WO-2026093449-A1 - COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS USING A GALACTOOLIGOSACCHARIDE FOR INCREASING ABSORPTION OF ZINC

Abstract

Methods and compositions use a galactooligosaccharide (GOS) for increasing absorption of zinc, such as zinc naturally present in ingredients of the composition and/or present in a food product, a meal or a diet, wherein the food product, meal or diet is combined with the composition and/or consumed separately from the composition. Some embodiments are directed to a milk-based composition comprising zinc intrinsically present in the milk, further comprising milk protein, and further comprising a mixture of lactose, glucose, galactose and the galactooligosaccharide (GOS). In some embodiments, the milk-based composition does not contain exogeneous zinc, such that the only zinc in the composition is the zinc intrinsically present in the milk.

Inventors

• SABATIER, MAGALIE

Assignees

• Société des Produits Nestlé S.A.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251030

Priority Date

20241031

Claims (20)

1. Claim 1 : A method for increasing absorption of zinc, preferably comprising at least one of increasing zinc absorbability and/or increasing zinc bioavailability, in an individual in need thereof, the method comprising: administering a galactooligosaccharide alone or in a composition to the individual; and administering the zinc, for which absorption is increased, in an additional composition separate and distinct from the galactooligosaccharide, concurrently and/or sequentially.
2. Claim 2: The method of claim 1, wherein the additional composition comprises an ingredient in which at least a portion of the zinc is naturally occurring, for example one or more of cocoa, spinach, almond flour, soy flour or oat bran.
3. Claim 3 : The method of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein at least a portion of zinc in the additional composition has been exogenously added as a fortificant such that the additional composition is a zinc-fortified composition.
4. Claim 4: The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the composition comprising the galactooligosaccharide is a food product, preferably a milk-based composition.
5. Claim 5: The method of claim 4, wherein the milk-based composition is a low sugar, low lactose milk-based composition comprising the galactooligosaccharide.
6. Claim 6: The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the galactooligosaccharide is present in an amount of 2% to 95% by weight of the composition.
7. Claim 7: A method for increasing absorption of zinc, preferably comprising at least one of increasing zinc absorbability and/or increasing zinc bioavailability, in an individual in need thereof, the method comprising: administering a low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition comprising galactooligosaccharide to the individual, wherein a first portion of the zinc, for which absorption is increased, is intrinsically and/or naturally present in the milk in the low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition; and a second portion of the zinc, for which absorption is increased, is naturally present in an additional composition, preferably a food product, a meal or a diet separate and distinct from the low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition comprising the galactooligosaccharide, concurrently and/or sequentially.
8. Claim 8: The method of claim 7, wherein the milk-based composition comprises: milk protein, preferably at 20-40 % by dry weight of the composition; and a mixture of lactose, glucose, galactose and galactooligosaccharide, the mixture preferably at 32-55% by dry weight of the composition; preferably, the mixture comprising: 0.1-30% by weight of the lactose, 8-40% by weight of the glucose, 0.1-20% by weight of the galactose and 40-90% by weight of the galactooligosaccharide.
9. Claim 9: The method of claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the additional composition comprises an ingredient in which at least a portion of the zinc is naturally occurring, for example at least one of milk, vegetables, legumes, pulses, seeds, cereals and/or fruits, such as one or more of cocoa, spinach, almond flour, soy flour, oat bran, or milk.
10. Claim 10: The method of any of claims 7 to 9, wherein at least a portion of the zinc in the additional composition has been exogenously added as a fortificant such that the additional composition is a zinc-fortified composition.
11. Claim 11 : A method for increasing absorption of zinc, preferably comprising at least one of increasing zinc absorbability and/or increasing zinc bioavailability, in an individual in need thereof, the method comprising: administering a composition comprising galactooligosaccharide and further comprising the zinc, for which absorption is increased, to the individual.
12. Claim 12: The method of claim 11, wherein the composition comprising the galactooligosaccharide comprises an ingredient in which at least a portion of the zinc is naturally occurring, for example at least one of milk, vegetables, legumes, pulses, seeds, cereals and/or fruits, such as one or more of cocoa, spinach, almond flour, soy flour, oat bran, or milk. Claim 13: The method of claim 11 or claim 12, wherein at least a portion of the zinc in the composition comprising the galactooligosaccharide has been exogeneously added as a fortificant such that the composition comprising the galactooligosaccharide is a zinc-fortified composition.
13. Claim 14: A method for increasing absorption of zinc, preferably comprising at least one of increasing zinc absorbability and/or increasing zinc bioavailability, in an individual in need thereof, the method comprising: administering a low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition comprising galactooligosaccharide to the individual, wherein a first portion of the zinc, for which absorption is increased, is intrinsically present in the milk in the low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition, and wherein the low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition comprising galactooligosaccharide comprises an additional ingredient beyond the milk, in which a second portion of the zinc, for which absorption is increased, is naturally occurring, for example at least one of milk, vegetables, legumes, pulses, seeds, cereals and/or fruits, such as one or more of cocoa, spinach, almond flour, soy flour, oat bran, or milk.
14. Claim 15: A method for increasing absorption of zinc, preferably comprising at least one of increasing zinc absorbability and/or increasing zinc bioavailability, in an individual in need thereof, the method comprising: administering a low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition comprising galactooligosaccharide to the individual, wherein a first portion of the zinc, for which absorption is increased, is intrinsically present in the milk in the low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition, and wherein the low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition comprising galactooligosaccharide further comprises a second portion of the zinc, for which absorption is increased, that has been exogenously added as a fortificant such that the milk-based composition comprising the galactooligosaccharide is a zinc-fortified composition.
15. Claim 16: A method for increasing absorption of zinc, preferably comprising at least one of increasing zinc absorbability and/or increasing zinc bioavailability, in an individual in need thereof, the method comprising: administering a low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition comprising galactooligosaccharide to the individual, wherein the zinc, for which absorption is increased, is intrinsically present in the milk in the low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition.
16. Claim 17: The method of any of claims 1 to 16, wherein the increasing absorption of zinc comprises at least one result selected from the group consisting of: (a) treating, preventing, or reducing risk, incidence, severity and/or duration of zinc deficiency; (b) supporting or improving immune function and/or treating, preventing, or reducing risk, incidence, severity, and/or duration of infection; (c) promoting wound healing; (d) maintaining or enhancing cognitive function; (e) maintaining or improving reproductive health; (f) treating, preventing, or reducing risk, incidence, severity, and/or duration of age-related macular degeneration (AMD); (g) maintaining or improving metabolism and/or energy production; (h) supporting growth and development; (i) maintaining or improving one or more of DNA synthesis, acidbase metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, macronutrient metabolism, metabolism of fatty acids, metabolism of vitamin A, or protein synthesis, (j) maintenance of one or more of normal bones, normal hair, normal nails, normal skin, gut health, normal testosterone levels in blood, or normal vision; (k) protection of cells from oxidative stress; (1) supporting cell division; and (m) combinations thereof, in the individual.
17. Claim 18: The method of any of claims 1 to 17, wherein the individual, to whom the galactooligosaccharide is administered, is selected from the group consisting of adults; older adults; pregnant or lactating women; menopausal or perimenopausal women; infants; children; and subjects consuming a plant-based meal, vegetarian diet, a flexitarian diet, a vegan diet or any type of plant-based diet.
18. Claim 19: A method for one or more of (a) treating, preventing, or reducing risk, incidence, severity and/or duration of zinc deficiency; (b) supporting or improving immune function and/or treating, preventing, or reducing risk, incidence, severity, and/or duration of infection; (c) promoting wound healing; (d) maintaining or enhancing cognitive function; (e) maintaining or improving reproductive health; (f) treating, preventing, or reducing risk, incidence, severity, and/or duration of age-related macular degeneration (AMD); (g) maintaining or improving metabolism and/or energy production; (h) supporting growth and development; (i) maintaining or improving one or more of DNA synthesis, acid-base metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, macronutrient metabolism, metabolism of fatty acids,
19. 25 metabolism of vitamin A, or protein synthesis, (j) maintenance of one or more of normal bones, normal hair, normal nails, normal skin, gut health, normal testosterone levels in blood, or normal vision; (k) protection of cells from oxidative stress; (1) supporting cell division; and/or (m) combinations thereof, in an individual in need thereof or at risk thereof, the method comprising administering an effective amount of a galactooligosaccharide to the individual in need thereof or at risk thereof.
20. Claim 20. The method of claim 19, comprising performing the method of any of claims 1-18. Claim 21 : The method of claim 19 or claim 20, wherein the galactooligosaccharide is administered to the individual in a unit dosage form, wherein the unit dosage form comprises an amount of the galactooligosaccharide effective for increasing absorption of zinc in the individual, the increased absorption of zinc preferably comprising at least one of increased zinc absorbability and/or increased zinc bioavailability. 26

Description

TITLE COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS USING A GALACTOOLIGOSACCHARIDE FOR INCREASING ABSORPTION OF ZINC TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present disclosure generally relates to compositions and methods using galactooligosaccharide (GOS) for increasing absorption of zinc, such as zinc naturally present in ingredients of the composition and/or present in a food product, meal or diet, wherein the food product, meal or diet is combined with the composition and/or consumed separately from the composition. Some embodiments are directed to a milk-based composition comprising zinc intrinsically present in the milk, further comprising milk protein, and further comprising a mixture of lactose, glucose, galactose and the galactooligosaccharide (GOS). In some embodiments, the milk-based composition does not contain exogeneous zinc, such that the only zinc in the composition is the zinc intrinsically present in the milk. BACKGROUND [0002] Zinc is an essential mineral that is involved in numerous physiological processes in the body. The prevalence of zinc deficiency is still high in some countries and could increase with the emergence of plant-based diet in some others. The etiology of zinc deficiency is diverse. Among other causes, it can be due to a lack of intake, but also because of poor absorption, especially when from plant origin. There is no recognized nutritional strategy to increase zinc absorption from food naturally rich in zinc [0003] There is thus a need for providing a nutritional composition to increase absorption of iron naturally present in the diet. SUMMARY [0004] The experimental data disclosed herein shows that galactooligosaccharide (GOS) can improve the zinc absorption from zinc naturally present in food products. Furthermore, administration of a low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition comprising galactooligosaccharide has a higher impact on zinc absorption from a vegetable naturally rich in zinc, than when the vegetable is instead merely mixed with a regular milk. [0005] Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure concern methods and/or compositions for increasing absorption of zinc by administering a galactooligosaccharide (e.g., an effective amount of a galactooligosaccharide) to an individual in need thereof. In specific embodiments, the level of zinc in an individual is increased, upon which a medical condition or physical state is thereby treated, prevented, or has a delay in onset. [0006] In particular embodiments, the galactooligosaccharide may be administered in a composition, preferably a food product, more preferably a milk-based composition, most preferably in a low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition comprising the galactooligosaccharide. In some embodiments, the milk-based composition comprises milk protein, preferably at 20-40 % by dry weight of the composition; and a mixture of lactose, glucose, galactose and galactooligosaccharide, the mixture preferably at 35-55% or 32-55%, by dry weight of the composition; preferably, the mixture comprising: 0.1-30% by weight of the lactose, 8-40% by weight of the glucose, 0.1-20% by weight of the galactose and 40-90% by weight of the galactooligosaccharide. [0007] Preferably the milk-based composition can include at least a portion of the zinc for which absorption is increased, most preferably with at least a portion of the zinc intrinsically present in the milk. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments at least a portion of the zinc for which absorption is increased is consumed in a separate distinct composition. For example, at least a portion of the zinc for which absorption is increased may be administered in a separate composition distinct from the low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition comprising galactooligosaccharide. For example, at least a portion of the zinc for which absorption is increased may be consumed at least partially concurrently and/or at least partially sequentially as consumption of the low sugar, low lactose, milk-based composition comprising galactooligosaccharide. [0008] In some embodiments, at least about 2 wt.%, at least about 5 wt.%, at least about 10 wt.%, at least about 20 wt.%, at least about 30 wt.%, at least about 40 wt.%, at least 50 wt.%, at least about 60 wt.%, at least about 70 wt.%, at least about 80 wt.%, at least about 90 wt.% or even about 100 wt.% of the zinc for which absorption is increased is intrinsically present in the milk of the milk-based composition, such that there is minimal or no zinc fortification of these embodiments of the composition by exogenous zinc sources. [0009] The increased zinc absorption may provide at least one result selected from the group consisting of: (a) treating, preventing, or reducing risk, incidence, severity and/or duration of zinc deficiency; (b) supporting or improving immune function and/or treating, preventing, or reducing risk, incidence, severity, and/or duration of infection; (c) promoting wound healing; (d) maintaining or enhancing