Variability in bioavailable iron in hand-pounded traditional rice varieties from a highland village in northern Thailand

摘要

Many have reported that iron (Fe) deficiency anemia is a worldwide problem (WHO 1996, IFPRI1999). It has also been reported that most of the Fe intake of people comes from cereals (Senadhira et al 1998). To improve Fe nutrition of rice consumers, grain Fe concentration must not only be increased, it must also be in a form available to consumers of rice (Welch et al 2000, Glahn et al 2002), Glahn et al (2002) found that bioavailability of Fe in rice varied with genotype and that it was not correlatedwith grain Fe concentration. Furthermore, it has been reported that polishing increases the bioavailable Fe of rice grain in all varieties (Prom-u-thai et al 2004). Polished rice is more commonly consumed in urban areas, but hand-pounded rice is still eaten by people in remote highland villages. (Wooden mortar and pestle are used for pounding.) Therefore, useful information may be obtained by measuring bioavailable Fe in the rice that people actually eat.