ABSTRACT
As described in the previous chapters, a certain portion of an amino acid chelate or chelate/complex that is absorbed into the mucosal tissue survives the natural hydrolytic activity occurring in those mucosal cells. This surviving portion is transferred to the plasma intact, contributing, in part, to the greater tissue uptake of the mineral from the plasma compared to inorganic metal salt sources.1,2 To a degree, this may be due to the body responding to the amino acid chelate as if it were a proteinaceous molecule and transferring it to the plasma as such. The percentage of metal coming directly from an ingested amino acid chelate or chelate/complex that survives mucosal cell hydrolysis is dif‘cult to quantify because that percentage may vary from situation to situation depending on other nutrients that are concurrently absorbed, the current metabolic activity within the mucosal cell, the immediate nutritional need of the body at a given time, and even the choice of ligands employed for chelating that mineral.
