Iron bioavailability from a tropical leafy vegetable in anaemic mice

Abstract

Telfairia occidentalis is a vegetable food crop that is indigenous to West Africa. The leaves and seeds are the edible parts of the plant and are used in everyday meals by incorporation into soups and stews. Previous studies have attributed improved haematological indices to the vegetable and have advocated the use of T. occidentalis in the treatment of anemia. This study investigates the ameliorative effects of T. occidentalis when compared to FeSO4 as a reference salt in anaemic mice. It also compares the bioavailability of test iron and hepatic hepcidin expression for the estimation of iron absorption in the mice. Non-haem iron was determined in the liver of mice after the experimental feeding treatments. Hepcidin mRNA expression was carried out by quantitative RT-PCR. Administration of T. occidentalis leaves led to a modest increase in haemoglobin (Hb) levels in anaemic mice that were comparable to the Hb repletion in anaemic mice given FeSO4. Hepatic iron increase in the mice given either T. occidentalis or FeSO4 led to a corresponding enhancement of hepcidin mRNA expression. Induced hepcidin mRNA expression was enhanced by the addition of ascorbic acid to the test dose of iron. Hepatic hepcidin mRNA expression was found to be responsive to increase in the relative bioavailability of iron from test diets.

Effect of Telfaira occidentalis Leaf Extract on Packed Cell Volume in Rats with Malaria-induced Anaemia

“…This observation may have been responsible for the marked increase in PCV of rats administered with the extract as seen in Table 2. This is consistent with reports that iron is needed for the formation of haemoglobin, 14 which aid the formation of RBCs.…”

“…Telfairia occidentalis is cultivated in west Africa 12,13 and commonly known as fluted pumpkin or Ugwu in Nigeria. 14 Several studies [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] have been carried out on the therapeutic potentials of T. occidentalis. One study 26 reported the effect of diet formulations of the air-dried leaves of T. occidentalis on haematological parameters in rats.…”

A Survey of Plant Iron Content—A Semi-Systematic Review

“…In an experiment involving 2-week supplementation in rats, no significant difference was seen in several hemoglobin parameters (hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration) between soybean sprouts enriched in ferritin (by germination in a FeSO4 solution), ferritin isolate, control ferrous sulfate and a control group of healthy animals [ 86 ]. A nonsignificant difference in hematologic indices was reported in an in vivo , parallel group experiment comparing a leaf extract of Telfairia occidentalis, ferrous sulfate and a control group fed on an iron-deficient diet with no treatment [ 87 ] (careful examination of the data, however, suggest that this was mainly the results of insufficient statistical power, the effect of the extract being about half of that seen with the inorganic salt). Nevertheless, this experiment does show that increase of the extract dosage allows for acceptable levels of Hb and that iron administered from herbal sources may be sufficiently bioavailable).…”

The effect of aqueous leaf extract of fluted pumpkin on some hematological parameters and liver enzymes in 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine- induced anemic rats

“…This study also agreed with the work of Salman et al (2008), who reported that there was a significant increase in the hematological parameters of rats that were treated for two weeks with the aqueous leaf extract of fluted pumpkin. Some scientists have proposed the use of fluted pumpkin in treatment of anemia, following studies which reported that extracts of fluted pumpkin helps to maintain blood level in subjects given its extracts (Fiona and Latunde -Dada, 2011). …”