New procedure to fortify fluid milk and derivatives with iron: a comparative study in mice

It is known that the fortification of milk and its derivatives with iron has been recognized as a worldwide necessity, since the deficiency of this element produces different metabolic disorders. With this purpose, we have studied the iron absorption in mice after the administration of fluid milk and yogurt with FeSO4, stabilized by microencapsulation with soy lecithin (SFE-171) or with FeSO4, both labeled with 59Fe, which was used in the same experimental conditions for comparative purposes. The absorption of iron is influenced by the presence of some additives which usually are ingested together with milk, such as cacao, coffee, tea, "Argentine green herbs tea or maté" or cereals. The experimental results demonstrate that the iron absorption from SFE-171 is (12.3 +/- 2.9)%, whereas that from FeSO4 is (7.7 +/- 2.7)%, this difference is highly significant at p < 0.01. In all the cases, groups of 25 mice each were used to increase the statistical robustness of the experimental results. On the other hand, it could be demonstrated that the presence of 10% w/v cacao (Nesquik) increases the iron absorption in both cases, whereas 1% w/v cacao (Nesquik) and maté has no influence on the iron absorption if SFE-171 is used. Cereals (Nestum 3 cereals), yogurt and other additives like tea and coffee, for different reasons, decrease the absorption of this element.