The Estimation of Iron, Zinc, Phytic Acid Contents and Their Molar Ratios in Different Types of Bread and Rice Consumed in Halabja City, Iraqi Kurdistan

Abstract

A total of 10 samples involving five bread and five rice types and five cooked rice were selected. The iron and Zn contents were analyzed using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrophotometer (ICP-MS), and phytic acid content was analyzed using a rapid colorimetric method using a spectrophotometer. Phytic acid to Fe and Zn molar ratios were also determined using their molar weight to determine the potential bioavailability of selected nutrients. A one-way ANOVA test was used to statistically analyze the means differences between the phytate and mineral contents between the bread and rice samples. The variation of Fe and Zn (mg kg-1) in the bread samples was 24.1-65.6 and 13.3-22.8, in row rice was 10.8 to 45.3 and 8.66-17.4, and in cooked rice was 10.0-45.2 and 6.03-15.5 respectively. The PA concentration in (g 100g-1) was 0.77-1.14 for bread, 0.61-1.10 for row rice, and 0.31-0.77 for cooked rice. And also, PA/Fe and PA/Zn ratios were 2.58-6.01 and 8.07-13.4 for bread, 0.25-1.35, and 39.7-110 for row rice, and 0.11-0.89 and 23.0-125 for cooked rice, respectively. The results indicated that soaking and cooking processes caused the reduction in the Fe, Zn, and PA concentrations by 22.4, 5.54, and 27.7 %, respectively. These results from PA/Fe and PA/Zn molar ratios show that Fe had moderate bioavailability while Zn had low bioavailability. The results may be valuable for generate cultivars of wheat and rice varieties with suitable concentrations of PA and micronutrients, which can lead to the improvement of micronutrient-rich cultivars to reduce malnutrition.