Enzymatic treatment of pork protein for the enhancement of iron bioavailability

Abstract

The typical intervention for iron-deficiency anaemia is through oral supplementation with iron salts, which have unpleasant side effects. Therefore, there is a need for the development of supplements which will be absorbed more effectively and may have fewer side effects. This study investigated the effects of partially hydrolysed pork proteins on the bioavailability of non-haem iron. The peptides were derived using either pepsin or a combination of bacterial and fungal proteases, and their ability to deliver iron was evaluated in a rat intestine epithelial tissue model. The greatest iron absorption was achieved with peptides hydrolysed by pepsin of low molecular weight (<6–8 kDa). The peptides hydrolysed with bacterial and fungal enzymes may have bound to the iron too strongly, affecting bioavailability. Finally, hydrolysing proteins using pepsin in the presence of iron produces a complex that resulted in more ferritin expression than mixing the peptides with iron after hydrolysis.

Keywords:

• Iron absorption
• bioavailability
• non-haem iron
• pork
• protein hydrolysates

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Amano Enzyme Inc. (Nagoya, Japan) for donating enzyme samples. The authors wish to thank Dr. Peter Purslow, whose past research laid the groundwork for this study, and Mr. Dennis Cha for his support in IEC-6 cell culture experiments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).