Summary
This narrative review synthesises recent advances in understanding dietary zinc bioavailability and bioaccessibility. It examines how food components such as phytates (inhibitory) and proteins, peptides, and amino acids (enhancing) modulate zinc absorption, and notes that organic zinc forms are more bioavailable than inorganic compounds like zinc oxide and sulfate. The review evaluates both in vivo and in vitro methodologies for assessing zinc bioavailability, acknowledging their respective strengths and limitations.
Regional applicability
The review addresses fundamental biochemistry of zinc absorption applicable across populations globally, including the United Kingdom. Findings on zinc bioavailability from different food sources and chemical forms are relevant to UK dietary guidance, fortification policy, and nutritional assessment, though the review does not focus specifically on UK food systems or population-level intake data.
Key measures
Zinc bioavailability and bioaccessibility determined via in vivo and in vitro methods; absorption rates in relation to phytates, proteins, peptides, amino acids, and chemical forms of zinc
Outcomes reported
The review synthesises recent research on dietary zinc bioavailability and bioaccessibility, examining how food components promote or inhibit zinc absorption and comparing in vivo and in vitro methodologies for determining bioavailability.
Topic tags
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