Study: DSM’s MixMe Combats Iron and Zinc Deficiency

Launched in 2008 in cooperation with the World Food Programme, MixMe is a multi-micronutrient powder from DSM Nutritional Products (Basel, Switzerland). Now, a new clinical study shows that MixMe can help combat iron and zinc deficiency.

In the study, MixMe was used to fortify the traditional breakfast of maize porridge consumed by South African primary school children. After 23 weeks of consuming fortified porridge, the children’s mean body iron stores doubled. The prevalence of iron and zinc deficiency was also strongly reduced.

DSM says that the whole-grain cereals and legumes prominently consumed by many of the world’s poorest populations often result in a failure to absorb iron, because those foods contain a naturally occurring antinutrient called phytate, which binds minerals, including iron and zinc, making them unavailable for absorption by the body.

Among the multinutrients it offers, MixMe provides low doses of a highly absorbable iron and zinc, including NaeEDTA, a readily bioavailable form of iron, plus an increased vitamin C dose and phytase, an enzyme that helps release the digestible nutrients in grains and oil seeds.

“These results will further help DSM introduce cutting-edge solutions to improve micronutrient nutrition in certain parts of the globe. It could also be important in the global fight against nutritional anemia, as well as in the eradication of hidden hunger,” says Owaldo da Costa e Silva, senior director of DSM’s Nutrition Improvement Program, a program dedicated to improving the nutritional status of people with micronutrient deficiencies.

According to DSM, iron and zinc deficiency are among the most common nutrient deficiencies worldwide-particularly for women and children. Previously, attempts have been made to supplement affected populations with untargeted, high doses of iron. This practice, however, is now discouraged by the World Health Organization due to the fact that excess iron not absorbed into the bloodstream can result in health risks.