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Improving the bioavailability of nutrients in plant foods at the household level

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2007

Rosalind S. Gibson ,
Leah Perlas  and
Christine Hotz
Rosalind S. Gibson*
Affiliation:
Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
*
*Corresponding author: Professor R. S. Gibson, fax +64 3 479 7958, email [email protected]
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Abstract

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Plant foods are the major staples of diets in developing countries, in which the consumption of animal-source foods is often low because of economic and/or religious concerns. However, such plant-based diets are often associated with micronutrient deficits, exacerbated in part by poor micronutrient bioavailability. Diet-related factors in plant foods that affect bioavailability include: the chemical form of the nutrient in food and/or nature of the food matrix; interactions between nutrients and other organic components (e.g. phytate, polyphenols, dietary fibre, oxalic acid, protein, fat, ascorbic acid); pretreatment of food as a result of processing and/or preparation practices. Consequently, household strategies that reduce the content or counteract the inhibiting effects of these factors on micronutrient bioavailability are urgently needed in developing-country settings. Examples of such strategies include: germination, microbial fermentation or soaking to reduce the phytate and polyphenol content of unrefined cereal porridges used for young child feeding; addition of ascorbic acid-containing fruits to enhance non-haem-Fe absorption; heating to destroy heat-labile anti-nutritional factors (e.g. goitrogens, thiaminases) or disrupt carotenoid–protein complexes. Such strategies have been employed in both experimental isotope-absorption and community-based studies. Increases in Fe, Zn and Ca absorption have been reported in adults fed dephytinized cereals compared with cereals containing their native phytate. In community-based studies in rural Malawi improvements in dietary quality and arm-muscle area and reductions in the incidence of anaemia and common infections in young children have been observed.

Keywords

BioavailabilityPlant foodsHouseholdMicronutrientsPhytate
Type
Meeting Report
Information
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 65 , Issue 2 , May 2006 , pp. 160 - 168
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2006

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