Abstract
Iron or zinc deficiency is one of the most important nutritional disorders which causes health problem. However, food fortification with minerals often induces unacceptable organoleptic changes during preparation process and storage, has low bioavailability and solubility, and is expensive. Nanotechnology surface modification to obtain novel characteristics can be a useful tool to overcome these problems. In this study, the efficacy and potential toxicity of dispersible Fe or Zn supplement coated in dextrin and glycerides (SunActive FeTM and SunActive ZnTM) were evaluated in terms of cytotoxicity, intestinal transport, and bioavailability, as compared with each counterpart without coating, ferric pyrophosphate (FePP) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs), respectively. The results demonstrate that the cytotoxicity of FePP was not significantly affected by surface modification (SunActive FeTM), while SunActive ZnTM was more cytotoxic than ZnO-NPs. Cellular uptake and intestinal transport efficiency of SunActive FeTM were significantly higher than those of its counterpart material, which was in good agreement with enhanced oral absorption efficacy after a single-dose oral administration to rats. These results seem to be related to dissolution, particle dispersibility, and coating stability of materials depending on suspending media. Both SunActiveTM products and their counterpart materials were determined to be primarily transported by microfold (M) cells through the intestinal epithelium. It was, therefore, concluded that surface modification of food fortification will be a useful strategy to enhance oral absorption efficiency at safe levels.
Highlights
Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional disorder often occurs in infants, children, and premenopausal women, causing iron deficiency anemia
Physicochemical properties of SunActive FeTM and SunActive ZnTM are displayed in Figures 1, 2, respectively
The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images in low magnification exhibited sphere-like morphology for SunActive FeTM, which seems to be attributed to the organic moiety, such as dextrin and glycerides, while ferric pyrophosphate (FePP) showed irregular aggregation (Figure 1C)
Summary
Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional disorder often occurs in infants, children, and premenopausal women, causing iron deficiency anemia. Food fortification refers to the addition of essential trace elements and vitamins to food, so as to improve the nutritional quality of the food and to provide a public health benefit with minimal risk to health [World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)]. This is a relatively simple and efficient way to prevent mineral deficiency. Mineral fortification in food has challenges because it often causes unacceptable organoleptic changes during preparation process and storage, has a low bioavailability, and is expensive (Hurrell, 2002). Most forms for Zn fortification have unpleasant zinc flavor when applied in the diet
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
