US EPA

88563 

Journal Article 

Effects of meals and meal times on uptake of lead from the gastrointestinal tract of humans 

James, HM; Hilburn, ME; Blair, JA 

1985 

Yes 

Human & Experimental Toxicology
ISSN: 0960-3271
EISSN: 1477-0903 

4 

4 

401-407 

English 

4018820 

10.1177/096032718500400406 

WOS:A1985ALT2200006 

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/096032718500400406
Exit
 

1 Twenty three adults ingested 203Pb as lead acetate on the 12th hour of a 19 h fast. Retention measured 7 days later in a whole-body counter was 61% and whole-body turnover rates suggested that initial uptake had been considerably greater.
2 Balanced meals eaten with 203Pb reduced lead uptake to 4% and the influence of the food lasted for up to 3 h. The effects of phytate, ethylenediaminetetra acetate (EDTA), caffeine, alcohol, glucose, a liquid meal and a light snack were tested separately with intermediate results.
3 The effect of a meal was probably largely due to its content of calcium and phosphate salts but lead uptake was probably further reduced by phytate which is plentiful in whole cereals and it was probably increased by a factor in milk. Uptake with skimmed milk was the same as with whole milk and we suggested that the factor was not fat. Comestibles with low mineral and phytate contents reduced lead uptake by intermediate amounts, possibly by stimulation of digestive secretions.
4 The avid uptake of lead during a fast, the large reduction of lead uptake with meals and the likelihood of variations in gastric-emptying rates and dietary habits may be major causes of variation in body burdens of lead in the population.