Biological assay for zinc availability in wheat germ.
Our objective was to develop a method to determine the bioavailability of zinc in wheat germ. Weanling rats were fed for 10 days a Zn-free diet supplemented with different levels of Zn, with or without 2% wheat germ. Zinc concentrations of either tibia or femurs were plotted directly against Zn added to the diet, giving two lines that were essentially parallel. A multiple regression model was used to obtain a common slope but different intercepts for the lines. The amount of available Zn was calculated by taking the ratio of the difference in intercepts to the common slope. The result showed that wheat germ contained 163.7 micrograms Zn/g, of which 86.7% was bioavailable to the rat.
D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D001682:Biological Availability; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D051381:Rats; D014908:Triticum / Q000032:analysis; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism*
D015032:Zinc