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Related Experiment Videos

Improving iron absorption from a Peruvian school breakfast meal by adding ascorbic acid or Na2EDTA.

L Davidsson1, T Walczyk, N Zavaleta

  • 1Laboratory for Human Nutrition, Institute of Food Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Rüschlikon, Switzerland. davidsson@ilw.agrl.ethz.ch

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|February 7, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Increasing ascorbic acid significantly improved iron absorption in school breakfasts. Sodium EDTA also enhanced absorption, but higher concentrations did not further increase benefits, suggesting ascorbic acid is a more effective enhancer.

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Area of Science:

  • Nutritional Science
  • Public Health Nutrition
  • Iron Metabolism

Background:

  • Childhood iron deficiency is a significant public health concern addressed by iron-fortified school breakfasts in Peru.
  • Optimizing iron absorption from fortified meals is crucial for combating deficiency effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of increased ascorbic acid content on iron absorption from a school breakfast meal.
  • To assess the efficacy of Sodium EDTA (Na2EDTA) as an enhancer of iron absorption in the same meal context.

Main Methods:

  • A crossover design study was employed to assess iron absorption using erythrocyte incorporation of stable isotopes (58Fe and 57Fe).
  • Test meals consisted of wheat bread and a fortified drink (cereal, milk, soy) containing 14 mg of added iron (ferrous sulfate).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Ascorbic acid and Na2EDTA were added at varying molar ratios relative to fortification iron to test their enhancing effects.

    • Main Results:

    • Increasing the ascorbic acid to iron molar ratio from 0.6:1 to 1.6:1 significantly enhanced iron absorption (5.1% to 8.2%).
    • Sodium EDTA (Na2EDTA) addition also significantly increased iron absorption at molar ratios of 0.3:1, 0.7:1, and 1:1.
    • At a molar ratio of 0.6:1, ascorbic acid showed a similar iron absorption enhancement compared to Na2EDTA at a 0.7:1 ratio.

    Conclusions:

    • Ascorbic acid and Na2EDTA demonstrated comparable iron absorption enhancement effects at lower molar ratios (0.6:1 to 0.7:1).
    • A higher concentration of ascorbic acid (1.6:1 molar ratio) led to a significant increase in iron absorption.
    • Increasing the molar ratio of Na2EDTA to fortification iron beyond 0.7:1 did not yield further improvements in iron absorption.