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Bioavailability of iron and manganese in seed of plant Amaranthus cruentus after

simulated gastrointestinal digestion

Dino Muhović

dino.m@sezampro.rs Regional Center for Talented Youth Belgrade II

Introduction II

Plant Amaranthus cruentus had been consumed for
centuries on the territory of present-day Mexico. Since it
does not contain gluten, it is one of the potential candidates
to replace wheat in people who are intolerant to gluten. It
also has a high content of micro and macro elements. Iron
and manganese are elements necessary for life. Iron is an
integral part of many complex proteins. Cofactor, hem,
enters into the composition of proteins that store or
transport oxygen, such as myoglobin. Manganese is a
cofactor in many enzymes, such as those belonging to the
class of oxido-reductase.[1, 2]

Methods

Figure I and II. Bioavailability of Fe and Mn upon
The amount of iron and manganese in untreated and non- simulated gastrointestinal digestion compared to the whole
digested amaranth seeds was determined using ICP-OES non-digested seed (Legend: SEED – non-digested whole
method. The remainder of the sample was divided into seed; Seed NB – non-boiled digested seed; Seed B –
groups that were subjected to mechanical (grinding) and / boiled digested seed; Seed G NB – non-boiled grinded
or thermal (cooking) treatment. Then the groups of treated seed; Seed G B – boiled grinded seed.)
samples were subjected to complete simulated
gastrointestinal digestion (in vitro digestion with porcine
enzymes). After digestion, samples were centrifuged and Summary
the amount of released iron and manganese was determined
in supernatant by using the ICP-OES method. Based on the obtained results it can be concluded that the

bioavailability of manganese and iron after digestion is not
Results complete. Bioavailability of iron is extremely low, while
bioavailability of manganese is about 20% of the amount of
manganese in the whole untreated and non-digested seed.
Fe Mn Also, from the graphics can be clearly concluded that
Sample
(mg/100g of seed) (mg/100g of seed) bioavailability of these elements increases significantly
Seed 9.23 ± 2.18 2.10 ± 0.09 after the thermal and mechanical treatments. Mechanical
treatment of grain (grinding) is more efficient than thermal
Table 1. Amount of Fe and Mn in whole non-digested seed
treatment (cooking) for the increasing of bioavailability of
I iron and manganese.

References:

1. Caselato-Sousa, V.M. and J. Amaya-Farfán, State of
knowledge on amaranth grain: a comprehensive
review. Journal of food science, 2012. 77(4): p.
R93-104.
2. 2. Saturni, L., G. Ferretti, and T. Bacchetti, The
Gluten-Free Diet: Safety and Nutritional Quality.
Nutrients, 2010. 2(1): p. 16-34.