Studies on poisonous metals. VI. Effect of food components on transport of cadmium across rat small intestine in vitro.

Abstract

The effect of various proteins and amino acids and of the extracts from some foods on the tissue accumulation and the transport of cadmium in the in vitro rat small inte stine was studied. The proteins and amino acids used decreased considerably the accumulation of cadmium in the intestinal tissue. Ovalbumin and glycinin decreased significantly the transport of cadmium. In contrast with such proteins, L-cysteine and L-histidine, which form relatively stable complexes with cadmium, increased the transport of the metal. However, other amino acids, which have a relatively weak affinity for cadmium, had little effect on the transport of the metal. The extracts from soybeans, ivory-shells, and oysters depressed remarkably the accumulation of cadmium in the intestinal tissue. The transport of cadmium considerably decreased by both extracts from soybeans and ivory-shells and, on the contrary, significantly promoted by the oyster extract.These results suggest that the transport of cadmium across the rat small intestine is considerably influenced by the food components such as proteins and amino acids.