Amla (Phyllanthus emblica L.) enhances iron dialysability and uptake in in vitro models

Phyllanthus emblica L. (Indian gooseberry or amla) is a well-known dietary supplement (Rasayana) in Ayurveda used in the management of iron deficiency anaemia (Pandu). Am la is said to act by regulating the 'metabolic fire' (agni), which is important for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients. In the present study standard cell-free and cell-based models that are employed in biomedical sciences to study digestion and bioavailability of nutrients were used to examine the influence of amla fruit juice on iron dialysability and uptake. Am la juice contained 0.35% ascorbic acid (AA), 0.33% tannins (gallic acid equivalent), 0.13% gallic acid, 0.58% total organic acid and 0.002% iron on a w/w basis. Am la juice exhibited a dose response to iron dialysability with an optimum at 1 : 0.25 molar ratio of Fe: amla juice (AA equivalent) in the cell-free digestion model and 1 : 0.5 in both Caco-2 and HepG2 cell lines. Amla juice increased the dialysable iron three times more than the FeSO4 alone control in the cell-free digestion model. Iron uptake in Caco-2 and HepG2 cell lines increased 17.18 and 18.71 times more than the control respectively, in the presence of amla juice. AA, a known Fe bioavailability enhancer, at the same molar ratios showed an enhancement only by 1.45 times in the cell-free model and 13.01 and 12.48 times in the Caco-2 and HepG2 models respectively. As a dietary supplement that enhances iron dialysability and uptake, amla fruits can be explored further as a low-cost intervention in the management of iron deficiency anaemia.