The implication of this observation
is that the increased retention that was observed for
the organic minerals compared with the inorganic minerals
is a result of increased digestibility of the organic
minerals, whereas postabsorptive utilization is not different
between the 2 sources. This also indicates that the
forms the minerals are absorbed in most likely are the
same regardless of the sources, which further indicates
that HMTBa and Gly are separated from the minerals before
absorption. The fact that the ATTD of the microminerals
is not greater when intake is reduced clearly indicated
that the concentration of the mineral in the intestinal
tract does not significantly influence percent absorption
and, therefore, also not influence percent excretion. This
is true for all microminerals as well as for Ca and P.