Iron bioavailability in low-phytate pea

Non-Peer ReviewedPhytate is the main storage form of phosphorus in the seeds of most crops. Phytate is not well digested by monogastrics and it chelates iron, zinc and some other micronutrients. To increase the nutritional value of pea seeds, two low phytate lines (1-150-81 and 1-2347-144) were developed from CDC Bronco in previous research. In this study, an in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell culture bioassay was used to simulate the iron absorption of peas in humans, as the cell line originated from human colon adenocarcinoma cells. The iron bioavailability of the two low-phytate lines was 1.4 to 1.9 times higher than that of three normal phytate varieties, while having the same total iron concentration. In vivo studies were used to evaluate iron absorption of chickens fed low phytate and normal phytate pea diets. The diets containing the two low-phytate pea lines had no significant effect on chicken body weight and hemoglobin level, compared with the diets containing normal phytate pea cultivars, however, iron deficiency was suspected in all diets used