TY - JOUR AU - García , Olga P. AU - Martínez , Mara AU - Romano , Diana AU - Camacho , Mariela AU - de Moura , Fabiana F. AU - Abrams , Steve A. AU - Khanna , Harjeet K. AU - Dale , James L. AU - Rosado , Jorge L. PY - 2015/02/05 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Iron absorption in raw and cooked bananas: a field study using stable isotopes in women JF - Food & Nutrition Research JA - fnr VL - 59 IS - SE - Original Articles DO - 10.3402/fnr.v59.25976 UR - https://foodandnutritionresearch.net/index.php/fnr/article/view/831 SP - AB - Background: Banana is a staple food in many regions with high iron deficiency and may be a potential vehicle for iron fortification. However, iron absorption from bananas is not known.Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate total iron absorption from raw and cooked bananas.Design: Thirty women (34.9±6.6 years) from rural Mexico were randomly assigned to one of two groups each consuming: 1) 480 g/day of raw banana for 6 days, or 2) 500 g/day of cooked banana for 4 days. Iron absorption was measured after extrinsically labeling with 2 mg of 58Fe and a reference dose of 6 mg 57Fe; analysis was done using ICP-MS.Results: Iron content in cooked bananas was significantly higher than raw bananas (0.53 mg/100 g bananas vs. 0.33 mg/100 mg bananas, respectively) (p<0.001). Percent iron absorption was significantly higher in raw bananas (49.3±21.3%) compared with cooked banana (33.9±16.2%) (p=0.035). Total amount of iron absorbed from raw and cooked bananas was similar (0.77±0.33 mg vs. 0.86±0.41 mg, respectively).Conclusion: Total amount of absorbed iron is similar between cooked and raw bananas. The banana matrix does not affect iron absorption and is therefore a potential effective target for genetic modification for iron biofortification.Keywords: iron absorption; bananas; iron deficiency(Published: 5 February 2015)Citation: Food & Nutrition Research 2015, 59: 25976 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/fnr.v59.25976Responsible Editor: Seppo Salminen, University of Turku, Finland. ER -