Iron Absorption From Regular, Biofortified and Post-harvest Fortified Pearl Millet
Condition: Iron Deficiency; Biofortification
MeSH terms: Anemia, Iron-Deficiency; Iron Deficiencies
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Iron deficiency (ID) with or without anemia is still a main public health problem in
      sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, especially in vulnerable population groups such as
      children below 5 years of age and women of reproductive age. The etiology of ID is
      multifactorial; but major causes are low iron dietary bioavailability and intake from
      monotonous cereal-based diets aggravated by chronic parasitic infections such as malaria and
      soil-transmitted helminthes. Approaches such as dietary diversification, supplementation with
      pharmacological iron doses, public health measures (e.g. deworming, malaria control) and food
      fortification with different iron compounds have notably reduced morbidity and mortality
      caused by ID but have not been universally successful. Biofortification is a new promising
      approach to combat micronutrient deficiencies such as ID. It is defined as the process of
      increasing the content and bioavailability of essential nutrients such as iron in crops by
      traditional plant breeding and/or genetic engineering. Pearl millet is a staple food for many
      people living in different areas of West Africa (e.g. Northern Benin) and India, two parts of
      the world, where ID is still widely prevalent. Therefore, pearl millet was one of the crops
      targeted for iron biofortification by HarvestPlus.

      To improve human iron status successfully, the additional iron gained through
      biofortification has to be at least as bioavailable as the iron in regular peal millet
      varieties. For that reason we are planning an iron absorption study where we will investigate
      the iron bioavailability from an iron-biofortified millet variety and compare it with the
      iron bioavailability from a regular-iron millet variety and from regular-iron millet
      fortified post-harvest with ferrous sulfate (FeSO4). Iron absorption will be determined by
      incorporation of labeled iron into erythrocytes, at least 14 days after the administration of
      the test meals containing labeled iron (stable isotope technique). The three different test
      meals based on 1) regular-iron, 2) iron-biofortified and 3) post-harvest iron-fortified
      millet will be administered as multiple meals i.e. each study participant will consume each
      test meal for a period of 5 days (2 portions/day; one in the morning, one for lunch). Twenty
      apparently healthy Beninese women with a low/marginal iron status (serum ferritin < 25 ;g/L),
      non-anemic or mildly anemic (hemoglobin >90 g/L), 18-30 years of age with a body weight < 65
      kg and normal body mass index will be included in the study.

      The results of the study will provide important insights on the iron bioavailability from
      regular, biofortified and post-harvest fortified staple crops such as pearl millet when
      feeding multiple meals as part of a more complex diet. The results can be applied to
      different meals based on pearl millet such as the West African millet pastes or the Indian
      flat breads.
    


Intervention name(s): Regular iron; Iron biofortified millet; Post-harvest iron-fortifed millet
Intervention type(s): Other; Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Labeled iron as FeSO4 will be added as a tag to a test meal consumed over 5 consecutive days for breakfast and for lunch; Labeled iron as FeSO4 will be added as a tag to a test meal consumed over 5 consecutive days for breakfast and for lunch; Labeled iron as FeSO4 will be added as a tag to a test meal consumed over 5 consecutive days for breakfast and for lunch
Intervention MeSH terms: Iron
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Iron deficiency; Biofortification; Pearl Millet; Benin