Bioavailability of iron from purple laver (Porphyra spp.) estimated in a rat hemoglobin regeneration bioassay.
Laver belongs to the genius of Porphyra and is the most valuable seaweed in the aqua-culture industry. It contains higher iron than many other plant foods. The bioavailability of iron from laver was evaluated in a rat hemoglobin regeneration assay. Reagent-grade ferrous sulfate was used as the reference standard, and the relative biological value (RBV) for laver was expressed as a percentage of the response to ferrous sulfate. RBV was calculated by two methods: slope-ratio and ratio of hemoglobin regeneration efficiency, and both yielded RBV of 26 for laver. Amount of available iron from laver estimated from RBV was comparable to many iron-fortified foods.
Shaw
N S
NS
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 10764, Republic of China. nsshaw@ccms.ntu.edu.tw
Liu
Y H
YH
D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D001682:Biological Availability; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007501:Iron / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D000461:Rhodophyta / Q000737:chemistry*
D006454:Hemoglobins; D007501:Iron