Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 22, 2026
The Caco-2 Cell Bioassay for Measurement of Food Iron Bioavailability
Published on: April 28, 2022
A decrease in iron status in young healthy women after long-term daily consumption of the recommended intake of
Mette Bach Kristensen1, Inge Tetens, Anne Birgitte Alstrup Jørgensen
1The Dept. of Human Nutrition, The Royal Veterinary & Agricultural University, Rolighedsvej 30, 1958, Frederiksberg C, Denmark. mbk@kvl.dk
Background:
Fibrerich bread and cereals are included in the recommendations of a healthy diet.
Objective:
To measure the effects of long-term consumption of the recommended intake of fibre-rich wheat bread on the iron status of young healthy women with adequate iron stores.
Design:
Four-months intervention study including healthy female subjects assigned into two groups provided daily with 300 g of fibre-rich wheat bread, prepared with or without phytase as a supplement to their habitual diet.
Subjects:
Forty-one women aged 24.8 +/- 3.8 years (mean +/- SD) and an average BMI of 22.0 +/- 2.9 kg/m2 participated. Baseline values for serum ferritin were 45 microg/L, 22-83 (geometric mean, range) and for haemoglobin 132 g/L, 119-148 (arithmetic mean, range), respectively.
Results:
Distribution of energy intake from protein, fat and carbohydrate, and daily intake of dietary fibre and iron were similar in the two groups and within the recommended levels. There was no effect of the phytase added to the wheat bread on the iron status of the subjects, but an effect of the intervention period. Serum ferritin and haemoglobin levels were significantly reduced by 12 +/- 1.1 microg/L (27%) (P < 0.001) and 2 +/- 0.8 g/l (1.5%) (mean +/- SE) (P < 0.05) respectively, after four months of intervention.
Conclusions:
The present long-term study indicates that consumption of the recommended daily intake of fibre-rich wheat bread results in an impairment of iron status in women with initially sufficient iron stores. Reduction of the phytic acid concentration in the bread was not sufficient to maintain iron status.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Vitamins
01:30Inflammatory Bowel Disease III: Diagnostic Studies and Management I-Nutritional Therapy
Diagnostic studies
A colonoscopy is the definitive screening test, distinguishing ulcerative colitis from other colon diseases with similar symptoms. During a colonoscopy test, inflamed mucosa with exudate ulcerations can be observed, and biopsies are taken to determine the histologic characteristics of the colonic...
01:29Bone Disorders
Bone deposition is also affected by the levels of sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone that promote osteoblast activity and bone matrix synthesis. When the level of these hormones decreases due to aging, it causes a reduction in bone deposition. As a result, bone resorption by osteoclasts...
02:59Cancer Prevention
Some...
01:24Factors Affecting Erythropoiesis
Several factors influence the erythrocyte production rate, with tissue oxygen level being among the most critical. Intense exercise or high altitudes can cause tissue hypoxia, which triggers the kidneys to release more erythropoietin (EPO) into the bloodstream.
EPO then...
01:30Inflammatory Bowel Disease II: Crohn's Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease, commonly known as IBD, refers to a collection of disorders that lead to persistent inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The two types of IBD are ulcerative colitis, which impacts the colon, and Crohn's disease, which can involve any part of the gastrointestinal segment.
Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease is a chronic, systemic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that predominantly affects the gastrointestinal tract. It is marked by transmural...