The effect of iron absorption in ferrous gluconate form from enriched rice flour using in-vitro digestion and Caco-2 cell model

Abstract

Iron deficiency can cause serious diseases in infants and young children such as indigestion, anemia, and nervous system dysplasia. Consumption of high-iron rice flour can prevent iron deficiency. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential application of ferrous gluconate as an iron source in high-iron rice flour as a type of accessary food for infants and young children. In this study, the differences in iron absorption ability were evaluated, between ferrous gluconate and ferrous fumarate in rice flour with the same ingredients in both high and low phytic acid system. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the bioaccessibility/bioavailability between ferrous gluconate and ferrous fumarate at both low and high phytic acid content. In low phytic acid and high phytic acid systems, the iron absorption rate of ferrous gluconate is 11.53% and 13.45% higher than that of ferrous fumarate, respectively (p < 0.05). In summary, iron absorption rate of ferrous gluconate was higher than ferrous fumarate in the rice flour system. Additionally, the low phytic acid environment is more conducive to iron uptake and utilization. Therefore, ferrous gluconate can be used as an alternative source of iron in accessary food for infants and young children.