Research Projects

Iron deficiency anemia is prominent in India with frequencies ranging from 59% to 87% in pregnant women. Though, Iron supplement is often prescribed, the poor bioavailability and adverse side effects limits their use. Ferritins are iron storage proteins, conserved from bacteria to mammals. Phytoferritin has been proposed as an alternate source of Iron for anemia. There are disputable reports on the bioavailability of ferritin, due to its instability in stomach acid. Exosome-like nanovesicles (ELN) are nano-sized vesicles naturally present in plants. ELNs possesses phytochemicals, microRNAs, proteins-lipids in bioavailable form. ELNs are also used as nanocarriers to deliver siRNAs-antibodies- drugs in vivo. Given that, ferritins are located in plant plastids and present in mammalian exosomes, we hypothesize, ELNs isolated from Iron rich plants will possess ferritin-Fe in bioavailable form. In our preliminary screening of iron-vitamin C rich plants, we have confirmed the presence of phytoferritin in ELNs isolated from fenugreek seeds and mint leaves. In this proposal, we will perform a more detailed characterization of fenugreek-mint derived ELNs and evaluate their bioavailability under simulated in vitro digestion and uptake in intestinal epithelial cell line . After this, these ferritin-Fe enriched ELNs will be investigated for their bio availability and therapeutic potential in inflammation induced anemia rodent models.