Book with abstracts from the COST Action 0905 meeting in ... - UMB

INFLUENCE OF THE ADDITION OF DIFFERENT
CONCENTRATIONS OF THICKENING AGENTS ON IN-VITRO
MINERAL AVAILABILITY IN INFANT FORMULA.
Carlos A.González-Bermúdez 1 *, Rubén López-Nicolás 1 , Carmen Frontela-Saseta 1 ,
Patricia Peso-Echarri 1 , Mª José Bernal-Cava 2 , Carmen Martínez-Graciá 1
1 Department of Food Science and Nutrition. Faculty of Veterinary Sciences. Campus de
Espinardo. 30100 Murcia, Spain.
2 Hero Institute for Infant Nutrition. Hero Spain, S.A. Alcantarilla, Murcia
*Cagb1@um.es
Keywords: Infant formula, mineral solubility, mineral dialysability, thickening agent.
Thickening agents such as carob bean gum or modified starches have been frequently
added to infant formulas to increase their viscosity. These products, commercialized under
the name of antirreflux (AR) formulas, are claimed to have beneficial effects on infants
with gastroesophageal reflux. Nevertheless, it has been suggested that bioavailability of
some minerals may be affected by thickening agents. The objective of this study was to
determine the way in which the addition of different concentrations (7,5%, 15%, 50% and
100% respect maximum permitted) of carob bean gum (CBG), pregelatinized corn (PCS)
or rice (PRS) starches, affect calcium, iron and zinc solubility and dialysability from infant
formulas. A total of 12 AR infant formulas were prepared mixing each concentration of
thickening agent with a commercial infant formula (reference). Each sample was in-vitro
digested and the mineral content in soluble and dialyzable fractions was determined by
AAS. Calcium solubility and dialysability were impaired by the addition of CBG, PCS and
PRS, showing a negative correlation with their concentrations. Regarding to iron and zinc,
only high concentrations of CBG decreased their solubility and dialysability, though no
effect was found with PCS or PRS. The study of the effect of different combinations of
CBG, PCS and PRS on mineral availability, as well as their effect on viscosity of formulas,
could be an interesting target for future researches.