Review Article
Effect of Biofortified Staple Food Crops on Iron Status- A Review
Vohra K1, Dhasmana A2, Keshri A2, Mittal M2, Ramaswamy G3, Singh N1, Gawande K1, Gupta S1, Khandelwal R1, Neha J1 and Yadav K1*
1National Centre of Excellence and Advanced Research on Anemia Control, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Centre for
Community Medicine, India
2M.Sc. Scholar, Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, India
3Centre for Community and Family Medicine, Bibinagar, India
*Corresponding author: Yadav K, National Centre of Excellence and Advanced Research on Anemia Control, All India Institute
of Medical Sciences, Centre for Community Medicine, India; Email: dr.kapilyadav@gmail.com
Submission: 14/03/2021;
Accepted: 17/04/2021;
Published: 19/04/2021
Copyright: © 2021 Vohra K, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: Iron deficiency is the most common micronutrient deficiency globally and represents a major threat to public health. Food-based strategies
alone have not been universally successful to reduce nutritional iron deficiency. Biofortification has the potential to become a sustainable, inexpensive, and
effective solution, particularly in resource-limited settings.
Objective: To determine the efficacy of iron-biofortified staple food crops such as rice, beans, pearl millets to improve the iron status of the individuals.
Methods: A systematic literature search of randomized and non-randomized trials was done by two authors in scientific databases such as PubMed,
Google scholar, IndMed, Cochrane library published till June 2019. The search strategy comprised of using keywords like ‘Biofortification and iron status’,
‘Biofortification and anemia’, and ‘Biofortification of staplefoods.
Results: The total number of studies included in the final review is eight. Serum ferritin (SF), Total body iron (TBI), quantity of iron absorbed, C-reactive
protein (CRP), Alpha-1-glycoprotein (AGP), haemoglobin level, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) was measured to assess the iron status. Four studies
reported a significant increase in SF level after the intervention with certain iron-biofortified food such as rice, beans, pearl millets. On average, a significant
increase in SF or Hb level was recorded after consumption of beans and rice. Three studies reported an increase in iron absorption in the body by consuming
biofortified crops as compared to non-biofortified crops.