Effects of dietary fiber and phytate in sugar beet fiber on skeletal levels of iron and zinc in rats

The British Sugar company developed a fiber product called Beta Fiber from the waste products of the sugar beet. This grayish-brown powder was to serve as a fiber adjunct which humans might like to sprinkle on cereal or stir into soups as a way of increasing fiber in their diets. Only nutrient analyses and microbiological assays have been done, but neither an animal nor a human study was planned to test its nutrient bioavailability. Thus an animal study was designed at Howard University to test the bioavailability of Beta Fiber.;The purpose of this experiment was to determine iron, zinc, dietary fiber and phytate levels in Beta Fiber and to assess the effect of this fiber on body weight, plasma, femur and jawbone levels of iron and zinc in rats.;Sixty, 21-day old, male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing approximately 40g were assigned to six groups. Three control groups were fed a basal diet containing either 5, 10 or 15% Alphacel (an inert cellulose), and three groups were fed a Beta Fiber diet at the same levels for 28 days. Dietary and plasma iron and zinc were measured as were femur and jawbone iron and zinc. The results collected were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and the Duncan's Multiple Range Test.;The group fed the 15% Beta Fiber grew the least and did not have the highest plasma, femur or jawbone iron. All of the groups seemed to thrive and there were no deaths during the 4-week experimental period.;Phytate levels in Beta Fiber were 300 times higher (310 mg phytate/100 g sample) than the phytate level in Alphacel (0). Diet F, containing 557.50 ;It was learned shortly after the completion of this study that British Sugar was withdrawing Beta Fiber from the market. The investigators in this study after performing the animal experiment, also had reservations about the quality and the efficiency of the product, Beta Fiber.