Effect of Chitin and Ascorbic Acid on Dietary Insect Iron Absorption

Iron is involved in many vital metabolic processes such as oxygen transport, electron transport in cells, DNA synthesis and repair, and muscle metabolism. However, iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia continue to affect many people, particularly preschool children (\<5 years), adolescents, and pregnant and non-pregnant women of childbearing age. Iron deficiency is characterized by a lack of total iron stores in the body, which is mainly caused by insufficient dietary iron intake, physiologically increased iron requirements, poor intestinal iron absorption, or chronic blood loss. Animal foods are important sources of highly bioavailable iron in the human diet. Meeting human nutritional needs for the rapidly increasing world population while targeting food production within the planetary boundaries will require the identification of sustainable iron sources, such as edible insects. A previous iron absorption study showed that insect iron is absorbed moderately well. The present study will examine if and to which extent chitin, a polysaccharide within the insect biomass, inhibits iron absorption. In addition, the enhancing iron absorption of ascorbic acid on iron absorption from Tenebrio molitor larvae will be studied. This knowledge can support to optimize the composition of an insect-based meal to increase its iron absorption. To distinguish iron absorption from insect biomass from other sources, insects are labeled with stable iron isotopes (Fe-57, Fe-58, Fe-54) and iron absorption in the blood is measured.