Pulse Probiotic Superfood as Iron Status Improvement Agent in Active Women—A Review

Abstract

Active women or women of reproductive age (15–49 years old) have a high risk of suffering from anaemia. Anaemia is not solely caused by iron deficiency, however, the approaches to improve iron status in both cases are greatly related. Improving the iron status of active women can be done by dietary intervention with functional food. This review aims to provide insights about the functional food role to increase iron absorption in active women and the potency of pulse probiotic superfood development in dry matrices. Results showed that the beneficial effect of iron status is significantly improved by the synergic work between probiotic and prebiotic. Furthermore, chickpeas and lentils are good sources of prebiotic and the consumption of pulses are related with 21st century people’s intention to eat healthy food. There are wide possibilities to develop functional food products incorporated with probiotics to improve iron status in active woman.

Innovative Application of Chicken Eggshell Calcium to Improve the Functional Value of Gingerbread

“…The soluble dietary fiber is linked to lowering cholesterol and blood glucose level [ 65 ]. It could also act as a prebiotic as it becomes a substrate for gut microbiota, thus it could decrease the pH in the colon during fermentation, and therefore could increase the micromineral absorption [ 66 ]. Calcium is easily absorbed in lower pH conditions [ 18 ].…”

Iron oxide nanoparticles carried by probiotics for iron absorption: a systematic review

“…Fe 3+ can only be absorbed if converted to ferrous iron (Fe 2+ ) in the presence of the duodenal cytochrome b reductase 1 (DCYTB) [ 83 ]. Reducing agents, such as ascorbic acid, citric acid, other organic acids, and amino acids (cysteine and histidine), may increase endogenous stomach acid production, thus stimulating iron absorption [ 84 ]. Dietary nutrients such as ascorbic acid and meat improve non-heme iron absorption [ 85 ]; polyphenols, calcium, and phytic acid hinder it [ 8 ].…”

Antioxidant Activity, Probiotic Survivability, and Sensory Properties of a Phenolic-Rich Pulse Snack Bar Enriched with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum

“…According to Dai and Chau [65], IDF can increase the faecal bulk due to its water-holding capacity, while SDF acts as the substrate that promotes intestinal microbial growth. As part of SDF, the presence of prebiotics such as inulin, fructooligosaccharide (FOS), and galacctooligosaccharide (GOS) is important to protect lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the presence of gastric and intestinal juices [7]. Besides their roles as LAB protectants, prebiotics (FOS, GOS, inulin, and lactulose) are reported to increase iron absorption in anaemic rats [67].…”

“…These pulses are mainly consumed in main dishes, such as in curry, dal, and soup. Currently, the type of pulse-based commercialized products are limited to hummus [7] or chips or are incorporated into cereal-based flour [8]. Additionally, some concerns arise related to the oxidation susceptibility of chickpea-and green lentil-based products.…”

“…Meeting the dietary iron demand in active women or women of reproductive age (15-49 y) is a challenge. The lack of iron supply in the body could affect the well-being and work performance of active women [7]. Furthermore, progressive iron deficiency was reported to cause anaemia and several health problems [20].…”