Fibrous and Amorphous Antarctic Krill Protein Aggregates for Iron Delivery: High Efficacy and Low Gastric Irritation in Iron Deficiency Anemia.

Authors

Yihan Huang, Xueqing He, Lei Chen, Jinhui Hu, Songyi Lin, Na Sun

Published in

Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. Jun 25, 2026. Epub Jun 25, 2026.

Abstract

Iron deficiency remains a critical global nutritional challenge, and food iron fortification is the primary intervention strategy for alleviating iron deficiency anemia (IDA). In this study, iron complexes based on fibrous aggregates (FA-Fe) and amorphous aggregates (AA-Fe) of Antarctic Krill protein were fabricated to investigate their structure-activity relationships and iron supplementation efficacy. Both complexes coordinated Fe²⁺ via carboxyl and amino groups, with FA-Fe exhibiting higher iron chelation capacity and structure-dependent functional divergence. In vitro digestion revealed sustained gastric release of FA-Fe, resulting in higher intestinal soluble iron content (19.05%) and bioaccessibility than AA-Fe and FeSO₄. In the IDA model, FA-Fe restored hemoglobin, tissue iron stores, and iron homeostasis-related gene expression while mitigating gastric inflammation and oxidative stress, demonstrating superior biocompatibility. Thus, FA-Fe combines high efficacy with low gastrointestinal irritation, positioning structurally diverse Antarctic Krill protein aggregates as promising iron supplement carriers.

PMID:
42348265
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 25 Jun 2026.

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