BioMicro – Bioavailability of micronutrients in dairy/plants

Vitamins and minerals, also known as micronutrients, play a fundamental role in our body and ensure a healthy physiological body, by taking part in maintaining healthy bones, nerve impulse transmission, production of hormones etc. Dairy products contribute more than 10 % of the Danes' intake of vitamin B12, riboflavin (vitamin B2), calcium, zinc, phosphorus, and iodine. In addition, the dairy products contribute with the often forgotten vitamin K. Each vitamin consists not only of one substance but of several different substances, so-called vitamers. The purpose of this project is partly to provide valid information on how the bioavailability of selected vitamins and minerals depends on the food matrix with a focus on differences between dairy products and plant-based alternatives, and partly to investigate the effect of vitamin K vitamers on the development of atherosclerosis.

By: Grith Mortensen

In the transition to a more sustainable and climate-friendly diet, dairy products compete with plant-based alternatives. We have extensive knowledge about the content of micronutrients in food, but also knowledge that the food matrix affects the bioavailability of these, which means that there is a difference in the bioavailability of micronutrients from animal and vegetable food products. Bioavailability of a vitamin or mineral should be understood as the proportion of the intake that the body absorbs. A high content does not always equal high bioavailability.

Vitamin K is essential for blood coagulation and bone health, and in addition there is indication that vitamin K is important in the prevention of lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. A project concerning the establishment of the content of vitamin K vitamers in Danish foods is underway, but there are critical gaps in our understanding of the nutritional effect of the various vitamin K forms.

Measuring bioavailability in humans is both very expensive and very laborious. Unfortunately, there is currently no consensus on a cheaper standardized procedure for investigating the bioavailability, so in order to provide valid data on bioavailability, the researchers in this project will evaluate whether the in vitro model (performed outside a living organism) provides the same estimate for bioavailability as the in vivo models (performed in both pigs and humans) for the above vitamins and minerals. An in vivo model will also be included in the study of the importance of obesity on bioavailability, as well as in the study of the effect of K-vitamins on the development of atherosclerosis. This project will reveal if vitamin K from dairy is more potent than vitamin K from plant-based sources.