{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T02:49:51Z","timestamp":1791773391629,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,11]],"date-time":"2023-08-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1691712000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Natural Point S.r.l."}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In recent years, there has been growing interest in exploring alternative and innovative delivery systems to improve the efficacy of iron supplements, satisfying iron needs and lowering side effects. To address this issue, this study aimed at demonstrating the advantages of Ferro Supremo formulation (composed of encapsulated iron, vitamins, and micronutrients), in terms of capacity to improve iron intestinal absorption, in comparison with standard FeSO4. Hence, differentiated Caco-2 cells have been used for assessing the in vitro bioavailability and safety of FS and FeSO4. MTT experiments demonstrated that both FS and FeSO4 are not able to impair the viability of Caco-2 cells. Furthermore, the quantitative and qualitative analysis, conducted by atomic absorption spectrometry and fluorescence determinations, revealed that FS can enter, accumulate in the cytoplasm, and be transported by intestinal cells four times more efficiently than FeSO4. Our findings indicate that this formulation can be considered a valuable and efficiently good choice as food supplements for improving iron deficiency.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods12163016","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,11]],"date-time":"2023-08-11T10:33:23Z","timestamp":1691750003000},"page":"3016","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Bioavailability Assessment of an Iron Formulation Using Differentiated Human Intestinal Caco-2 Cells"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-3175-924X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Melissa","family":"Fanzaga","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, Via Mangiagalli 25, 20133 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5698-1325","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlotta","family":"Bollati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, Via Mangiagalli 25, 20133 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6889-144X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giulia","family":"Ranaldi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CREA-Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, Via Ardeatina, 546, 00178 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sabrina","family":"Sucato","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0287-7338","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Silvia","family":"Fustinoni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy"},{"name":"IRCCS Ca\u2019 Granda Foundation Maggiore Policlinico Hospital, 20122 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gabriella","family":"Roda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, Via Mangiagalli 25, 20133 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7428-4486","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carmen","family":"Lammi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, Via Mangiagalli 25, 20133 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"27","article-title":"A Novel Approach for Iron Deficiency Anaemia with Liposomal Iron: Concept to Clinic","volume":"8","author":"Maladkar","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. 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