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R. DISILVESTRO, Human Nutrition, The Ohio State University, 315 Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH 43210-1295

Functional foods do not typically focus on minerals, but there are many possible health applications. For example, zinc has been added to canned green beans to preserve their color. This product could also be marketed as a zinc source for vegetarians, who often consume low-zinc diets.

In addition, mineral fortification can be applied expressly for nutritional purposes, either for general consumption or targeted to specific populations (i.e., people with certain health problems). An important concern here is possible negative effects of minerals on the food product (i.e., lipid oxidation). In some cases, an appropriate ligand may overcome this problem (i.e., amino acid chelates for milk fortification). Another approach could be to genetically alter vegetable or grain foods to eliminate factors which reduce mineral bioavailability. For instance, genetic engineering of spinach may be able to lower the content of oxalates, which are compounds that currently negate spinach as a good source of calcium and iron.

In addition to altering foods by genetics or processing, some natural foods may be marketable as particularly useful mineral sources. For instance, copper complexes with polyphenols, such as flavonoids, may be very bioactive, both in themselves and as activators of metalloenzymes. These complexes may occur naturally in foods such as cocoa, soybeans, and nuts. It is also possible that such mineral-polyphenol complexes can be added to foods, or formed by adding minerals to polyphenols already existing in foods.

In summary, minerals are an often overlooked, but potentially useful, aspect of functional foods.