Abstract:

About one half of the global population is facing the problem of “hidden hunger” due to inadequate intake of micronutrients all over the world, the proportion of iron deficiency anemia in preschool children and gestational age women is up to one third. Iron deficiency leads to obstruction of oxygen transportation and hematopoiesis, abnormal synthesis and function of metalloenzymes, energy metabolism disorder and decreased immune function of the body. It is of great scientific and practical significance to improve the content and bioavailability of micronutrients, especially iron, in agricultural and sideline products to solve this problem of human nutrition and health. Animal-derived iron as an ideal iron source mainly exists in the form of heme iron and ferritin with a significantly higher bioavailability compared with plant-derived iron and common iron supplements. However, the iron content in most animal-derived foods is limited, and few studies has done on how to increase the iron content of animal meat, eggs and milk. Based on the characteristics of iron metabolism and distribution in livestock and poultry, in this review, we compare the bioavailability of main iron sources in organisms, analyze the factors affecting iron enrichment in livestock and poultry products and discuss the feasibility of development and application of iron-rich animal foods.

Key words: functional foods, animal-derived ion-rich foods, iron enrichment, hidden hunger, heme iron