Effects of ascorbic acid, phytic acid and tannic acid on iron bioavailability from reconstituted ferritin measured by an in vitro digestion-Caco-2 cell model.

The effects of ascorbic acid (AA), phytate and tannic acid (TA) on Fe bioavailability from Fe supplied as reconstituted ferritin were compared with FeSO4 using an in vitro digestion-Caco-2 cell model. Horse spleen apoferritin was chemically reconstituted into an animal-type ferritin (HSF) and a plant-type ferritin (P-HSF) according to the typical ratios of Fe:P found in these molecules. In the presence of AA (Fe:AA molar ratio of 1:20), significantly more Fe was absorbed from FeSO4 (about 303 %), HSF (about 454 %) and P-HSF (about 371 %) when compared with ferrous sulfate or ferritin without AA.