Oily fish increases iron bioavailability of a phytate rich meal in young iron deficient women.

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency is a major health problem worldwide, and is associated with diets of low iron bioavailability. Non-heme iron absorption is modulated by dietary constituents, one of which is the so-called "meat factor", present in meat, fish (oily and lean) and poultry, which is an important enhancer of iron absorption in humans. Food processing also affects iron bioavailability. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of consuming sous vide cooked salmon fish on non-heme iron bioavailability from a bean meal, rich in phytate, in iron-deficient women. DESIGN: Randomized crossover trial in 21 young women with low iron stores (ferritin < 30 microg/L). Two test meals were extrinsically labelled with stable isotopes of iron (Fe-57 or Fe-58). Iron bioavailability was measured as the incorporation of stable isotopes into erythrocytes 14 d after meals consumption. RESULTS: The addition of fish to the bean meal significantly increased (p < 0.001) iron absorption. Serum ferritin concentration and iron absorption were inversely correlated for both the bean meal (R(2) = 0.294, p = 0.011) and the fish and bean meal (R(2) = 0.401, p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Sous vide cooked salmon fish increases iron absorption from a high phytate bean meal in humans.

Tratamiento de la anemia por deficiencia de hierro empleando proteína férrica en población pediátrica / Treatment iron deficiency anemia usingferric protein in pediatric population

Para evaluar la efectividad y la seguridad de la formulación farmacéutica de proteína férrica disponible en Venezuela para el control de la anemia por deficiencia de hierro, se desarrolló un estudio abierto en población pediátrica entre las edades de 1 a 9 años, 49 pacientes cumplieron 4 semanas de tratamiento, 45 acudieron a la visita de 8 semanas y 31 al control de las 12 semanas. La proteína férrica administrada oralmente a 2 mg/Kg de peso dos veces al día, indujo mejoría clínica y de laboratorio a partir de las 4 semanas de tratamiento. A las 4,8 y 12 semanas de tratamiento se demostró incremento significativo (p<0.001) de los valores de glóbulos rojos (3,9 + 0,3 vs. 5,1 + 0,3 x 10 elevado a la 6/ml), de hemoglobina (10,1 + 0,30 vs. 12,7 + 0,29 g/dl) y de hematocrito (32,4 por ciento + 1,2 vs. 37,8 por ciento + 0,64) así como del volumen corpuscular medio (62,7 + 5,5 vs. 83,4 + 1,7 mm3). La concentración de hierro sérico (73,2 + 6,8 vs. 123,4 + 12,8 mg/dl) y de ferritina (15,6 + 9,5 ng/ml) también aumentó significativamente (p<0.001). En ningún caso se requirió suspensión y/o reducción de la dosis. Los valores de ALT, AST, urea y creatina se mantuvieron dentro de rangos normales durante todo el período de seguimiento. Nuestros resultados confirman que la formulación farmacéutica de proteína férrica administrada por vía oral a la población pediátrica es efectiva y segura para el tratamiento de la anemia por deficiencia de hierro

Nonheme-iron absorption from a phytate-rich meal is increased by the addition of small amounts of pork meat.

BACKGROUND: Muscle tissue from various sources is known to promote nonheme-iron absorption. However, systematic studies of the dose dependency of this effect of meat on iron absorption from an inhibitory meal with low amounts of meat are lacking. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the dose-response effect of small amounts of meat on nonheme-iron absorption from a meal presumed to have low iron bioavailability. DESIGN: Forty-five healthy women with a mean (+/-SD) age of 24 +/- 3 y were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups, each of which was served (A) a basic meal (rice, tomato sauce, pea purée, and a wheat roll) and (B) the basic meal with either 25, 50, or 75 g pork (longissimus muscle). Meal A contained 2.3 mg nonheme iron, 7.4 mg vitamin C, and 220 mg (358 micro mol) phytate. Each meal was served twice, and the order of the meals was ABBA or BAAB. The meals were extrinsically labeled with (55)Fe or (59)Fe. Iron absorption was determined from measurements of (59)Fe whole-body retention and the activity of (55)Fe and (59)Fe in blood samples. RESULTS: Twenty-five grams meat did not increase nonheme-iron absorption significantly (P = 0.13), whereas absorption increased 44% (P < 0.001) and 57% (P < 0.001), respectively, when 50 and 75 g meat were added to the basic meal. In absolute values, this corresponds to an absorption that was 2.6% and 3.4% higher, respectively, than that with the basic meal after adjustment of the data to a level of 40% absorption from a reference dose. CONCLUSION: Small amounts of meat (>or=50 g) significantly increase nonheme-iron absorption from a phytate-rich meal low in vitamin C.