View clinical trials related to Biofortification.
Filter by:Two of the most common nutritional deficiencies are anemia and zinc deficiency. One strategy for combating nutritional deficiencies is biofortification. The primary objective of the proposed research is to determine in humans the bioavailability of iron and zinc from biofortified potatoes as compared to a non-fortified local variety. The secondary objective is to use the data obtained from the human studies to model the potential impact of the introduction of biofortified potatoes to the alleviation of iron and zinc deficiencies in the Andean Highlands and low and middle-income countries elsewhere. Iron bioavailability studies: The investigators will compare bioavailability of iron from a non-fortified potato variety with a biofortified potato that has significantly higher iron content though the use of a randomized cross-over intervention study. Female volunteers will consume both biofortified potato extrinsically labelled with 58FeSO4 and a nonfortified potato labelled with 57FeSO4. Thirty women with marginal iron status (plasma ferritin < 25 ng/ml) will be selected from an initial screening of 180 women. Every woman will receive 2 different types of test meals in a series of 20 servings for 10 days each. Blood samples will be collected during screening and on days 1, 15, 26 and 40 and the amount of 58Fe and 57Fe incorporated into hemoglobin and serum ferritin quantified. Zinc bioavailability study: The investigators will compare bioavailability of zinc from a non-fortified potato variety with that of a biofortified potato that has significantly higher zinc content (p<0.001) with a crossover study. Forty volunteers will be randomly assigned to receive first either the biofortified or the non-fortified potato and receive the second meal 30 days later. Zinc absorption from two meals will be measured using the double stable isotope technique. Every volunteer will be given an i.v. infusion of 70zinc and two test meals of 250 g cooked potato labelled extrinsically with 67zinc separated by 3-4 hr. A spot urine sample will be collected 96 hours after each set of test meal and the ratio of the two isotopes measured to calculate absorption of zinc from the test meal. Modelling and Impact assessment: Data on bioavailability will be used in a Disability Adjusted Life Year model to assess the potential impact of biofortified potatoes to alleviate iron and zinc deficiencies in the Andean Highlands and low and middle-income countries elsewhere.
Iron deficiency (ID) with or without anemia is still a main public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, especially in vulnerable population groups such as children below 5 years of age and women of reproductive age. The etiology of ID is multifactorial; but major causes are low iron dietary bioavailability and intake from monotonous cereal-based diets aggravated by chronic parasitic infections such as malaria and soil-transmitted helminthes. Approaches such as dietary diversification, supplementation with pharmacological iron doses, public health measures (e.g. deworming, malaria control) and food fortification with different iron compounds have notably reduced morbidity and mortality caused by ID but have not been universally successful. Biofortification is a new promising approach to combat micronutrient deficiencies such as ID. It is defined as the process of increasing the content and bioavailability of essential nutrients such as iron in crops by traditional plant breeding and/or genetic engineering. Pearl millet is a staple food for many people living in different areas of West Africa (e.g. Northern Benin) and India, two parts of the world, where ID is still widely prevalent. Therefore, pearl millet was one of the crops targeted for iron biofortification by HarvestPlus. To improve human iron status successfully, the additional iron gained through biofortification has to be at least as bioavailable as the iron in regular peal millet varieties. For that reason we are planning an iron absorption study where we will investigate the iron bioavailability from an iron-biofortified millet variety and compare it with the iron bioavailability from a regular-iron millet variety and from regular-iron millet fortified post-harvest with ferrous sulfate (FeSO4). Iron absorption will be determined by incorporation of labeled iron into erythrocytes, at least 14 days after the administration of the test meals containing labeled iron (stable isotope technique). The three different test meals based on 1) regular-iron, 2) iron-biofortified and 3) post-harvest iron-fortified millet will be administered as multiple meals i.e. each study participant will consume each test meal for a period of 5 days (2 portions/day; one in the morning, one for lunch). Twenty apparently healthy Beninese women with a low/marginal iron status (serum ferritin < 25 ;g/L), non-anemic or mildly anemic (hemoglobin >90 g/L), 18-30 years of age with a body weight < 65 kg and normal body mass index will be included in the study. The results of the study will provide important insights on the iron bioavailability from regular, biofortified and post-harvest fortified staple crops such as pearl millet when feeding multiple meals as part of a more complex diet. The results can be applied to different meals based on pearl millet such as the West African millet pastes or the Indian flat breads.