The heme iron content of urban and rural Thai diets

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the total iron and heme iron in animal foods, and calculate the heme iron content in urban and rural Thai diets. The samples included land animals and their products (meat, visceral tissue, blood curd and others), fish as well as other aquatic and marine animals. All samples were collected from 3 randomly selected markets located in Bangkok and its vicinity. Analysis of heme iron from foods was done by Han's method. The results showed the mean heme iron in the animal foods was in the range of 17.43 - 80.83 per cent of total iron. The highest mean heme iron was in the blood curd group and the lowest mean heme iron content was in the fish group. Based on the average amounts of animal food groups consumed per capita/day in the Thai diet which appeared in the Fourth National Nutrition Survey in Thailand (1995), the heme iron content in urban and rural diet was calculated. It was found that the animal iron in the urban and rural diets was 15 per cent and 13 per cent of total dietary iron. Only 7 per cent and 5 per cent of total dietary iron were present as heme iron. The proportion of heme content to total iron derived from animals in the urban diet was 44 per cent. This finding was higher than the estimated value of 40 per cent originally suggested by the Monsen Model. However, in the rural diet, this proportion was 41 per cent which was slightly higher than the suggested estimation.