The role of legume peptides released during different digestion stages in modulating the bioaccessibility of exogenous iron and zinc: An in-vitro study

Yianna Y Zhang; Regine Stockmann; Ken Ng; Said Ajlouni

doi:10.1016/j.crfs.2021.10.004

The role of legume peptides released during different digestion stages in modulating the bioaccessibility of exogenous iron and zinc: An in-vitro study

Curr Res Food Sci. 2021 Oct 19:4:737-745. doi: 10.1016/j.crfs.2021.10.004. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Yianna Y Zhang^{1

2}, Regine Stockmann², Ken Ng¹, Said Ajlouni¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Agriculture and Food, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia.
² CSIRO Agriculture & Food, 671 Sneydes Road, Werribee, VIC, 3030, Australia.

Abstract

The effects of legume protein fractions on Fe and Zn bioaccessibility remain equivocal to date, largely due to the protein's structure and the presence of anti-nutritional compounds. We administered Fe and Zn salts with legume concentrates consisting mainly of albumin or globulin from lupin, pea and faba to in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. Under the fasted intestinal state, faba globulins were found to enhance Fe²⁺ and Zn solubility compared to control salts without legume proteins. Meanwhile, other fractions had no effect or significantly lowered Fe and Zn solubility. Under the fed intestinal state, the presence globulins enhanced Fe solubility versus the control, where protein solubilization due to high bile concentration likely played a role in circumventing precipitation. The lupin albumin fraction significantly enhanced Fe²⁺ and Zn solubility, whilst other fractions generally reduced Zn solubility under fed state. Our results highlight the complex role of legume proteins towards Fe and Zn solubility.

Keywords: Bioavailability; Iron; Legumes; Mineral bioaccessibility; Plant-based; Zinc.