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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 #368978
Research Project: Bioavailability of Iron, Zinc and Select Phytochemicals for Improved Health (Bridging Project)

Location: Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research

Title: Investigation of Nicotianamine and 2’ Deoxymugineic Acid as enhancers of iron bioavailability in Caco-2 cells

Author
item BEASLEY, JESSE - University Of Melbourne
item JOHNAON, ALEXANDER - University Of Melbourne
item Glahn, Raymond
item Hart, Jonathan
item Tako, Elad

Submitted to: Nutrients
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/28/2019
Publication Date: 6/30/2019
Citation: Beasley, J., Johnaon, A., Glahn, R.P., Hart, J.J., Tako, E.N. 2019. Investigation of Nicotianamine and 2’ Deoxymugineic Acid as enhancers of iron bioavailability in Caco-2 cells. Nutrients. 11(7):1502. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11071502.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11071502

Interpretive Summary: Nicotianamine (NA) is a compound present in plants with high affinity for iron ions and other metals. In wheat, NA serves as the precursor of 2’ deoxymugineic acid (DMA), a root-secreted compound that chelates ferric iron (Fe3+) in the plant root for subsequent uptake by the plant. Previous studies have flagged NA and/or DMA as enhancers of iron bioavailability in cereal grain although the extent of this promotion has not been quantified. In this study we utilized a cell system to compare NA and DMA to two known enhancers of Fe bioavailability – epicatechin (Epi) and ascorbic acid (AsA) – and found that both NA and DMA are stronger enhancers of Fe bioavailability than Epi, and NA is a stronger enhancer of Fe bioavailability than AsA. Furthermore, NA reversed Fe uptake inhibition by Myrcetin (Myr) more than Epi, highlighting NA as an important target for biofortification strategies aimed at improving Fe dietary bioavailability in staple plant foods.

Technical Abstract: Nicotianamine (NA) is a low-molecular weight metal chelator in plants with high affinity for ferrous iron (Fe2+) and other divalent metal cations. In graminaceous plant species, NA serves as the biosynthetic precursor to 2’ deoxymugineic acid (DMA), a root-secreted mugineic acid family phytosiderophore that chelates ferric iron (Fe3+) in the rhizosphere for subsequent uptake by the plant. Previous studies have flagged NA and/or DMA as enhancers of Fe bioavailability in cereal grain although the extent of this promotion has not been quantified. In this study we utilized the Caco-2 cell system to compare NA and DMA to two known enhancers of Fe bioavailability – epicatechin (Epi) and ascorbic acid (AsA) – and found that both NA and DMA are stronger enhancers of Fe bioavailability than Epi, and NA is a stronger enhancer of Fe bioavailability than AsA. Furthermore, NA reversed Fe uptake inhibition by Myrcetin (Myr) more than Epi, highlighting NA as an important target for biofortification strategies aimed at improving Fe bioavailability in staple plant foods.