Vitamin D Bioavailability: State of the Art

• Published in: Critical reviews in food science and nutrition Vol. 55; no. 9; pp. 1193 - 1205
• Main Authors: Borel, P., Caillaud, D., Cano, N. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis 01.01.2015; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: 25-hydroxyvitamin D; Absorption; Aging - metabolism; bioaccessibility; Bioavailability; Biological Availability; bone metabolism; Bones; Cholecalciferol; Cholecalciferol - pharmacokinetics; clinical trials; Deuteration; Dietary fiber; Dietary supplements; Dietary Supplements - analysis; Diseases; ergocalciferol; Ergocalciferols - pharmacokinetics; Fatty Acids - metabolism; Food and Nutrition; Food matrix; Food, Fortified - analysis; Foods; Fortified foods; gastrointestinal system; Gastrointestinal tract; Genetic diversity; genetic variation; Humans; immunity; Immunology; Intestinal Absorption; intestine; Lactones - metabolism; Life Sciences; liver; Metabolism; Metabolites; neoplasms; neurodegenerative diseases; Nutrition; Nutrition research; nutrition science; Orlistat; polyesters; proteins; Risk Factors; State of the art; sucrose; Sucrose - analogs & derivatives; Sucrose - metabolism; sucrose polyester; Symbols; Vascular diseases; Vitamin D; Vitamin D - analogs & derivatives; Vitamin D - metabolism; Vitamin D - pharmacokinetics; vitamin status; Vitamins; ergocalciferol; intestine; 25-hydroxyvitamin D; absorption; bioaccessibility; Cholecalciferol
• ISSN: 1040-8398; 1549-7852; 1549-7852
• DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2012.688897

There has been renewed interest in vitamin D since numerous recent studies have suggested that besides its well-established roles in bone metabolism and immunity, vitamin D status is inversely associated with the incidence of several diseases, e.g., cancers, cardio-vascular diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. Surprisingly, there is very little data on factors that affect absorption of this fat-soluble vitamin, although it is acknowledged that dietary vitamin D could help to fight against the subdeficient vitamin D status that is common in several populations. This review describes the state of the art concerning the fate of vitamin D in the human upper gastrointestinal tract and on the factors assumed to affect its absorption efficiency. The main conclusions are: (i) ergocalciferol (vitamin D 2 ), the form mostly used in supplements and fortified foods, is apparently absorbed with similar efficiency to cholecalciferol (vitamin D 3 , the main dietary form), (ii) 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), the metabolite produced in the liver, and which can be found in foods, is better absorbed than the nonhydroxy vitamin D forms cholecalciferol and ergocalciferol, (iii) the amount of fat with which vitamin D is ingested does not seem to significantly modify the bioavailability of vitamin D 3 , (iv) the food matrix has apparently little effect on vitamin D bioavailability, (v) sucrose polyesters (Olestra) and tetrahydrolipstatin (orlistat) probably diminish vitamin D absorption, and (vi) there is apparently no effect of aging on vitamin D absorption efficiency. We also find that there is insufficient, or even no data on the following factors suspected of affecting vitamin D bioavailability: (i) effect of type and amount of dietary fiber, (ii) effect of vitamin D status, and (iii) effect of genetic variation in proteins involved in its intestinal absorption. In conclusion, further studies are needed to improve our knowledge of factors affecting vitamin D absorption efficiency. Clinical studies with labeled vitamin D, e.g., deuterated or 13 C, are needed to accurately and definitively assess the effect of various factors on its bioavailability.