Food Science Commons^™

Meat Effects On Nonheme Iron Absorption, Yunji Kim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Studies were undertaken to investigate if gastric acidity and iron chelation to a meat component enhance nonheme iron absorption. Cereal meals, with and without added proteins, were gavaged into iron-deficient rats. The role of iron chelation was investigated by adding sodium phytate, an iron chelator implicated with decreased iron absorption, to the meals. The role of gastric acidity was investigated by treating the rats with cimetidine, which inhibits gastric acid production. In rats with normal acid production, beef, pork and chicken enhanced iron absorption when phytate had been added to the meals, suggesting a role for chelation in meat enhancement …