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Health News Archive 429 - Osteoporosis
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Inulin FOS Increases Calcium Absorption 40%

Scientists from Brazil have reported that supplementing the diet with the soluble dietary fibers - inulin and fructo- oligosaccharides (FOS), boosted calcium absorption in rats by about 40 percent, results that add to an ever growing body of science linking the prebiotics with improved bone health.

The fibers - inulin and FOS - are most commonly used as a fat and sugar replacer, and have increasingly been linked to intestinal health benefits, due to their action as prebiotics to promote the growth of beneficial intestinal microflora. But an increasing body of science is emerging linking the prebotics to help control blood sugar levels, reduce cholesterol, and boost bone strength.

The new research, published in the current issue of the September 2006 journal Nutrition Research, adds to this body of science by reporting that rats supplemented with Raftilose (Orafti) - an enriched form of inulin containing a specific distribution of different chain lengths of inulin and oligofructose - boosted calcium absorption by about 40 percent, and led to greater bone strength.

“These results indicate an important role of fructo-oligosaccharides [inulin, oligofructose] in the maintenance of healthy bones,” wrote lead researcher Alexandre Lobo from the University of Sao Paulo.

The researchers divided 16 male Wistar rats into two groups and fed all rats a control diet containing 7.5 grams of calcium per kilogram of diet for 23 days. One group of eight animals were supplemented with five percent inulin, oligofructose.

At the end of the intervention period, the researchers reported that calcium absorption in the FOS supplemented group increased by 44 percent, compared to the control diet group. The bone mineral density in the middle of the thigh bone (midshaft femur) was 0.02 grams per sq. cm greater for the supplemented group, compared to the control diet group. The biomechanical properties, measures of the strength of the bones, also increased significantly for the inulin, oligofructose-supplemented groups, reported the researchers.

No adverse effects were observed for the inulin, oligofructose-supplemented groups, but some increase in the moisture content of the animals' faeces was recorded.

The mechanism of the benefits has been discussed by earlier studies, said Lobo. The prebiotic is thought to work by changing the flora in the colon, with the more slowly fermented inulin acting as a selective 'fuel' for this modified flora, which is kept metabolically active further in the intestines.

This selective fermentation pattern results in the production of short chain fatty acids, which increase the acidity in the colon, improving the solubility of the calcium present. The calcium is then better absorbed into the body.

“Assuming that the fracture risk results from a progressive loss of bone mass in adulthood and that this loss is lower in people that formed bone mass more effectively in childhood and adolescence, [inulin and oligofructose] may be regarded as a food component with bone health enhancer property to early ages,” concluded the researchers.

Human studies are increasing, with a significant number of studies into the role of prebiotics on improving bone health of adolescent girls. One such study reported that girls and boys aged between 9 and 12 supplemented with a mixture of oligofructose and long-chain inulin had an additional net accretion of calcium of 30 milligrams per day, compared to the controls who received a placebo (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2005, Vol. 82, pp. 471-476).

Osteoporosis is estimated to affect about 75 million people in Europe, the USA and Japan. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, the total annual direct cost of osteoporotic fractures is $17.5 billion in the US (2002 figure).

Source: Lobo AR. Fructooligosaccharides improve bone mass and biomechanical properties in rats. Nutr Res 2006; 26(8): 413-420.

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