Measuring Dietary Iron Absorption From Edible Insects and Assessing the Effect of Chitin Content on Iron Bioavailability (Study 1)

Summary

Due to the growing world population, there is a need to develop viable ecological and nutritional alternatives to animal food products. However, animal products are a key dietary source of well-absorbed iron, and iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia remain highly prevalent in high- and low-income countries. Meat and fish provide a substantial proportion of absorbed iron in the western diet by two distinct components: a) heme iron is well absorbed (20-45% fractional absorption) and is not affected by most dietary enhancers and inhibitors, which often affect non-heme iron absorption; b) peptides in muscle meat exert an enhancing effect the absorption of non-heme iron contained in other meal components. The potential of edible insects as a dietary source of well-absorbed iron has not been investigated in detail. In particular, it is unclear whether insects provide an iron moiety similar to hemoglobin which would be well absorbed and unaffected by other dietary components, and whether their presence in a test meal exerts an enhancing effect on iron bioavailability from the whole meal.

Furthermore, chitin, a major component of insect biomass, is a known iron binder and is potentially responsible for a decreased iron absorption from insect-based foods. Decreasing chitin content could allow the high amounts of iron in insects to be well-absorbed, and enhance the absorption of iron from plant-based foods. To differentiate iron absorption from insect biomass from other sources, insects will be intrinsically labelled with the stable iron isotope 57Fe, while other food iron components will be labelled with the iron isotope 58Fe.The present study will provide novel data to elucidate the nutritional value as sources of dietary iron of insect species (Tenebrio molitor). Since 2017 T.molitor is recognised as an edible insect in the Swiss food legislation and commercially available (Essento Food AG, Zürich; Insekterei, GmbH, Zürich).

Conditions

• Iron-deficiency

Interventions

OTHER

Refined maize with extrinsic addition of labelled FeSO4

Porridge prepared with refined maize flour with extrinsic addition of FeSO4 (isotopic iron 54)

OTHER

T.molitor native chitin

Porridge prepared with dried intrinsically labelled T.molitor (isotopic iron 57) native chitin, refined maize flour and extrinsic addition FeSO4 (isotopic iron 58)

OTHER

T molitor reduced chitin

Porridge prepared with dried intrinsically labelled T.molitor (isotopic iron 57) reduced chitin, refined maize flour and extrinsic addition FeSO4 (isotopic iron 58)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Zurich University of Applied Sciences

  collaborator OTHER

• Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Nikolin Hilaj, MSc · Laboratory of Human Nutrition ETH Zürich

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

45 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-10-26

Primary Completion

2020-12-08

Completion

2020-12-09

Countries

• Switzerland

Study Locations