Ever since its role in the prevention of osteoporosis in humans was proven some 40 years ago, calcium bioavailability has been the subject of numerous research studies, being the basis of the various calcium supplements’ ability to release calcium ions that shall reach and bind to the bones.
Amorphical was the first company to develop a practical, medically safe, and environmentally sound for producing highly stable nanoparticulate amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) powder, and thus the first to explore and research the solubility, bioavailability and bone absorption efficacy of this unique metastable form of calcium carbonate.
This article compares the solubility and fractional absorption of ACC stabilized by phosphoamino acids to ACC with chitosan (ACC-C) and crystalline calcium carbonate (CCC). Solubility was evaluated by dissolving these preparations in dilute phosphoric acid.
The results demonstrate that both ACC and ACC-C are about 100-fold more soluble than CCC. Fractional absorption was evaluated by intrinsically labeling calcium carbonate powders with 45Ca isotopes, orally administrated to rats using gelatin capsules. Fractional absorption was determined by evaluating the percentage of the administrated radioactive dose as measured in the serum, calcium absorption in the femur, and whole-body retention over a 34-hour period.
Study Results
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- Calcium absorption from ACC and ACC-C preparations in rats was up to 40% higher compared to CCC.
- Retention of ACC and ACC-C was up to 26.5% higher than CCC.
- Absorbed calcium in the femurs of ACC and ACC-C administrated rats was 30% and 15% higher, respectively, than in CCC-treated animals.
This study demonstrates the superior solubility, overall absorption, bioavailability and bone absorption of ACC over CCC.
“Solubility and Bioavailability of Stabilized Amorphous Calcium Carbonate”,
Meiron, O.E., Bar-David, A., Aflalo, D., Shechter, A., Stepensky, D., Berman, A. & Sagi, A., J Bone Miner Res 26, 364-72 (2011).