Determination of iron bioavailability in vitro by Caco-2 cells system: validation of iron dialysis

• Grant number: 12/03573-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: July 16, 2012
• End date: October 15, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Elisabete Aparecida de Nadai Fernandes
• Grantee: Gabriela de Matuoka e Chiocchetti
• Supervisor: Susan Jane Fairweather-Tait
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of East Anglia (UEA), England
• Associated to the scholarship: 10/14566-8 - Potential use of agroindustrial byproducts in food: a study of nutrient availability, BP.MS

Abstract

Many attempts have been made to conceive a quick and easy way to assess the bioavailability of iron in different foods and diets. The techniques in vitro are considered more accessible due to low cost and complexity. Among them, the iron dialysis based on the simulated digestion of food or diet, followed by dialysis into semi-permeable membrane. However, this method is not able to determine the uptake of iron. The Caco-2 cells system has been used as a tool to assess the bioavailable iron in foods, with a good correlation with in vivo studies. The importance of studying the bioavailability of iron is the fact that this element is essential to life and its deficiency is considered the most prevalent nutritional deficiency worldwide. Given the above, the objective of this project is to determine the bioavailability of iron in vitro by Caco-2 cells allowing the validation of the methodology of iron dialysis used in the MSc Project. (AU)