Double salt fortification with iodine and iron: An in vivo study on albino rat

Iron, iodine and vitamin A deficiencies are major clinical conditions affecting 33% of global population. Dual fortification of salt with iron and iodine could be a sustainable approach to fight against Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA) and Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD). The present work was designed to analyse the bioavailability of iron and iodine fortificants. For this reason, common table salt (NaCl) was subjected to various analyses like moisture, ash and minerals followed by double salt fortification with iron compounds like sodium iron ethylene diamine tetra acetate (NaFeEDTA), iron(II) sulphate (FeSO4) and potassium iodate (KIO3) at two different levels. Bioavailability of iron and iodine fortificants was analysed by feeding albino rats with fortified salt at 3.5%. Serum thyroxin (T4) level increased significantly from day 0 to 28 (26.72 +/- 0.2 to 31.41 +/- 0.4 mnol/L). Haemoglobin (Hb) and serum ferritin levels also depicted significant increase with the passage of time. However, whole blood zinc protoporphyrin, serum transferrin and serum triiodothyronine significantly decreased. As a conclusion, the present work revealed that double fortification of salt with iron and iodine along with a suitable stabiliser could be an effective strategy to control the two major micronutrient deficiencies. (C) All Rights Reserved