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Improvement of bioavailability for iron from vegetarian meals by ascorbic acid

Abstract

There are two kinds of iron in the diet with respect to the mechanism of absorption, heme-iron which is present as haemoglobin or myoglobin in meat and blood products, and, non-heme iron which is the main source of dietary iron. The bioavailability of the non-heme food iron is much lower than heme-iron. Vegetarian diets contain only non-heme iron. Iron intake from vegetarian meals are generally satisfied with the requirements, however, the bioavailabilities for non-heme iron is determined not only by iron content byt also the balance between different dietary factors enhancing and inhibiting iron absorption. The main enhancing factor in vegetarian meals is ascorbic acid in fruits and vegetables, inhibitors are phytate in cereals and grains, and tannins in some spices and vegetables. It has been reported that iron deficiency is one of the common micronutrient problems associated with unplanned vegetarian diets. In the present study the absorption of non-heme iron was measured from 2 vegetarian meals containing considerable amounts of phytate and tannin. The extrinsic tay method ({sup 59}Fe/ {sup 55}Fe) was used to labelled the non-heme iron. The mean percentage absorption of non-heme iron from both meals was slightly different due to differences in their dietary contents. Their  More>>
Authors:
Sritongkul, N; Tuntawiroon, M; Pleehachinda, R; Suwanik, R [1] 
  1. Siriraj Hospital Medical School, Bangkok (Thailand). Section of Nuclear Medicine
Publication Date:
Dec 01, 1996
Product Type:
Miscellaneous
Report Number:
INIS-TH-006; CONF-9612121-
Reference Number:
SCA: 400100; PA: AIX-29:044575; EDB-98:088309; SN: 98001995029
Resource Relation:
Conference: 6. conference on nuclear science and technology, Bangkok (Thailand), 2-4 Dec 1996; Other Information: PBD: Dec 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the 6th nuclear science and technology conference; PB: 761 p.
Subject:
40 CHEMISTRY; EXPERIMENTAL DATA; FOOD; TRACER TECHNIQUES
OSTI ID:
635364
Research Organizations:
Office of Atomic Energy for Peace, Bangkok (Thailand)
Country of Origin:
Thailand
Language:
Thai
Other Identifying Numbers:
Other: ON: DE98632369; TRN: TH9800068044575
Availability:
INIS; OSTI as DE98632369
Submitting Site:
INIS
Size:
pp. [2]
Announcement Date:
Sep 09, 1998

Citation Formats

Sritongkul, N, Tuntawiroon, M, Pleehachinda, R, and Suwanik, R. Improvement of bioavailability for iron from vegetarian meals by ascorbic acid. Thailand: N. p., 1996. Web.
Sritongkul, N, Tuntawiroon, M, Pleehachinda, R, & Suwanik, R. Improvement of bioavailability for iron from vegetarian meals by ascorbic acid. Thailand.
Sritongkul, N, Tuntawiroon, M, Pleehachinda, R, and Suwanik, R. 1996. "Improvement of bioavailability for iron from vegetarian meals by ascorbic acid." Thailand.
@misc{etde_635364,
title = {Improvement of bioavailability for iron from vegetarian meals by ascorbic acid}
author = {Sritongkul, N, Tuntawiroon, M, Pleehachinda, R, and Suwanik, R}
abstractNote = {There are two kinds of iron in the diet with respect to the mechanism of absorption, heme-iron which is present as haemoglobin or myoglobin in meat and blood products, and, non-heme iron which is the main source of dietary iron. The bioavailability of the non-heme food iron is much lower than heme-iron. Vegetarian diets contain only non-heme iron. Iron intake from vegetarian meals are generally satisfied with the requirements, however, the bioavailabilities for non-heme iron is determined not only by iron content byt also the balance between different dietary factors enhancing and inhibiting iron absorption. The main enhancing factor in vegetarian meals is ascorbic acid in fruits and vegetables, inhibitors are phytate in cereals and grains, and tannins in some spices and vegetables. It has been reported that iron deficiency is one of the common micronutrient problems associated with unplanned vegetarian diets. In the present study the absorption of non-heme iron was measured from 2 vegetarian meals containing considerable amounts of phytate and tannin. The extrinsic tay method ({sup 59}Fe/ {sup 55}Fe) was used to labelled the non-heme iron. The mean percentage absorption of non-heme iron from both meals was slightly different due to differences in their dietary contents. Their initial percentages iron absorption were apparent low (3.5% and 4.1%), however, the absorption progressively increased with increase in the level of ascorbic acid, 2-3 times with 100 mg and 4-5 times with 200 mg of ascorbic acid. The average amount of iron absorbed per 2000 kcal increased from 0.37 mg to 0.86 mg and 1.45 mg with the addition of 100 mg and 200 mg ascorbic acid respectively (p < 0.001). Considering the limited caloric intakes and the iron content in the meals, the amount of iron absorbed from vegetarian meals without ascorbic acid was not able to meet certain requirements for children, adolescents and menstruating women. The minimal requirement for dietary iron needed to be absorbed is 0.49 mg for 50% of 1-2 year children and more than 1 mg for girls and menstruating women. The vegetarian meals as compared with ordinary mixed meals can provided most of the nutrients in the amounts close to or above the recommended intaked according to the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA). However, the amounts of iron absorbed from these meals are quite precarious and fail to meet the requirements for the important target groups. It is suggested that, vegetarian diets can assure nutrient adequacy and promote health when they are planned and chosen in the line with scientific nutrition principles}
place = {Thailand}
year = {1996}
month = {Dec}
}