Niacin food fortification

Supplements. Niacin supplements are available as nicotinamide or nicotinic acid. Nicotinamide is the form of niacin typically used in nutritional supplements and in food fortification. Nicotinic acid is available over the counter and with a prescription as a cholesterol-lowering agent. ... 

Two forms of vitamin B3, also known as niacin, are found in food [1,2] nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. In living tissues, nicotinamide is a moiety of the coenzymes nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) in meat, it is found free because of the postmortem hydrolysis of NAD [1]. Nicotinamide is also a form used for food fortification [4]. Nicotinic acid is the prevalent vitamer in mature cereal grains nevertheless, it is unavailable due to its linkage to a number of polysaccharides (niacytin) and polypeptides (niacinogen) [1]. 

The infrared technique has been described in numerous publications and recent reviews were published by Davies and Giangiacomo (2000), Ismail et al. (1997) and Wetzel (1998). Very few applications have been described for analysis of additives in food products. One interesting application is for controlling vitamin concentrations in vitamin premixes used for fortification of food products by attenuated total reflectance (ATR) accessory with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) (Wojciechowski et al., 1998). Four vitamins were analysed - Bi (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B6 (vitamin B6 compounds) and Niacin (nicotinic acid) - in about 10 minutes. The partial least squares technique was used for calibration of the equipment. The precision of measurements was in the range 4-8%, similar to those obtained for the four vitamins by the reference HPLC method. 

Niacin in mature cereal grains, particularly in com, is largely bound and is poorly available alkali treatment of the grain increases the percentage absorbed. Meat and fish have the scarce free form of niacin and niacinamide but contain high levels of NAD/ NADP, which are available as niacinamide after digestion (Prousky et al. 2011). Fortification of flour and cereal products adds up to 20 mg of the free form of niacin per serving to items such as breakfast cereals (Food and Nutrition Board 1998). 

By the beginning of World War II, cereal companies had started to enrich their products with thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron. Enrichment means the restoration of some of the nutrients that are removed during the processing of a food. Later, in about 1955, fortification of cereals was started. Fortification means the addition of certain nutrients to foods in order to provide higher levels of such nutrients than are normally present in the natural, unprocessed foods. 

The enrichment of salt with iodine, the fortification of milk with vitamin D, and the start of the thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron, grain enrichment program in 1941, have played a significant role in the practical elimination of the following deficiency diseases simple goiter, rickets, beriberi, ariboflavi-nosis, pellagra and simple iron-deficiency anemia. The average American receives approximately 40% of his thiamin, 25% of his iron, 20% of his niacin and 15% of his riboflavin from enriched foods. 

Also see ADDITIVES CEREAL GRAINS, section headed "Enriched or Fortified Cereals" CORN, Table C-23 Com Products and Uses for Human Food FLOURS, section headed "Enrichment and Fortification of Flours" IRON, section headed "Sources of Iron" NIACIN, section headed "Sources of Niacin" NUTRIENTS REQUIREMENTS, ALLOWANCES. FUNCTIONS, SOURCES RIBOFLAVIN, section headed "Sources of Riboflavin" RICE, section headed "Nutritional Value" THIAMIN, section headed "Sources of Thiamin" and WHEAT, section headed "Enriched Flour.")... 

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