Abstract
Dietary peptides have recently received attention regarding their beneficial effects on nutrient metabolism since the caseinphosphoptides obtained from casein hydrolysate are generally believed to enhance the intestinal absorption of Ca. The two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of various hydrolyzed fractions of gluten on Ca bioavailability. The gluten hydrolysate of dietary components was produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of gluten whereas gluten hydrolysate supernationt and its precipiate resulted from centrifugation. In experiment I, the rats were for 4 weeks fed the 4 kinds of diets containing same amount of nitrogen and calories and diffeing only in the forms of nitrogen sources. The diets were gluten (G), gluten hydrolysat(GH), gluten hydrolysate supernatant(GHS) and gluten hydrolysate precipitatie(GHP). Determination was made for the body weight gain, serum Ca concentration, Ca solubility in small intestinal contents, bone weight, length and stength, bone ash and Ca content, and Ca balance, respectively. No significant difference was noticed as regards growth, serum Ca, and bone dimension and Ca content among rat groups. More significant increase was observed with regard to Ca absorption and intestinal solubility in the rats receiving the GH or GHS diet which containe crude gluten peptides, than in those subjected to G or GHP diet. In experiment II, in vitro determination for Ca solubility was made to ascertain the mechanism responsible for the effects of gluten peptides on Ca absorption. The 10mM Ca in potassium phosphate buffer solution(pH 7.0) incubated for 3 hours at 37$^{\circ}C$ by the GHS fraction, was observed to be capable of increasing the Ca solubility at 5-25mg/ml concentration of gluten peptides. These observations suggest that the gluten peptides from gluten hydrolysate may enhance the Ca absorption efficiency by increasing the solubility of Ca in small intestine.
