Heme and Nonheme Iron Content of Animal Products Commonly Consumed in Thailand

Abstract

When estimating the iron bioavailability of a meal, the amount and type of meat consumed should be considered; therefore, animal products commonly consumed in Thailand were analyzed for iron attached to hemoglobin (heme iron) and other iron compounds (nonheme iron). Conventional household cooking methods, i.e., blanch- ing, boiling and steaming, were used for sample preparation. The results showed that cooked chicken breast and drumsticks contained small amounts of heme iron (0.1 and 0.3 mg/100 g) and nonheme iron (0.3 and 0.6 mg/100 g). Heme and nonheme iron in cooked beef loin was found to be 1.1 and 1.3 mg/100 g, respectively. Liver is a good source of iron, particularly pork liver (12.6 mg/100 g), with approximately 2.3 mg/100 g of heme iron. Cooked blood curds from pork and chicken were the best sources of heme iron; the average was 9.2 and 15.4 mg/100 g, respectively. Cooked meatballs and sausage products contained only small amounts of heme and nonheme iron, ranging from trace to 0.3 and 0.2 to 0.5 mg/100 g, respectively. A good source of total and heme iron was also found in cooked shellfish, especially steamed green mussels and blanched cockle with approximately 14.7 and 17.7 mg/100 g for total iron, and 4.0–9.1 mg/100 g for heme iron, respectively. Of the animal products analyzed in this study and commonly eaten by Thai people, cooked blood curds were determined to be the richest source of dietary heme iron.