Dietary Factors Modulate Iron Uptake in Caco-2 Cells from an Iron Ingot Used as a Home Fortificant to Prevent Iron Deficiency

Abstract

Iron deficiency is a major public health concern and nutritional approaches are required to reduce its prevalence. The aim of this study was to examine the iron bioavailability of a novel home fortificant, the “Lucky Iron Fish™” (LIF) (, Guelph, Canada) and the impact of dietary factors and a food matrix on iron uptake from LIF in Caco-2 cells. LIF released a substantial quantity of iron (about 1.2 mM) at pH 2 but this iron was only slightly soluble at pH 7 and not taken up by cells. The addition of ascorbic acid (AA) maintained the solubility of iron released from LIF (LIF-iron) at pH 7 and facilitated iron uptake by the cells in a concentration-dependent manner. In vitro digestion of LIF-iron in the presence of peas increased iron uptake 10-fold. However, the addition of tannic acid to the digestion reduced the cellular iron uptake 7.5-fold. Additionally, LIF-iron induced an overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), similar to ferrous sulfate, but this effect was counteracted by the addition of AA. Overall, our data illustrate the major influence of dietary factors on iron solubility and bioavailability from LIF, and demonstrate that the addition of AA enhances iron uptake and reduces ROS in the intestinal lumen.

Iron-containing cookware for the reduction of iron deficiency anemia among children and females of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review

“…Kröger-Ohlsen et al [49] demonstrated that the amount of iron released by iron cooking pots increases with acidic pH and/or the presence of organic acids (citrate more than lactate). Similarly, Rodriguez-Ramiro et al [50] found that intestinal absorption of iron released by the Lucky Iron Fish was enhanced 10-fold by ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and inhibited 7.5-fold by tannic acid. Although nine studies in this review reported on the type of food typically prepared with cookware, only the three studies on ingots referenced the addition of citric and/or ascorbic acid.…”

“…Regarding adverse effects, Rodriguez-Ramiro et al [50] found that ascorbic acid reduced the production of harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the intestinal lumen by the Lucky Iron Fish, which were found to be produced at levels similar to standard oral iron supplementation. Besides the generation of ROS by iron cookware, iron overload has long been known as a potential safety concern associated with traditional iron cookware use among the peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa [51–54].…”

Iron cellular uptake from almond and coconut beverages using an in vitro intestinal cell model

“…The cellular uptake of iron was determined by the induction of the iron storage protein ferritin (nanograms of cell ferritin per milligram of cell protein), that is considered an indicator of cell iron uptake [24]. Ferritin measurement is a widely used method to evaluate iron uptake in cells and this method is also widely accepted in the literature [21,[25][26][27].…”

“…One of the advantages of these cells are their ability to differentiate into a monolayer of cells with similar properties typical of absorptive enterocytes as found in the small intestine [19]. And they have been used to evaluate iron uptake in foods and food additives [20][21][22].…”

Co‐products of beef processing enhance non‐haem iron absorption in an in vitro digestion/caco‐2 cell model

“…A model of iron uptake established by Glahn et al . () which couples in vitro digestion of foods with caco‐2 cells has been further developed over the last 20 years and validated as a tool to study iron bioavailability from a wide variety of food sources (Jin et al ., ; Kim et al ., ; Rodriguez‐Ramiro et al ., ) and circumvents the need for radiolabelling. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of co‐products of the Irish beef industry to act as enhancers of non‐haem iron bioavailability.…”