Iron Bioavailability and Pro- and Prebiotics

.............................................................................................................. 3 Sammanfattning................................................................................................... 4 Table of content ................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 7 Aim .................................................................................................................. 7 Probiotics, definition ....................................................................................... 7 Prebiotics, definition ....................................................................................... 7 Material and Methods ...................................................................................... 7 Iron ...................................................................................................................... 8 The function of iron in the body ...................................................................... 8 Iron absorption ................................................................................................ 8 Iron recommendations ................................................................................... 10 Iron deficiency ............................................................................................... 11 Iron overload and toxicity ............................................................................. 12 Methods to determine the bioavailability of iron .......................................... 13 Probiotics ........................................................................................................... 13 Lactobacillus plantarum and non-heme iron absorption ............................... 13 Probiotics, iron-fortified beverages and iron status of children .................... 15 Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria and pathogenic bacteria .................................... 18 Prebiotics ........................................................................................................... 18 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 20 References ......................................................................................................... 21 Figure reference ............................................................................................. 22