Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

The Caco-2 Cell Bioassay for Measurement of Food Iron Bioavailability
Published on: April 28, 2022
Bioavailability of micronutrients: stable isotope techniques to develop effective food-based strategies to combat
Lena Davidsson1, Marjorie Haskell
1I Nutritional and Environmental Health-Related Studies Section, Division of Human Health, International Atomic Energy Agency, PO Box 100, A- 1400 Vienna, Austria. l.davidsson@iaea.org
Background:
The prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies, in particular those of iron, vitamin A, iodine, and zinc, is unacceptably high, especially among infants, children, and women of childbearing age in developing countries. Effective food-based strategies to combat these public health problems are therefore urgently needed.
Objective:
As only a fraction of dietary iron, zinc, and provitamin A carotenoids is absorbed and utilized, i.e., bioavailable, access to information on micronutrient bioavailability is crucial in the development of food fortification strategies and interventions based on dietary diversification.
Methods:
Review of literature.
Results And Conclusions:
This overview highlights the usefulness of stable isotope techniques to assess the bioavailability of nonheme iron and provitamin A carotenoids and the importance of generating data on micronutrient bioavailability to move the agenda forward.
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