Influence of Concomitant Food Intake on the Excretion of Orally Administered myo -Inositol Hexaphosphate in Humans

myo-Inositol hexaphosphate (InsP₆) widely occurs in plant seeds. At present, some important benefits of InsP₆ for human health have been described. The purpose of this study was to find the best condition for the optimum absorption of orally administered InsP₆, evaluated by InsP₆ urinary excretion. The influence of different stomach conditions (empty, empty with an alkalinizing agent, and full stomach) on the effects of oral administration of InsP₆ and its urinary excretion was investigated in six healthy subjects on an InsP₆-poor diet, given 400 mg of calcium/magnesium salt of InsP₆ as a single dose. The basal urinary excretion of InsP₆ on an InsP₆-poor diet (50.91 ± 15.09 µg) was significantly lower than that found when an InsP₆-normal diet was consumed (100.09 ± 26.42 µg) (P < .05). No differences were observed in the areas under the curve of accumulated excretion at 8 hours among the three different stomach conditions studied, suggesting that the overall InsP₆ absorption took place independently of the stomach state (full or fasted) and indicating that the InsP₆ absorption also takes place during the intestinal transit. Thus, if InsP₆ supplements of vegetal origin are consumed to maintain the optimum InsP₆ levels needed for a healthy status, these supplements can be consumed either during or between meals with the same efficacy.