In vitro iron absorption of α-lactalbumin hydrolysate-iron and β-lactoglobulin hydrolysate-iron complexes

To study the feasibility of promoting iron absorption by peptides derived from α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin, the present work examined the transport of iron across Caco-2 monolayer cell as in vitro model. Caco-2 cells were seeded in bicameral chambers with α-lactalbumin hydrolysate-Fe (α-LAH-Fe) complex and β-lactoglobulin hydrolysate-Fe (β-LGH-Fe) complex, α-LAH and iron mixture, β-LGH and iron mixture, FeSO4 and ascorbic acid mixture, and FeSO4. In addition, the cytotoxicity of α-LAH-Fe and β-LGH-Fe complexes were measured by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The iron absorption and ferritin content were assessed using the coupled in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell model. Results support that peptide-iron complexes can promote ferritin formation and it is possible to apply β-LGH-Fe complexes as iron-fortified supplements with high iron absorbability.