Zinc absorption tryptophan

Tryptophan and Zinc Absorption Boses of 4 mg Zn and 2 mg Cu were given in Trutol to subjects consuming a diet in which tryptophan was the limiting amino acid Absorption of Zn and Cu was also measured when they received the same diet plus a picolinic acid supplement Ficolinic acid is a metabolite of tryptophan which is thought to enhance zinc absorption (17) Picolonic acid was not present in the isotope dose The diets contained 0 8-l 2 mg Cu/day and 2 7-3 6 mg Zn/day (by analysis) Total tryptophan content of the diet was approximately 250 mg/day (calculated) Ficolinic acid supplementation was at a level of 10 mg/day ... 

Up to 30% of ingested zinc is absorbed from the small intestine however, a homeostatic mechanism controls the absorption. Nutritional status also influences zinc absorption deficiency of pyridoxine or tryptophan somewhat inhibits absorption. Zinc induces a zinc metallothionein, the form in which it is bound to the liver and other tissues. The pancreas is high in zinc, and in males the prostate gland contains the greatest store of zinc. Zinc is excreted in the feces. 

Acrodermatitis enteropathica is a metabolic disorder that results in the malabsorption of zinc. However, when patients afflicted with this disorder were treated with human milk, zinc absorption was enhanced (Lombeck et al. 1975). It was reported by Evans (1980) that patients with acrodermatitis enteropathica have an impaired tryptophan metabolic pathway. Picolinic acid, a chief metabolite of tryptophan, is also a constituent of human milk. Picolinic acid is secreted by the pancreas into the intestinal lumen. A study by Boosalis et al. (1983) demonstrated that patients with pancreatic insufficiency had difficulty absorbing zinc administered as zinc sulfate. However, when these pancreatic-insufficient patients were given zinc as zinc picolinate, the extent of zinc absorption was similar to that of healthy controls. Zinc absorption may depend on the bioavailability of picolinic acid. Such a mandatory role of picolinic acid in absorption has not been confirmed (Bonewitz et al. 1982). 

Evans GW. 1980. Normal and abnormal zinc absorption in man and animals The tryptophan connection. Nutr Rev 38 137-141. 

The absorption of many minerals is affected by other compounds present in the intestinal lumen. As discussed in section 4.5.1, a number of reducing compounds can enhance the absorption of iron, and a number of chelating compounds enhance the absorption of other minerals. For example, zinc absorption is dependent on the secretion by the pancreas of a zinc-binding hgand (tentatively identified as the tryptophan metabolite picolinic acid). Failure to synthesize and secrete this zinc-binding ligand as a result of a genetic disease leads to the condition of acrodermatitis enteropathica— functional zinc deficiency despite an apparently adequate intake. 

Nutritional Effects Due to the Presence of the Maillard Products. Many physiological or antinutritional effects have been attributed to the Maillard products. Specific effects have been attributed to the Amadori products deoxyfructosylphenylalanine (a model substance not likely to be present in large quantities in foods) appears to depress the rate of protein synthesis in chicks (32) and to partially inhibit in vitro and in vivo the absorption of tryptophan in rats (33). The compound e-deoxyfructosyllysine inhibits the intestinal absorption of threonine, proline, and glycine and induces cytomegaly of the tubular cells of the rat kidneys (34) as does lysinoalanine. In parenteral nutrition the infusion of the various Amadori compounds formed during sterilization of the amino acid mixture with glucose is associated with milk dehydration in infants and excessive excretion of zinc and other trace metals in both infants and adults (35,36,37). 

Table III Stable Zinc and Copper Absorption by Men Consuming a Tryptophan- Limited Diet With and Without Picolinic Acid Supplementation...

Zinc is known to provide protection against Cd and Pb toxicities (Sandstead 1980). Absorption of Zn is facilitated by complexing with picol-inic acid, a metabolite of the amino acid tryptophan. Although both Cd and Pb form complexes with picolinic acid, the resulting complexes are less stable than the Zn complex. 

This chapter discusses the pathways by which L-tryptophan is metabolized into a variety of metabolites, many of which have important physiological functions. A few metabolites are cited here briefly. Quinolinic acid is involved in the regulation of gluconeogenesis. Picolinic acid is involved in normal intestinal absorption of zinc. The body s pool of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is influenced by L-tryptophan s metabolic conversion to niacin. Finally, L-tryptophan is the precursor of several neuroactive compounds, the most important of which is serotonin (5-HT), which participates as a neurochemical substrate for a variety of normal behavioral and neuroendocrine functions. Serotonin derived from L-tryptophan allows it to become involved in behavioral effects, reflecting altered central nervous system function under conditions that alter tryptophan nutrition and metabolism. 

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