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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Ithaca, New York » Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health » Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #360129
Title: Iron biofortified carioca bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.) —based Brazilian diet delivers more absorbable iron and affects the gut microbiota in vivo (gallus gallus)

Author
item MORAIS DIAS, DESIRRÊ - Universidade Federal De Vicosa
item Kolba, Nikolai
item BINYAMIN, DANA - Bar-Ilan University
item ZIV, OREN - Bar-Ilan University
item REGINI NUTTI, MARILIA - Embrapa
item STAMPINI DUARTE, MARTINO HÉRCIA - Universidade Federal De Vicosa
item Glahn, Raymond
item KOREN, OMRY - Bar-Ilan University
item Tako, Elad

Submitted to: Nutrients
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/9/2018
Publication Date: 12/13/2018
Citation: Morais Dias, D., Kolba, N.J., Binyamin, D., Ziv, O., Regini Nutti, M., Stampini Duarte, M., Glahn, R.P., Koren, O., Tako, E.N. 2018. Iron biofortified carioca bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.) —based Brazilian diet delivers more absorbable iron and affects the gut microbiota in vivo (gallus gallus). Nutrients. 10(12):1970. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10121970.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10121970

Interpretive Summary: Dietary iron (Fe) deficiency affects 25% of the world population. Biofortification aims to improve Fe absorption from food crops (as beans). In this study, we performed a 6-week feeding trial in broilers, aimed to investigate the Fe status and the effect on the intestinal bacterial populations following the consumption of Fe-biofortified carioca bean diet (BC) versus a Fe-standard carioca bean diet (SC). Dietary Fe deficiency is a health concern in Brazil. Hence, the tested diets were based on the Brazilian food consumption survey. Results indicated on: (1) improved Fe status in the group receiving the BC diet; and (2) increased beneficial bacterial populations in the BC group. Our results demonstrate that the BC bean variety moderately improved the delivery of dietary Fe and intesinal bacterial populations.

Technical Abstract: Biofortification aims to improve the micronutrient concentration and bioavailability in staple food crops. Unlike other strategies utilized to alleviate Fe deficiency, studies of the gut microbiota in the context of Fe biofortification are scarce. In this study, we performed a 6-week feeding trial in Gallus gallus (n = 15), aimed to investigate the Fe status and the alterations in the gut microbiome following the administration of Fe-biofortified carioca bean based diet (BC) versus a Fe-standard carioca bean based diet (SC). The tested diets were designed based on the Brazilian food consumption survey. Two primary outcomes were observed: (1) a significant increase in total body Hb-Fe values in the group receiving the Fe-biofortified carioca bean based diet; and (2) changes in the gut microbiome composition and function were observed, specifically, significant changes in phylogenetic diversity between treatment groups, as there was increased abundance of bacteria linked to phenolic catabolism, and increased abundance of beneficial SCFA-producing bacteria in the BC group. The BC group also presented a higher intestinal villi height compared to the SC group. Our results demonstrate that the Fe-biofortified carioca bean variety was able to moderately improve Fe status and to positively affect the intestinal functionality and bacterial populations.