{
  "abstract": "Iron deficiency remains one of the most prevalent micronutrient deficiencies globally, disproportionately affecting populations that rely on plant-based diets. Although pulses are widely consumed staple foods and often contain substantial amounts of iron, iron concentration alone is a poor predictor of nutritional value because absorption is strongly constrained by the food matrix after processing these pulses. Here, we show that unrefined pulse composition exerts a dominant influence on cellular iron uptake in extruded foods, often outweighing the effects of total iron concentration and processing method. Using low-moisture extrusion to produce ready-to-eat foods from unrefined pulse flours, we observed wide variation in cellular iron uptake among pulse types despite comparable iron contents, with Caco-2 cell ferritin formation ranging from 0.81 ± 0.04 to 32.17 ± 0.31 ng ferritin/mg cell protein. This variation was most strongly associated with matrix composition: the highest iron uptake occurred when a low level of inhibitory flavonoids coincided with a low phytate-to-iron molar ratio and abundant enhancer flavonoids, whereas a low inhibitor level alone was not sufficient for high iron uptake. Extrusion improved cellular iron uptake only modestly relative to traditional porridge preparation. Together, these findings highlight matrix-controlled bioavailability as a key factor in plant-based iron delivery and identify yellow bean-based puffed snacks as a promising, consumer-friendly strategy for improving dietary iron intake.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Food Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA.",
    "Department of Life Sciences - Food and Nutrition Science, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.",
    "USDA-ARS, Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, Ithaca, NY, USA.",
    "USDA-ARS, Sugarbeet and Bean Research Unit, East Lansing, MI, USA.",
    "Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Mursalin Sajib"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jason Wiesinger"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Hexiang Xie"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Karen Cichy"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Sharon Hooper"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Kevin Howe"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Raymond Glahn"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lutz Grossmann"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/anptaaq03shyr.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.crfs.2026.101589",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13677430",
  "id": "anptaaq03shyr",
  "issns": [
    "2665-9271"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898240",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1110|Phytase and its Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214986583",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13677430?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13677430",
  "pmid": "42898240",
  "published": "2026-09-30",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/anptaaq03shyr.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:37Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42898240",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898240"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1110|Phytase and its Applications",
      "subfield": "plant-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Matrix-controlled iron bioavailability in unrefined whole-pulse low-moisture extrudates.",
  "title_text": "Matrix-controlled iron bioavailability in unrefined whole-pulse low-moisture extrudates.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:37Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/anptaaq03shyr",
  "venue": "Current research in food science",
  "versions": []
}