Effect of age, calcium source, and radiolabeling method on whole body 47Ca retention in the rat

In a longitudinal study we determined the effect of animal age as well as Ca source and radiolabeling method on Ca bioavailability by measuring whole body 47Ca retention (WBR) in male Sprague-Dawley rats. The WBR assay was performed without surgery or anesthesia, and the same groups of animals were studied at 8, 16, 20, and 32 wk of age. Rats were administered a 6-mg radiolabeled oral dose of Ca as Ca citrate malate (CCM) or intrinsically or extrinsically labeled CaCO3 or hydroxyapatite (HAP). Fractional Ca retention was measured from the 72-h postdose WBR divided by WBR at time 0. WBR was significantly affected by Ca source with CCM > CaCO3 > HAP at all ages (P < 0.001). The rank order and relative bioavailabilities of these Ca salts in the rat model agreed well with literature values for Ca absorption in adult humans. Although percent WBR decreased significantly with advancing age (P < 0.001), the mean rate of decline (-3.4%/wk) was not affected by Ca source. Extrinsic radiolabeling overestimated (approximately 20%) Ca bioavailability when the rats were young. However, the magnitude of this effect diminished with advancing animal age and was not significant across all ages (repeated measures analysis of variance P = 0.10).