Abstract:
Free radical mediated damages are predominant in beta thalassemia patients
who suffer from transfusional iron overload condition. Iron chelators have
the ability to bind with free, reactive, excess iron in the body to minimize
the reduction of ferrous ions that leads to the production of hydroxyl
radicals. However, the synthetic chelators that are given to minimize
damages are expensive and their continuous intake may result in adverse
side effects. This study was carried out to assess the feasibility of
incorporating potential food sources rich in natural iron chelators to the
diets to minimize the free radical mediated damages through stimulated
digestion models. The natural iron chelators used are rich of plant phenols
resembling chelating drugs. Fifteen (15) diet plans were formulated based
on four ingredients namely, red rice, fresh milk, turmeric and black tea that
are rich in natural iron chelators against a control diet (no iron chelator
source). The formulated diets were digested by an in vitro method using the
stimulated gastrointestinal conditions. The effect of free radical scavenging
ability of the obtained digesta was comparatively tested using the 2,2-
Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. The results
showed that free radical scavenging ability had a significant (p value< 0.05)
positive correlation with the total phenolic content of the digesta.
Therefore, it could be concluded that incorporating food sources rich in
natural iron chelators to the diet can increase the oxidative potential of the
diet and minimize the free radical mediated damages under in vitro
conditions.
