Fighting Iron-Deficiency Anemia: Innovations in Food Fortificants and Biofortification Strategies
[EN] Iron deficiency remains one of the main nutritional disorders worldwide and low iron intake and/or bioavailability are currently the major causes of anemia. To fight this public health problem, the scientific challenge is to find an iron form with sufficient bioavailability to increase its leve...
| Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | article |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication Date: | 2020 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universidad de Salamanca (USAL) |
| Repository: | GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/160005 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10366/160005 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Iron-deficiency anemia Iron bioavailability Food fortification Dietary strategies Biofortification Agronomic/genetic techniques Anemia por deficiencia de hierro Biodisponibilidad del hierro Fortificación de alimentos Estrategias dietéticas Biofortificación Técnicas agronómicas/genéticas 3309 Tecnología de Los Alimentos |
| Summary: | [EN] Iron deficiency remains one of the main nutritional disorders worldwide and low iron intake and/or bioavailability are currently the major causes of anemia. To fight this public health problem, the scientific challenge is to find an iron form with sufficient bioavailability to increase its levels in humans through food fortification. In turn, biofortification appears as a comparatively advantageous and bearable strategy for the delivery of vitamins and other micronutrients for people without access to a healthy and diverse diet. This approach relies on plant breeding, transgenic techniques, or agronomic practices to obtain a final food product with a higher iron content. It is also known that certain food constituents are able to favor or inhibit iron absorption. The management of these compounds can thus successfully improve the absorption of dietary iron and, ultimately, contribute to fight this disorder present all over the world. This review describes the main causes/manifestations of iron-deficiency anemia, forms of disease prevention and treatment, and the importance of a balanced and preventive diet. A special focus was given to innovative food fortification and biofortification procedures used to improve the iron content in staple food crops. |
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