Investigation of nicotianamine and 2′ deoxymugineic acid as enhancers of iron bioavailability in Caco-2 cells

Abstract

Nicotianamine (NA) is a low-molecular weight metal chelator in plants with high affnity 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 aci..