Small peptides from enzymatic whey hydrolyzates increase dialyzable iron

Iron fortification of food to compensate for dietary deficiency of this micronutrient is beset with problems of low iron bioavailability. Such problems may be mitigated using iron-chelated peptides. Small peptides from whey were obtained by hydrolysis with pancreatin, Alcalase, and Flavourzyme, and were evaluated for their effect on iron availability using the iron dialyzability method, and for iron binding capacity using iron OM-immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography. The small peptides showed iron binding capacity to form chelates, the contribution of which to iron stability and solubility was shown by iron dialyzability enhancement. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.