Aluminum bioavailability from basic sodium aluminum phosphate, an approved food additive emulsifying agent, incorporated in cheese

Oral aluminum (Al) bioravailability from drinking water has been previously estimated, but there is little information on Al bioavailability from foods. It was suggested that oral Al bioavailability from drinking water is much greater than from foods. The objective was to further test this hypothesis. Oral Al bioavailability was determined in the rat from basic [(26)Al]-sodium aluminum phosphate (basic SALP) in a process cheese. Consumption of similar to 1 g cheese containing 1.5% or 3% basic SALP resulted in oral Al bioravailability (F) of similar to 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively, and time to maximum serum (26)Al concentration (T(max)) of 8-9 h. These Al bioavailability results were intermediate to previously reported results from drinking water (F similar to 0.3%) and acidic-SALP incorporated into a biscuit (F similar to 0.1%), using the same methods. Considering the similar oral bioravailability of Al from food vs. water, and their contribution to the typical human's daily Al intake (similar to 95% and 1.5%, respectively), these results suggest food contributes much more Al to systemic circulation, and potential Al body burden, than does drinking water. These results do not support the hypothesis that drinking water provides a disproportionate contribution to total Al absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.