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Iron Bioavailability and Provitamin A from Sweet Potato- and Cereal-Based Complementary Foods

Iron Bioavailability and Provitamin A from Sweet Potato- and Cereal-Based Complementary Foods

Christides, Tatiana, Amagloh, Francis and Coad, Jane (2015) Iron Bioavailability and Provitamin A from Sweet Potato- and Cereal-Based Complementary Foods. Foods (Special Issue Infant and Child Nutrition and Foods), 4 (3). pp. 463-476. ISSN 2304-8158 (Print), 2304-8158 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/foods4030463)

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Abstract

Iron and vitamin A deficiencies in childhood are public health problems in the developing world. Introduction of cereal-based complementary foods, that are often poor sources of both vitamin A and bioavailable iron, increases the risk of deficiency in young children. Alternative foods with higher levels of vitamin A and bioavailable iron could help alleviate these micronutrient deficiencies. The objective of this study was to compare iron bioavailability of β-carotene-rich sweet potato-based complementary foods (orange-flesh based sweet potato (OFSP) ComFa and cream-flesh sweet potato based (CFSP) ComFa with a household cereal-based complementary food (Weanimix) and a commercial cereal (Cerelac®), using the in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell model. Iron bioavailability relative to total iron, concentrations of iron-uptake inhibitors (fibre, phytates, and polyphenols), and enhancers (ascorbic acid, ß-carotene and fructose) was also evaluated. All foods contained similar amounts of iron, but bioavailability varied: Cerelac® had the highest, followed by OFSP ComFa and Weanimix, which had equivalent bioavailable iron; CFSP ComFa had the lowest bioavailability. The high iron bioavailability from Cerelac® was associated with the highest levels of ascorbic acid, and the lowest levels of inhibitors; polyphenols appeared to limit sweet potato-based food iron bioavailability. Taken together, the results do not support that CFSP- and OFSP ComFa are better sources of bioavailable iron compared with non-commercial/household cereal-based weaning foods; however, they may be a good source of provitamin A in the form of β-carotene.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Bioavailability; Caco-2 cell; Complementary food; β-carotene; Iron; Sweet potato; Polyphenols; Vitamin A
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Engineering & Science
Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Human Sciences (HUM)
Related URLs:
Last Modified: 09 Oct 2021 04:45
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/13914

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