of Cr(III) (Gonzalez-Vergara et al., 1981;<br />
Anderson et al., 1996).<br />
Many dietary factors affect the absorption of Cr(III) and the absorption efficiency of trivalent<br />
<strong>chromium</strong> salts depends largely on the nutritional status of the animal as well as the nature of the<br />
anion making up the trivalent <strong>chromium</strong> salt (MacKenzie et al., 1959; O’Flaherty, 1996). Starch,<br />
simple sugars, ascorbic acid, oxalate, nicotinic acid and organic acids were shown to increase the<br />
absorption rate of Cr(III) (Chen et al., 1973; Kozlovsky et al., 1986; Urberg and Zemel, 1987; Seaborn<br />
and Stoecker, 1989; Dowling et al., 1989, 1990; Offenbacher, 1994; Samanta et al., 2008).<br />
Carbohydrate intake has been shown to influence <strong>chromium</strong> urinary excretion and tissue<br />
concentrations (Lamson and Plaza, 2002). Some amino acids and histamine were reported to result in<br />
a higher <strong>chromium</strong> absorption rate (Mertz et al., 1965). It has been hypothesized that amino acids act<br />
as <strong>chromium</strong> ligands, resulting in rapid diffusion of <strong>chromium</strong> complexes of low molecular weight<br />
(Dowling et al., 1990).<br />
Habitual consumption of acetylsalicylic acid derivatives enhanced <strong>chromium</strong> absorption (Davis et al.,<br />
1995), while higher phytate, calcium, manganese, titanium, zinc, vanadium and iron inhibited<br />
<strong>chromium</strong> absorption (Mertz, 1970; Chen et al., 1973; Hill, 1975).<br />
In rats co-administration of 51 CrCl 3 with phytate and with oxalate significantly decreased and markedly<br />
increased, respectively, <strong>chromium</strong> absorption (Nelson et al., 1973). Experiments with rats given<br />
EFSA Journal 2014;12(3):3595 63