Probi’s FerroSorb probiotic improves iron status in pregnant women, finds study

22 Apr 2021 --- Probi’s FerroSorb supplement concept improves the iron status of pregnant women, according to the results of a recent study.

Based on the probiotic strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 299v (Lp299v), the product was previously shown to improve iron absorption in pregnant women. 

“The new study is the first time it is shown that the increased iron absorption translates to improved iron status,” Titti Niskanen, director of R&D and clinical operations at Probi, tells NutritionInsight. 

The importance of iron for pregnancy 
Iron deficiency during pregnancy is a major public health problem leading to the development of iron deficiency anemia. It is also associated with increased risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, perinatal and neonatal mortality, and offspring neurodevelopmental disorders, notes Niskanen.

“For many pregnant women, body iron stores and the dietary iron intake are not sufficient to meet the iron demands in the second and third trimester of pregnancy.” 

The standard treatment for iron deficiency consists of iron supplementation. However, a large proportion of high‐dose iron supplements remains unabsorbed in the intestine, commonly causing adverse gastrointestinal events, reduced compliance and inefficient repletion of iron stores. 

There is also data indicating that non‐absorbed iron could be harmful through negative modifications of the gut microbiota. Excess iron supplementation has been associated with an increased risk of reproductive and pregnancy‐related disorders.  

Intake of Probi FerroSorb from early pregnancy could offer a more physiological approach to improving iron status during pregnancy and thus preventing iron deficiency without the side effects often associated with high-dose iron supplements.  

Anaemia affects 33 percent of the world's population, and about half the cases are due to iron deficiency, according to the Lancet.FerroSorb in Swedish women
The study, now published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, tested the impact of FerroSorb against a placebo in 326 healthy, non-anemic pregnant Swedish women. 

Participants receiving the FerroSorb concept consumed a capsule containing freeze-dried Lp299v (1,010 colony forming units), 4.2 mg iron (ferrous fumarate), 12 mg ascorbic acid and 30 µg folic acid. 

It also contained maize starch (bulking agent), maltodextrin (bulking agent), magnesium stearate (processing aid), cellulose fiber and cellulose derivatives (coating of vitamins and iron).

Compared to the women in the placebo group, the women taking Probi FerroSorb experienced a significantly lower decrease in serum ferritin, hemoglobin and other markers of iron status during pregnancy. 

There was a significantly smaller prevalence of iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia at week 35 in the FerroSorb group. 

“Even eight weeks after giving birth, the women who had consumed Probi FerroSorb throughout their pregnancy had a significantly higher ferritin level than women in the placebo group. This improved iron status after delivery may prove beneficial for maternal postpartum recovery as well as for future pregnancies,” says Niskanen. 

How does it work? 
The mechanism underlying the improved iron status after intake of FerroSorb is not fully known, says Niskanen, but may be related to the presence of the Lp299v in the first section of the small intestine. 

This is where iron absorption takes place. It has previously been shown that Lp299v significantly increases iron absorption from several food matrices. 

This increased iron absorption may result from increased amounts of ferric iron (Fe3+) together with increased levels of a ferric reductase (duodenal cytochrome B, an enzyme important for iron metabolism), which has been shown in experiments in vitro.

Future investigations 
The concept can be used not only during pregnancy but could also be beneficial for all women of child-bearing age and for other groups at risk of iron deficiency, like athletes, vegans and vegetarians, says Niskanen.

“The concept is today offered as a dietary supplement, but also functional food formats are possible, for example, a fruit beverage that was sold on the Swedish market some years back.”

“Additional studies in more vulnerable populations, for example, with subjects who have an iron deficiency, would be very interesting to explore the efficacy of our probiotic under more challenging conditions,” she concludes. 

By Louis Gore-Langton