It has previously been suggested that organic acids enhance iron absorption. We have studied the effect of nine organic acids on the absorption of Fe(II) and Fe(III) in the human epithelial cell line Caco-2. The effect obtained was dose-dependent, and the greatest increase (43-fold) was observed for tartaric acid (4 mmol/L) on Fe(III) (10 micromol/L). Tartaric, malic, succinic, and fumaric acids enhanced Fe(II) and Fe(III) uptake. Citric and oxalic acid, on the other hand, inhibited Fe(II) uptake but enhanced Fe(III) uptake. Propionic and acetic acid increased the Fe(II) uptake, but had no effect on Fe(III) uptake. Our results show a correlation between absorption pattern and chemical structure; e.g. hydroxyl groups, in addition to carboxyls, were connected with a positive influence. The results may be important for elucidating factors affecting iron bioavailability in the small intestine and for the development of foods with improved iron bioavailability.

Previous studies have shown that organic acids have an impact on both Fe(II) and Fe(III) uptake in Caco-2 cell. However, to what extent this effect is correlated with the anion of organic acids per se, or with the resulting decrease in pH, has not yet been clarified. Therefore, we studied the effect of five organic acids (tartaric, succinic, citric, oxalic, and propionic acid) on the absorption of Fe(II) and Fe(III) in Caco-2 cells and compared this with sample solutions without organic acids but set to equivalent pH by HCl. The results showed that the mechanisms behind the enhancing effect of organic acids differed for the two forms of iron. For ferric iron the organic acids promoted uptake both by chelation and by lowering the pH, whereas for ferrous iron the promoting effect was caused only by the lowered pH.

An emerging model to test antioxidants for application in seafoods is washed cod mince fortified with hemoglobin (Hb) as a catalyst. This system has been used to test the antioxidative activity of certain muscle extracts and some pure compounds such as BHA, BHT, TBHQ, and propyl gallate during ice storage. However, the washed cod mince model has occasionally been resistant to Hb-mediated oxidation. This has been in cases when the moisture of the model has been minimized by washes at the protein isoelectric point (pH approximately 5.5) to allow for large additions of potentially antioxidative solutions. In this paper, noncontrollable and controllable factors for this intriguing occasional oxidation resistance were studied. Compositional analyses (lipid content, alpha-tocopherol, and lipid hydroperoxides) and structural analysis of a "normal" oxidizing model and a stable model were done to identify any differences among them. Some controllable factors related to the model preparation that were studied included different washing pH values (5.5-6.6), Hb concentrations (7.2 and 13.5 microM), final model moisture contents (75, 81, and 90%), and light exposure during ice storage (0 h, 3-4 h, or 24 h of light/day). Results revealed a 2-fold higher alpha-tocopherol content in the stable model than in the oxidizing model. Electron microscopy images showed a more and less disrupted myofibrillar structure in the stable and the oxidizing cod model, respectively. This indicated that "cold setting" (i.e., pre-gelation) of the stable model may have occurred and prevented Hb from diffusing freely in the model. Controllable factors that reduced lipid oxidation in the models were less Hb and lower moisture.