Multitracer study on behavior of various trace elements anemic rats: Effect of sodium iron ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and ferrous sulfate as food additives

Iron deficiency in population subsisting on oereal-based diets is largely due to the poor absorption of iron from these foodstuffs. Sodium iron ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (NaFeEDTA), a strong metal chelator, is one of the food additives for iron fortification and it is stable during processing and storage. However, there is possibility that EDTA might bind other metals and change the state of these metals. In this study, to investigate the effect of NaFeEDTA on the absorption of various trace elements, we determined the uptakes of metals in anemic rats using multitracer technique. The uptake of Zn and Co in rats fed with NaFeEDTA diet were lower than those in rats fed with ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) diet. On the other hand, iron fortification using the FeSO4 in the presence of tannic acid decreased the bioavailability of Zn and Rb. However, no effect of tannic acid on the rate of metal absorption was observed in NaFeEDTA, suggesting that iron fortification using NaFeEDTA is less affected by tannic acid than that using the FeSO4 diet. These results indicate that iron fortification using NaFeEDTA is an effective method for improving deficiency. (author)