Probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum 299v increases iron absorption from an iron-supplemented fruit drink: a double-isotope cross-over single-blind study in women of reproductive age

Iron deficiency is common, especially among young women. Adding probiotics to foods could be one way to increase iron absorption. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that non-haem iron absorption from a fruit drink is improved by adding Lactobacillus plantarum 299v (Lp299v). Iron absorption was studied in healthy women of reproductive age using a single-blind cross-over design in two trials applying the double-isotope (Fe-55 and Fe-59) technique. In Trial 1, iron absorption from a fruit drink containing 10(9) colony-forming units (CFU) Lp299v was compared with that from a control drink without Lp299v. Trial 2 had the same design but 10(10) CFU were used. The test and control drinks contained approximately 5mg of iron as ferrous lactate and were labelled with Fe-59 (B) and Fe-55 (A), respectively, and consumed on 4 consecutive days in the order AABB. Retention of the isotopes was measured with whole-body counting and in blood. Mean iron absorption from the drink containing 10(9) CFU Lp299v (28.6 (SD 12.5) %) was significantly higher than from the control drink (18.5 (SD 5.8) %), n 10, P<0.028). The fruit drink with 10(10) CFU Lp299v gave a mean iron absorption of 29.1 (SD 17.0) %, whereas the control drink gave an absorption of (20.1 (SD 6.4) %) (n 11, P<0.080). The difference in iron absorption between the 10(9) CFU Lp299v and the 10(10) CFU Lp299v drinks was not significant (P=0.941). In conclusion, intake of probiotics can increase iron absorption by approximately 50 % from a fruit drink having an already relatively high iron bioavailability.