Iron Deficiency (Without Anemia)
Conditions
Keywords
edible insects, Tenebrio molitor, iron deficiency, iron bioavailability, chitin, ascorbic acid
Brief summary
Iron is involved in many vital metabolic processes such as oxygen transport, electron transport in cells, DNA synthesis and repair, and muscle metabolism. However, iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia continue to affect many people, particularly preschool children (\<5 years), adolescents, and pregnant and non-pregnant women of childbearing age. Iron deficiency is characterized by a lack of total iron stores in the body, which is mainly caused by insufficient dietary iron intake, physiologically increased iron requirements, poor intestinal iron absorption, or chronic blood loss. Animal foods are important sources of highly bioavailable iron in the human diet. Meeting human nutritional needs for the rapidly increasing world population while targeting food production within the planetary boundaries will require the identification of sustainable iron sources, such as edible insects. A previous iron absorption study showed that insect iron is absorbed moderately well. The present study will examine if and to which extent chitin, a polysaccharide within the insect biomass, inhibits iron absorption. In addition, the enhancing iron absorption of ascorbic acid on iron absorption from Tenebrio molitor larvae will be studied. This knowledge can support to optimize the composition of an insect-based meal to increase its iron absorption. To distinguish iron absorption from insect biomass from other sources, insects are labeled with stable iron isotopes (Fe-57, Fe-58, Fe-54) and iron absorption in the blood is measured.
Interventions
OTHERMeal A
Vegetable soup prepared with dried intrinsically labeled T.molitor (isotopic iron 57, native chitin content = 1g)
OTHERMeal B
Vegetable soup prepared with dried intrinsically labeled T.molitor (isotopic iron 57) + 2g of extrinsically added chitin
OTHERMeal C
Vegetable soup prepared with dried intrinsically labeled T.molitor (isotopic iron 57) + ascorbic acid (4:1 ascorbic acid to iron molar ratio)
OTHERMeal D
Vegetable soup without insects with extrinsic addition of FeSO4 (isotopic iron 58)
OTHERMeal E
Vegetable soup without insects with extrinsic addition of FeSO4 (isotopic iron 58) + 1g of extrinsically added chitin
OTHERMeal F
Vegetable soup without insects with extrinsic addition of FeSO4 (isotopic iron 58) + 3g of extrinsically added chitin
OTHERMeal G
Vegetable soup without insects with extrinsic addition of FeSO4 (isotopic iron 54) + ascorbic acid (4:1 ascorbic acid to iron molar ratio)
Sponsors
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Swiss Distance University of Applied Sciences
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Masking description
The randomization will be single-blinded, i.e., the participants will not know which type of test meal they will be given on which study visit.
Intervention model description
The study will be a single-center, prospective cross-over trial, in which all study participant will receive the seven test conditions.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Female aged between 18-45 years * Normal BMI (18.5 - 24.9 kg/m2) * Body weight \< 70 kg * Low iron status (being in the lower half of the serum ferritin distribution at screening)
Exclusion criteria
* Anaemia (Hb \< 12 g/dL) * Inflammation (CRP \> 5.0 mg/L) * Pregnancy or intention to become pregnant during the study or within 30 days after the discontinuation of the study intervention * Lactating up to 6 weeks before the study initiation * Chronic digestive, renal and/or metabolic diseases * Antibiotics in the last 4 weeks prior to the study and during the study * Mineral and vitamin supplementation in the last 2 weeks prior to the study and during the course of the study * Chronic medication intake (except for oral contraceptives) * Blood transfusion, blood donation or significant blood loss (accident, surgery) over the past 4 months * Earlier participation in a study using stable isotopes or in any clinical study within the last 30 days * Food allergies, especially known hypersensitivity to crustacea, dust mites, sea food, gluten, milk, or eggs * Cigarette smoking (\> 1 cigarette per day)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Fractional iron absorption | screening (-1), 16th, 32nd,47th day of the study | Fractional iron absorption will be calculated based on the shift in iron isotope ratio in red blood cells 14 to 16 days post administration of the isotopically labelled meals. Calculation of fractional iron absorption will take into account the principles of isotope dilution and the fact that iron isotopic labels are not monoisotopic. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Serum Ferritin (SF) | screening (-1), 16th, 32nd, 47th day of the study | Iron status marker |
| Serum Transferrin Receptor (sTfR) | screening (-1), 47th day of the study | Iron status marker |
| Hemoglobin (Hb) | screening (-1), 16th, 32nd, 47th day of the study | Iron status marker |
| alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) | screening (-1), 47th day of the study | Inflammation status |
| Retinol binding Protein (RBP) | screening (-1), 47th day of the study | Inflammation status |
| C-Reactive Protein (CRP) | screening (-1), 16th, 32nd, 47th day of the study | Inflammation status |
Countries
Switzerland
Contacts
Primary ContactDiego Moretti, Prof.
Outcome results
None listed