Processing-Dependent Releasing of Iron from Plant Ferritin in Cereal-Based Foods Designed for Iron Delivery in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Fortified soybean sprouts have been proposed as a source of ferritin-iron in food for the treatment of anemia in inflammatory bowel disease. Eight products with the addition of the sprouts have been designed, and iron speciation was studied in them by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (total iron content) and spectrophotometry (ionic forms). Non-ionic iron content, considered ferritin-iron content, was calculated as the difference between total and inorganic iron content. The production of crispbread disrupted ferritin and caused the release of ferritin-iron. A loss of ~3% of ferritin-iron was noted in rice wafers containing a coarse fraction of sprouts, and 0-10% in instant products ('kisiel', 'budyn', and groats). Lost ferritin-iron was converted mostly into ferrous iron, except for crispbread, in which Fe(III) constituted ~30%. The designed products are valuable sources of iron, with a high content of plant ferritin.