Strategies to improve non-haem iron absorption

Wawer, Anna (2013) Strategies to improve non-haem iron absorption. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Iron deficiency anaemia is one of the most prevalent nutritional deficiency disorders
in the world. Food iron fortification is a widely used strategy to reduce the risk of
deficiency but presents a major challenge to the food industry. The more
bioavailable forms of iron, such as ferrous gluconate, cause adverse organoleptic
changes when added to foods. The primary aim of the work described in this thesis
was to test whether alginate would bind soluble forms of iron and thereby maintain
its bioavailability. Initial in vitro studies demonstrated that alginate solutions and
beads loaded with ferrous gluconate delivered iron in an available form for uptake
into Caco-2 cells (measured by ferritin formation). A human study was undertaken to
assess the bioavailability of ferrous gluconate in alginate beads, and it was found to
be significantly lower than ferrous gluconate on its own, so further in vitro studies
were undertaken to examine possible reasons for the inhibitory effect of the beads.
It was concluded that alginate beads, containing calcium as a gelling agent, are not
an effective delivery vehicle for soluble iron compounds. However, these findings
should not rule out the potential use of alginates as a delivery system for iron,
especially in diets containing high levels of phytate. Other related work reported in
this thesis includes studies of iron availability from two wheat cultivars with varying
phytate and iron concentrations, potential use of nicotianamine and 2'-
deoxymugineic acid as iron enhancers, and investigations into calcium-iron
interactions in a Caco-2 cell model, with the use of live cell imaging techniques and
confocal microscopy.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
Depositing User:	Users 2259 not found.
Date Deposited:	12 Jun 2014 11:21
Last Modified:	12 Jun 2014 11:21
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/48744
DOI:

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