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Updated: Aug 9, 2026
The Caco-2 Cell Bioassay for Measurement of Food Iron Bioavailability
Published on: April 28, 2022
[Evaluation on the dietary iron absorption by young Tibetan men using stable isotopic tracer]
Ji-Chang Zhou1, Cheng-Yu Huang, Hui-Min Zhang
1Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
Objective:
The study was aimed to evaluate the iron absorption in the Tibetan man's diet using the stable isotopic iron, and present a reference to improve the dietary iron absorption for Chinese.
Methods:
In the study conducted on the spot of high altitude (> 3500m), the iron tracer (FeSO4 enriched with 57Fe) and the recovery indicator dysprosium (Dy) were orally administrated to 16 young Tibetan men, and their feces were sampled. The ratios of 57Fe/56Fe in fecal samples was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and then the iron absorption was calculated based on the principle of isotope dilution.
Results:
The rate of dietary iron absorption in young Tibetan men was 13.4% +/- 6.4% with good linear correlation between daily fecal excretions of iron tracer and Dy.
Conclusion:
Dy had the same behavior as non-absorbed iron tracer in the digestive tract and the recovery of Dy may indicate the completeness of fecal collection. Dietary iron absorption in the adult Tibetan man was relatively high.
