AJCN Tufts Nutrition Symposium, Boston Sept 24-26
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Davidsson, L.
Right arrow Articles by Hurrell, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Davidsson, L.
Right arrow Articles by Hurrell, R.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Davidsson, L.
Right arrow Articles by Hurrell, R.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 81, No. 1, 104-109, January 2005
© 2005 American Society for Clinical Nutrition

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION

Sodium iron EDTA [NaFe(III)EDTA] as a food fortificant: erythrocyte incorporation of iron and apparent absorption of zinc, copper, calcium, and magnesium from a complementary food based on wheat and soy in healthy infants1,2,3

Lena Davidsson, Ekhard Ziegler, Christophe Zeder, Thomas Walczyk and Richard Hurrell

1 From the Laboratory for Human Nutrition, Institute of Food Science and Nutrition, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Ruschlikon, Switzerland (LD, CZ, TW, and RH), and the Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City (EZ)

Background: Phytic acid is a strong inhibitor of iron absorption from fortified foods. In adults, this inhibitory effect can be overcome by adding ascorbic acid with the iron fortificant or by using a "protected" iron compound such as NaFeEDTA. In addition, the use of NaFeEDTA as an iron fortificant has been reported to increase zinc absorption in adult women. No information is available on iron bioavailability from NaFeEDTA or the influence of NaFeEDTA on minerals and trace elements in infants.

Objective: We aimed to compare iron bioavailability from a complementary food based on wheat and soy fortified with either NaFeEDTA or ferrous sulfate plus ascorbic acid. The apparent absorption of zinc, copper, calcium, and magnesium was evaluated in parallel.

Design: Stable-isotope techniques were used in a crossover design to evaluate erythrocyte incorporation of iron 14 d after administration of labeled test meals and the apparent absorption of zinc, copper, calcium, and magnesium on the basis of fecal monitoring in 11 infants.

Results: Geometric mean erythrocyte incorporation of iron was 3.7% (NaFeEDTA) and 4.9% (ferrous sulfate plus ascorbic acid) (P = 0.08). No significant differences in the apparent absorption of zinc, copper, calcium, or magnesium were observed between test meals (n = 10).

Conclusions: Iron bioavailability from a high-phytate, cereal-based complementary food fortified with either NaFeEDTA or ferrous sulfate plus ascorbic acid was not significantly different. NaFeEDTA did not influence the apparent absorption of zinc, copper, calcium, or magnesium. NaFeEDTA does not provide any nutritional benefit compared with the combination of a highly bioavailable iron compound and ascorbic acid.

Key Words: Iron compound • food fortification • stable isotopes • infant cereal






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2005 by The American Society for Nutrition