BBA Clinical 8 (2017) 78–83
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
BBA Clinical
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/bbaclin
Iron retention in iron-fortified rice and use of iron-fortified rice to treat
women with iron deficiency: A pilot study
T
J.N. Lossoa, N. Karkia, J. Muyongab, Y. Wuc, K. Fusilierd, G. Jacobd, Y. Yue, J.C. Roode,
J.W. Finleya, F.L. Greenwaye,⁎
a
Louisiana State University, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
c
The Wright Group, Crowley, LA, United States
d
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, United States
e
Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
b
A R T I C L E I N F O
A B S T R A C T
Keywords:
Iron
Rice
Anemia
Fortification
Hemoglobin
Objectives: 1. Evaluate the effect of washing and cooking iron-fortified rice on iron retention and bioavailability.
2. Evaluate the effect of iron-fortified rice on women with iron deficiency anemia
Methods: 1. Iron-fortified rice (18 mg/100 g as FeSO4) was cooked in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (C), rinsed and
cooked (RC), fried and cooked (FC), cooked with extra water (CW), or soaked and cooked with extra water
(SCW), and iron retention was determined. 2. Rice samples were cooked in Kampala, Uganda in a lab (C-Uganda)
and households using traditional cooking method (TC-Uganda) and iron retention were determined. 3.
Seventeen women with iron deficiency (low iron and/or low ferritin) anemia were randomized to 100 g/d of rice
(two cooked 0.75 cup servings) for two weeks containing 18 mg/d iron (supplemented) or 0.5 mg/d iron (unsupplemented). Hemoglobin and hematocrit were evaluated at baseline and 2 weeks with other measures of iron
metabolism.
Results: 1. Iron retention, from highest to lowest, was (C), (RC), (FC), (C-Uganda), (CW), (SCW) and (TCUganda). 2. Seventeen women were randomized and 15 completed the study (hemoglobin 10.6 ± 1.6 g, hematocrit 33.7 ± 4.1%), 9 in the iron-fortified rice group and 6 in the un-fortified rice group. The iron-fortified
group had a greater increase in hemoglobin (0.82 g, p = 0.0035) and Hematocrit (1.83%, p = 0.0248) with
directional differences in other measures of iron metabolism favoring the iron-fortified group.
Conclusions: Iron-fortified rice increased hemoglobin and hematocrit in women with iron-deficient anemia. Iron
deficiency and anemia are widespread in Southeast Asia and Africa and undermine development in these regions.
1. Introduction
Micronutrient deficiencies in iron, zinc, vitamins A/B, iodine, and
folic acid affect > 2 billion people worldwide [1,2]. Micronutrient
malnutrition, a common condition in Southeast Asia and Africa, is a risk
factor for several diseases and has profound implications for health,
cognitive development, education, economic development, and productivity in these regions [3–9]. Food fortification with micronutrients
has been recognized as an important health program for the prevention
and treatment of micronutrient deficiencies in many countries around
the world. Although staple foods such as rice, maize, wheat flour, or
cassava fortification can all address the problem of malnutrition, the
focus of our study was on iron fortified rice and predicting its efficacy in
⁎
prevention/treatment of iron deficiency anemia in regions with a rice
based diet.
Iron deficiency is a major public health problem particularly across
Sub-Saharan Africa where 67.6% of pre-school children and 57.1% of
pregnant women suffer from anemia [10]. For example, in Angola, >
56% of children under 5 years of age are anemic [11]. In Cameroon,
the prevalence of iron deficiency in women between the ages of 15 and
49 years and children between the ages of 1 and 5 years has been estimated to be 14% to 68% and 12% to 47%, respectively [12]. Iron
deficiency is associated with a higher prevalence of pre-term birth and
low birth weight babies with lower Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity and Respiration (APGAR) scores [13]. In this region, where rice is
a dietary staple, iron fortified rice may provide the solution for
Corresponding author at: Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, 6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, United States.
E-mail address: Frank.Greenway@pbrc.edu (F.L. Greenway).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbacli.2017.09.001
Received 31 May 2017; Received in revised form 24 August 2017; Accepted 1 September 2017
Available online 08 September 2017
2214-6474/ © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).
BBA Clinical 8 (2017) 78–83
J.N. Losso et al.
mass spectrometry (ICP) as described below. All reagents were of
analytical grade.
prevention of iron deficiency.
There are many advantages associated with the use of polished rice
for iron fortification. Rice is the staple for an estimated 3 billion people
around the world [7], but the iron content in polished rice is very low.
The phytate content of polished rice is low compared to wheat or corn
flour, the fortification of which is associated with adverse interactions
including sensory effects [14]. A significant share of rice coming from
rice mills can be fortified before distribution to the market at a cost that
is not > 3% of the current rice retail price. Iron treatment has been
shown to improve birth weight in a linear fashion [15], and the use of
iron supplementation in food has been demonstrated to be better accepted in developing countries than supplements like iron drops or
pills. Foods supplemented with iron are cheaper and result in higher
compliance to treatment than medication based supplementation [16].
Although fortification of bread through wheat flour has been a
successful strategy in Egypt, other African countries like Nigeria have a
rice-based economy [17]. Fortifying rice with iron is challenging because iron leaches easily from the surface of rice during washing, and
cooking has been reported to decrease the iron concentration of the
iron-fortified rice [18]. Rinse resistant fortified rice kernels have been
developed using an advanced coating technology that applies concentrated nutrients (iron or multiple nutrients) to rice kernels which
can be added to regular rice to produce micronutrient-fortified rice
without altering the taste and with high nutrient retention after
washing [19].
The cooking quality of rice is an important attribute that affects
consumer acceptance, and cooking methods significantly impact the
nutritional values of the cooked rice. There are several ways of cooking
rice according to culture and final cooked rice quality preferences.
Typical rice cooking methods include (1) rinsing and cooking, (2) frying
and cooking without rinsing, (3) cooking with extra water, and (4)
soaking and cooking in extra water. The methods commonly used to
cook rice include boiling, steaming, and pressure-cooking. Boiling can
be performed with a precise volume of water, usually 1.5 to 2 times the
weight of rice, and boiling proceeds until all the water is absorbed and
some has evaporated. During boiling with extra water, the excess water
is discarded when rice has cooked. Each cooking method has a different
effect on nutrient retention.
The objective of this study was two-fold, (1) to determine iron retention in iron-fortified rice that was cooked following each one of the
cooking methods mentioned above, and (2) to carry out a short-term,
double-blind, controlled preliminary evaluation of the Wright Group
fortification technology to confirm that it would effectively treat iron
deficiency anemia by increasing hemoglobin and hematocrit.
2.3. Rice cooking
Fortified rice cooking was performed at two different locations, in
Baton Rouge, LA and in Kampala, Uganda. Rice cooking in Baton Rouge
was performed as follows. All cooking methods used 100 g rice samples
in triplicates and treated as described below. Sample 1 was used as
control uncooked iron-fortified rice. Sample 2 was cooked at boiling
temperature (BT) for 20 min in 200 mL water until fully cooked and no
water remained (absorption method) without rinsing and referred to as
cooked rice (C). Sample 3 was rinsed with 500 mL of water, the rinsing
water was saved and the rice cooked at BT for 20 min with 200 mL
water with absorption method. This sample was referred to as rinsed
and cooked rice (RC). Sample 4 was fried for 1 min in 1 tablespoon of
corn oil and cooked at BT for 20 min without rinsing with absorption
methods. Sample 4 was referred to as fried and cooked rice (FC).
Sample 5 was cooked at BT for 20 min with 500 mL water and referred
to as cooked in excess water sample (CW). After 20 min, the remaining
water was removed and saved for iron analysis. Sample 6 was soaked
for 1 h in 500 mL of water and cooked at BT for 20 min. The excess
water was removed and saved for iron analysis. This sample was referred to as soaked and cooked in excess water sample (SWC).
Fortified rice cooking in Kampala, Uganda was also prepared in
triplicates and performed in two ways as follows. Approach 1. The rice
to water ratio was 1:2. The cooking time of 100 g of rice was about
30 min on low heat after boiling. This was done in the Food Science
Department Lab at Makerere University and referred as to rinsed and
cooked in Uganda (C-Uganda). Approach 2. Fortified rice samples
(500 g triplicates) were given to ten local households. Women in the ten
households prepared rice by following their own customs without any
control, mainly by boiling in open or covered pans over firewood flame.
As the rice boiled, some of the water initially added foamed and poured
out of the pan. In many of the cases, more water was added until the
rice was fully cooked. The cooking time could be around 30 min or
longer. The ratio of rice to water at the beginning of the cooking varied
from 1:1 to 1:2.5. The additional amount of water added varied widely
and was mainly based on amount required to get the rice well cooked.
These various household cooking methods were reported to the researchers of this Uganda study and were referred to as traditional
cooking method (TC-Uganda). Cooked rice samples were collected by
Makerere University researchers for iron retention analysis.
In both approaches used in Uganda, cooking was mainly done on
charcoal stoves, and it was difficult to estimate the cooking temperature. The cooking time varied according to the temperature of the stove
in the Approach 2 (see Table 1).
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Rice samples and reagents
2.4. Iron analysis in cooked rice samples
Rice samples including control (unfortified rice) and iron-fortified
samples were provided by The Wright Group (Crowley, LA). The form
of iron used in the fortified rice was food grade ferrous sulfate.
Concentrated ferrous sulfate was coated on to the rice kennels to form
coated iron fortified rice kernels. Then coated iron fortified rice kernels
were added to the regular rice at a 1 to 200 ratio (1 g of coated iron
fortified rice kernels was added to 199 g of regular rice). The iron
content in the finished iron fortified rice is 18 mg/100 g.
To assess iron retention, uncooked control and cooked rice samples
were lyophilized, ground into powder, passed through a 20 mesh US
Standard screen (0.841 mm), mixed well, and 2 g samples were added
to 5 mL of 5% nitric acid. The samples were mixed well, allowed to
settle and the supernatant was filtered through 0.22 μm filter. The
mineral analysis was performed using inductively coupled plasma-optic
emission spectroscopy (ARCOS, Spectro, Germany for LSU, Baton
Rouge, LA, USA and Perkin Elmer 2380 at Makerere University,
Kampala, Uganda). All reagents were of analytical grade.
2.2. Rinse test for the analysis of iron retention during rinsing
To assess iron retention during rinsing, a rinse test was performed.
Fifteen grams of rice were added to a 250 mL beaker. One hundred mL
of deionized water was added. The sample was stirred vigorously for
30 s with a glass rod. The rice was allowed to settle for 30 s. The water
was decanted. Two mL of concentrated HCl was added to 98 mL of the
rinse water and used for iron analysis by inductively coupled plasma-
2.5. Clinical study
Originally 20 women with iron deficiency determined by a serum
ferritin (Siemens Immulite 2000) and/or a serum iron value (Beckman
Coulter DXC600) below the lower limits of normal for the local laboratory (5 ng/mL and 40 μg/mL, respectively) but otherwise healthy
79
BBA Clinical 8 (2017) 78–83
J.N. Losso et al.
Table 1
Cooking methods used in this study: 1. unfortified uncooked control (UUC); 2. cooked (C); 3. rinsed and cooked (RC); 4. fried and cooked (FC); 5. cooked with extra water (CW); 6. soaked
and cooked with excess water (SCW). Two Uganda cooking methods: 7. and 8; two traditional cooking methods (TC).
Description
Rice
1. 100 g
2. 100 g
3. 100 g
4. 100 g
5. 100 g
6. 100 g
7.100 g
8. 500 g
Water
Cook
200 mL
200 mL
20 min
20 min
20 min
20 min
20 min
500 mL
200 mL
118–296 mL
1183 mL or more
Cook
Rinse
Fry
Soak
500 mL
1 min
500 mL
30 min
> 30 min
between the ages of 18 and 50 years of age were to be recruited from
Baton Rouge, LA area and randomized to receive 100 g of rice (0.75
cups of cooked rice in two servings) per day in a 1:1 ratio of fortified
rice (18 mg iron/100 g rice) or un-fortified rice (0.5 mg iron/100 g rice)
for 2 weeks. The rice dishes were prepared in the Pennington metabolic
kitchen and dispensed frozen in an insulated chest to the subjects
weekly in lots of 14 with instructions to heat and consume one rice dish
twice a day. The subjects were asked to return the dishes with any remaining food with the insulated chest each week. Compliance was
measured by counting the empty containers. Whether the rice dishes
were made with fortified or unfortified rice was blinded to the investigators and the study participants, since the rinse did not alter the
appearance or taste of the rice. Women who were pregnant, nursing,
taking an iron supplement or taking a chronic medication that had not
been stable for 1 month or longer were excluded. Although subjects
were initially recruited from a study of women with irregular menses,
recruitment eventually slowed. The study was halted due to slow recruitment, the blind was broken and analysis performed after randomization of 17 subjects and completion of 15. In addition to the measuring serum iron and ferritin at baseline and 2 weeks, hemoglobin,
hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, red blood cell number, reticulocytes (Beckman Coulter Unicel DxH 800) and transferrin
(Beckman Coulter Immage 800) were also measured.
UUC
C
RC
FC
CW
SWC
TC-Uganda
TC-Uganda
Fig. 1. Iron retention in iron-fortified rice cooked using different cooking techniques.
Different letters indicate statistical significance (p < 0.05).
fried and cooked and cooked rice was not significant. However, there
was significant difference in iron retention between cooked and cooked
in extra water. There was also significant difference between cooked in
extra water and soaked and cooked in extra water. The iron retention of
cooked in extra water was about 50% while that of soaked and cooked
with extra water was about 67%. When rice was cooked using the
Ugandan traditional way where excessive water is added to rice and the
rice is cooked while water is spilling over the pot, iron retention
was < 45%. These results suggest that significant amount of iron was
lost with discarded or spilled cooking water. For better iron retention,
cooking rice by absorbing cooking water is the best cooking approach.
2.6. Statistical analysis
Differences between the iron content in control rice and rice cooked
using different cooking methods were calculated using ANOVA with a
p-value < 0.05 being considered statistically significant. Categorical
data like race was analyzed by the chi squared test. The normally distributed data like the iron-associated laboratory values were analyzed
by t-test and an alpha of 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. This was a pilot study to power a definitive study and a power
analysis was not performed.
3.2. Clinical study
This trial was approved by the Pennington Biomedical Research
Center IRB, all participants signed an informed consent and the trial
was registered on www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01658488). Seventeen
subjects were randomized to the study and 15 completed. One subject
changed her mind about participating in the trial. Another subject did
not return and could not be contacted. Of the 15 subjects that completed the study, 9 were in the iron-supplemented group and 6 were in
the un-supplemented group (Fig. 2). All subjects in the trial had at least
one of the following tests at or below the normal limits at screening:
ferritin (6 of 15), iron (7 of 15), hemoglobin (12 of 15) or hematocrit
(10 of 15).
All subjects were menstruating women and the two groups were
well-matched. The racial distribution, age, weight, body mass index
(BMI), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and resting
heart rate can be seen in Table 2.
Adverse events included intermittent mild palpitations, mild fatigue
and mild insomnia that were ongoing at the end of the study and all of
which were in the un-supplemented group. An episode of severe
3. Results
3.1. Iron retention
Rice is typically not a good source of iron. Fortification enhanced
the iron content of rice without changing the color or taste. The results
of iron retention in iron-fortified rice samples after cooking using the
different cooking methods mentioned above compared with uncooked
iron-fortified rice sample are presented in Fig. 1.
For rice samples cooked without rinsing and at two different locations (Baton Rouge and Kampala), there was no significant difference in
iron retention. These rice samples retained > 80% of iron after
cooking. There was no significant difference in iron retention between
cooked and rinsed and cooked rice. Similarly, the difference between
80
BBA Clinical 8 (2017) 78–83
J.N. Losso et al.
759 subjects web screened
439 subjects phone screened
121 subjects screened in clinic
17 subjects enrolled and randomly assigned to the treatments
15 subjects completed
9 subjects assigned to iron
2 subjects dropped
6 subjects assigned to regular
Fig. 2. Consort diagram showing the disposition of the subjects that screened and participated in the study.
antihistamine-decongestant twice a day. One subject in the non-supplemented group took amlodipine 5 mg/d and metoprolol 25 mg/d.
The baseline hemoglobin, hematocrit, ferritin, iron and their standard
deviations were 10.6 ± 1.6 g, 33.7 ± 4.1%, 7.36 ± 7.87 ng/mL and
33.5 ± 18.5 μg/dL, respectively. Subjects in the iron fortified group
had a statistically significant increase compared to placebo in hemoglobin (0.82 g, p = 0.0035), hematocrit (1.83%, p = 0.0248) and a
statistical trend toward an increase in ferritin (2.52 ng/mL,
p = 0.0804). There were directional differences between the ironsupplemented and non-supplemented groups that favored the supplemented group in other aspects of iron metabolism (Table 3).
Calculating from the height and weight of the women in the trial
and using the data from Brown et al., the red blood cell volume was
approximately 1.5 L [20]. Since the amount of iron is 3.47 mg/g of
hemoglobin and the increase in hemoglobin above control was 0.82 g,
the approximate amount of iron absorbed from the 14 days of 18 mg/d
of iron fortification of the rice was 2.845 mg. This means that approximately 1.13% of the iron in the rice was absorbed and converted
to hemoglobin.
Table 2
Demographics of the participants in the trial.
Variable
Iron rice
Regular rice
Number completed
Gender
Female
Male
Race
White
Black or African American
Asian
Other
Age (years)
SD
Weight (kg)
SD
Body Mass Index (kg/m2)
SD
SBP (mm Hg)
SD
DBP (mm Hg)
SD
Resting HR (bpm)
SD
9
6
9
0
6
0
4
3
1
1
28.3
6.52
69.72
18.86
25.61
6.90
112.67
13.92
74.22
7.96
69.1
6.17
3
2
1
0
30.20
9.74
62.72
11.39
23.63
3.36
115.67
11.27
76.00
7.56
65.3
6.77
p-Value
N/A
0.8557
0.6676
0.4322
0.5291
0.6697
0.6730
0.2837
4. Discussion
The cooking method did not affect iron retention when no extra
water was involved, but extra water decreased the retained iron. This
suggests that iron-fortified rice prepared by the coating technology can
be used by different cultures that use the cooking method mentioned
above even with washing, but that extra water should be minimized.
Since these methods represent the majority of the world cultures, ironfortified rice with rinse resistance can be offered to populations in SubSaharan Africa and Southeast Asia where iron deficiency is pronounced
migraine headache and an episode of mild sinus congestion resolved
during the study, both of which were in the un-supplemented group.
Three study participants in the iron supplemented group were on stable
doses of medication. One was on Amlodipine 5 mg/d and
Hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg/d, another took a birth control pill and eye
drops containing ciprofloxacin and prednisolone acetate one drop four
times a day and the third used an albuterol inhaler and an
81
BBA Clinical 8 (2017) 78–83
J.N. Losso et al.
caloric intake (200 g or more per day) in 17 countries in Asia and the
Pacific, 6 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, a country in Latin America
and one in the Caribbean [22]. Although iron supplementation has been
attempted using fish sauce in Vietnam, rice appears to be an underutilized vehicle to deliver iron in countries that have a rice-based diet
[22]. The method of fortifying rice with iron used in this study applies a
concentrated iron compound, ferrous sulfate, to the rice through an
advanced coating technology. The resulting iron fortified kernels were
then added to the regular rice at a 1 to 200 ration to form the finished
iron fortified rice that does not change the color or taste of the fortified
rice and can be washed before cooking. Iron fortified rice using this
coating technology has been tested in a pilot scale commercialization
effort in the Philippines, and anemia was decreased from 17.5% to
12.8% in children [23]. Our present study, however, is the first doubleblinded, controlled clinical trial testing the effect of this iron supplementation method to treat iron-deficiency anemia. Iron supplementation using this method adds 2% to 5% to the cost of the rice [22].
This demonstration of safety and efficacy of iron-fortified rice to
treat iron deficiency anemia in our trial justifies the introduction of this
type of iron supplementation into countries with a high prevalence of
iron deficiency and a rice-based diet. A safe and inexpensive method of
introducing iron supplementation into food in these developing countries should help to improve the quality of life of the women with iron
deficiency by reversing the fatigue and apathy that often accompanies
anemia. This rice fortification with iron should also reduce the incidence of pre-term, low birth weight babies with a low APGAR scores
and may also improve the brain development of these babies, something that could improve their quality of life over their entire lifetime.
Table 3
Change in iron metabolism.
Variable
Number
completed
Hemoglobin
(HGB) g/dL
W2-W0
SD
Hematocrit (HCT)
%
W2-W0
SD
Red blood cell #
(RBC) 10^6
W2-W0
SD
Reticulocytes
(RETIC) %
W2-W0
SD
Iron (FE) μg/dL
W2-W0
SD
Transferin (TRF)
mg/dL
W2-W0
SD
FE/TRF μg/dL/
mg/dL
W2-W0
SD
Ferritin (FERR)
ng/mL
W2-W0
SD
MCV fL
W2-W0
SD
Baseline value/normal
Iron rice
Regular rice
p-Value
9
6
10.7 ± 1.6
nl. 12–16 g/dL
0.52
0.51
−0.30
0.27
0.0035⁎⁎⁎
33.3 ± 4/1
nl. 37–47%
1.13
1.41
−0.72
1.33
0.0248⁎
4.3 ± 0.4
nl.
3.8–5.4 × 106 cells/μL
0.09
0.25
−0.09
0.11
0.1340
1.2 ± 0.6
nl. 0.9–2.3%
0.25
0.53
−0.02
0.26
0.2681
33.5 ± 18.5
nl. 40–150 μg/dL
8.44
25.20
3.17
15.79
0.6574
340.9 ± 47.8
nl. 202–336 mg/dL
− 6.11
22.14
−5.83
8.77
0.9773
0.098
nl. 0.25–0.35
(25–35%)
− 0.35
1.97
−0.26
3.70
0.9527
7.4 ± 7.9
nl. 5–148 ng/mL
2.50
3.11
−0.02
1.01
0.0804
78.2 ± 10.1
nl. 81–99 fL
0.91
1.20
−0.27
1.44
0.1090
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Values are difference of means and standard deviation (SD).
⁎
p < 0.05.
⁎⁎⁎
p < 0.005.
with the limitation that iron retention will be less in places where rice is
cooked with extra water. Fortunately, the concentration of the rinse can
be adjusted to the cooking method of a region without altering taste or
appearance to compensate for a reduction in the iron fortification.
Retention of five micronutrients including vitamin A, iron, zinc,
folic acid, and vitamin B12 in fortified rice was investigated using
different cooking methods and three different methods of fortification,
hot extrusion, cold extrusion and coating [21]. Micronutrient retention
was between 75% and 100% regardless of fortification method or the
cooking method which included cooking with or without washing,
washing before cooking, cooking in excess water, and frying. This study
also concluded that rice fortification by coating technology was not
inferior to other fortification methods such as extrusion.
Although this study was terminated early due to recruiting problems, it demonstrated with statistical significance that an iron-fortified
rice delivering 18 mg of iron per day increased hemoglobin and hematocrit compared to the un-fortified rice containing 0.5 mg of iron per
day. There were no adverse events in the supplemented group during
the trial, demonstrating that the iron-fortified rice was well tolerated.
Thus, this study demonstrates that an iron supplement applied in a
fortified rice format which withstands cooking is capable of treating
iron deficiency anemia in women.
Wheat flour has been the typical vehicle for iron supplementation,
since iron can be added without having impact on the food's color or
taste. Rice, however, is the staple food for nearly half of the world's
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