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Updated: Aug 29, 2026

The Caco-2 Cell Bioassay for Measurement of Food Iron Bioavailability
Published on: April 28, 2022
Bioaccessibility of calcium, iron and zinc from three legume samples
Amparo Sahuquillo1, Reyes Barberá, Rosaura Farré
1Nutrition and Food Chemistry of Pharmacy, University of Valencia, Avda. Vicente Andrés Estelles s/n, E-46100 Burjassot, Spain.
Abstract:
Legumes can be a source of mineral elements but also of antinutritional factors which can affect their absorption. An in vitro method including gastrointestinal digestion was used to estimate mineral bioavailability. Soluble (bioaccessible) and insoluble calcium, iron and zinc from white beans, chickpeas and lentils were determined after gastrointestinal digestion. The influence of the original sample weight on the soluble mineral fraction was also estimated. The results obtained show that white beans are the legumes with the highest bioaccessible calcium and iron contents. Lentils have a high iron content but its bioaccessibility is much lower than that of iron from white beans and chickpeas. An increase in sample weight increases the amount of bioaccessible element available for intake, but the increase is not always proportional.
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