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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Dietary Prevention of Obesity-related Disease Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #92731
Title: DIETARY BORON INTAKES IN SELECTED POPULATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES

Author
item MEACHAM, SUSAN - WINTHROP UNIVERSITY
item Hunt, Curtiss

Submitted to: Biological Trace Element Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/12/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: To establish the recommended daily intake of a nutrient for a given age group, scientists often first find out how much of that nutrient is consumed by that age group on a regular basis. There is a need to establish the recommended daily intake of boron because that element is known to influence the way the body uses energy sources. We determined the amount of boron in the 200 foods most commonly eaten in the United States. Milk and milk products, juices and beverages were the largest contributors to dietary boron. Our calculations indicate that toddlers (2 years old) eat approximately 550 ug of boron every day and mature males (60-65 years old) eat approximately 883 ug (0.88 mg) per day. If we adjust for differences in body weight, toddlers consumed about 3.7 times more boron than mature males. Adolescent females consume the least amount of boron when adjustments are made for body weight.

Technical Abstract: Knowledge of daily boron intakes will assist in establishing boron requirements and elucidating the metabolic role of boron in humans. Boron concentrations in commonly consumed foods were utilized to approximate the boron intake of selected United States (US) populations. Triplicate food samples were digested at low temperatures with 16M HNO3 and 30% H2O2 and analyzed by inductively coupled argon plasma spectroscopy (ICP). Milk and dairy products, juices and beverages were the largest contributors to dietary boron. Total boron content of average daily diets ranged from 548 ug for toddlers (2 yr old) to 883 ug for mature males (60-65 yr old), excluding tap water contributions. When adjusted for body weight, toddlers consumed 3.7 times more boron than mature males and consumed the diet with the highest boron density (1.8 ug/kJ [0.43 ug/kcal]). Adolescent females consumed a diet with the lowest boron density (1.12 ug/kJ [0.26 ug/kcal]). Food boron concentrations applied to diet records (1,020 ug/d) and ICP analysis of the corresponding food composites (1,170 (g/d) were comparable (p>0.05). Current estimations of boron in US diets are consistent with reports in the literature confirming that normal adult daily boron intakes are approximately 1 mg.