bioavailability
Noun
Meaning
bioavailability (countable and uncountable, plural bioavailabilities)
(biology, medicine) The extent to which a substance is molecularly available to cells and tissues in a living organism, which depends on factors such as solubility, pH level, and presence of enzymes and cofactors; for example, even if one's ingestion of vitamin B₁₂ is average/typical, one might nonetheless have B₁₂ deficiency if one has poor metabolism of this particular vitamin.
(pharmacology, nutrition) The amount of drug or nutrient which reaches the site of physiological activity after administration.
poor/low oral bioavailability
Synonyms
Related terms
Examples
A cooking technique called nixtamalization increases the bioavailability of niacin during maize meal/flour production.
Absolute bioavailability has been estimated to be between 64% and 90%.
For example, cooked spinach has a 5% bioavailability of phylloquinone, however, fat added to it increases bioavailability to 13% due to the increased solubility of vitamin K in fat.
Based on these studies, biotin bioavailability may be low or variable, depending on the type of food being consumed.
Carotenoid bioavailability ranges between 1/5 to 1/10 of retinol's.
Grapefruit juice raises the bioavailability of carbamazepine by inhibiting CYP3A4 enzymes in the gut wall and in the liver.