Banana is a staple food in many regions with high iron deficiency and may be a potential vehicle for iron fortification. However, iron absorption from bananas is not known.
The objective of this study was to evaluate total iron absorption from raw and cooked bananas.
Thirty women (34.9±6.6 years) from rural Mexico were randomly assigned to one of two groups each consuming: 1) 480 g/day of raw banana for 6 days, or 2) 500 g/day of cooked banana for 4 days. Iron absorption was measured after extrinsically labeling with 2 mg of 58Fe and a reference dose of 6 mg 57Fe; analysis was done using ICP-MS.
Iron content in cooked bananas was significantly higher than raw bananas (0.53 mg/100 g bananas vs. 0.33 mg/100 mg bananas, respectively) ( p<0.001). Percent iron absorption was significantly higher in raw bananas (49.3±21.3%) compared with cooked banana (33.9±16.2%) ( p=0.035). Total amount of iron absorbed from raw and cooked bananas was similar (0.77±0.33 mg vs. 0.86±0.41 mg, respectively).