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Iron-deficiencySustironable2NCT05328141

Measuring Dietary Iron Absorption From Edible Insects and Assessing the Effect of Chitin Content on Iron Bioavailability (Study 2)

A study testing Bread and butter, X.gideon and X.gideon with ascorbic acid in people with Iron-deficiency, run by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at 1 site in Switzerland.

Unknown status

Status not confirmed. The sponsor has not verified this record for over two years, so it may be out of date.

Official record
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Trial summary

Due to the growing world population, there is a need to develop viable ecological and nutritional alternatives to animal food products. However, animal products are a key dietary source of well-absorbed iron, and iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia remain highly prevalent in high- and low-income countries. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 45 years, women onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Iron-deficiency
What is being tested?
Bread and butter, X.gideon and X.gideon with ascorbic acid
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
11 participants
Where
1 siteSwitzerland
Study dates
20 May 2022to 30 Jul 2022
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 45 years
  • Women only
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Female, 18 to 45 years old
  • Normal Body Mass Index (18.5 - 25 kg/m2)
  • Body weight ≤ 55 kg
  • Non-anemic (hemoglobin (Hb) >12.0 g/dL)
  • Serum Ferritin < 25 μg/L;
  • Normal CRP (<5.0 mg/L), indicating no inflammation
  • Knowledge of English at least at level B2 (assessed by self-declaration)
  • Signed informed consent

Who cannot join

  • Pregnancy (assessed by self-declaration)
  • Lactating up to 6 weeks before study initiation
  • Any metabolic, gastrointestinal kidney or chronic disease such as diabetes, hepatitis, hypertension, cancer or cardiovascular diseases (according to the participants own statement)
  • Continuous/long-term use of medication (except for oral contraceptives and anti-acne medication)
  • Consumption of mineral and vitamin supplements within 2 weeks prior to 1st meal administration
  • Blood transfusion, blood donation or significant blood loss (accident, surgery) over the past 4 months
Show all 9Show fewer
  • Earlier participation in a study using iron stable isotopes or participation in any clinical study within the last 30 days
  • Participant who cannot be expected to comply with study protocol (e.g. not available on certain study appointments
  • Cigarette smoking ( > 1 cigarette per day)

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Switzerland1 site
  • ETH Zurich, Laboratory of Human Nutrition

    Zurich, 8092

Other trials in Switzerland

About this study

Official title: Measuring Dietary Iron Absorption From Edible Insects and Assessing the Effect of Chitin Content on Iron Bioavailability: Stable Iron Isotope Studies in Young Women (Study 2, Xylotrupes Gideon)

Due to the growing world population, there is a need to develop viable ecological and nutritional alternatives to animal food products. However, animal products are a key dietary source of well-absorbed iron, and iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia remain highly prevalent in high- and low-income countries. Meat and fish provide a substantial proportion of absorbed iron in the western diet by two distinct components: a) heme iron is well absorbed (20-45% fractional absorption) and is not affected by most dietary enhancers and inhibitors, which often affect non-heme iron absorption; b) peptides in muscle meat exert an enhancing effect the absorption of non-heme iron contained in other meal components. The potential of edible insects as a dietary source of well-absorbed iron has not been investigated in detail. In particular, it is unclear whether insects provide an iron moiety similar to hemoglobin which would be well absorbed and unaffected by other dietary components, and whether their presence in a test meal exerts an enhancing effect on iron bioavailability from the whole meal.

To differentiate iron absorption from insect biomass from other sources, insects will be intrinsically labelled with the stable iron isotope 57Fe, while other food iron components will be labelled with the iron isotope 58Fe.The present studiy will provide novel data to elucidate the nutritional value as sources of dietary iron of insect species Xylotrupes gideon. X. gideon is an insect species traditionally widely consumed in SubSaharan Africa and South East Asia and recognised by FAO as an edible insect species. X gideon is produced in ZHAW facilities in Linthal, Switzerland under controlled conditions aiming to a highly sustainable and high nutritional value food product. Furthermore the benefit of ascorbic acid addition to X.gideon biomass on iron absorption will be quantified.

Conditions
Iron-deficiency
Being tested
Bread and butter, X.gideon, X.gideon with ascorbic acid
Keywords
edible insects, iron bioavailability, ascorbic acid, Xylotrupes gideon
Medical subject headings
Anemia, Iron-Deficiency

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Bread and butterOther

    A bread with butter meal without insect biomass with FeSO4 (isotopic iron 54)

  • X.gideonOther

    Intrinsically labelled (57Fe) or non labelled X.gideon flour mixed with butter and sugar meal with FeSO4 (extrinsic label, isotopic iron 58)

  • X.gideon with ascorbic acidOther

    Intrinsically labelled (57Fe) or non labelled X.gideon flour mixed with butter and sugar meal with FeSO4 (extrinsic label, isotopic iron 58) and ascorbic acid

Study groups in NCT05328141
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Bread and butterExperimentalA toast bread with butter meal without insect biomass with FeSO4 (isotopic iron 54)
Receives: Other: Bread and butter
X.gideonExperimentalIntrinsically labelled (57Fe) or non labelled X.gideon flour mixed with butter and sugar meal with FeSO4 (extrinsic label, isotopic iron 58)
Receives: Other: X.gideon
X.gideon with ascorbic acidExperimentalIntrinsically labelled (57Fe) or non labelled X.gideon flour mixed with butter and sugar meal with FeSO4 (extrinsic label, isotopic iron 58) and ascorbic acid
Receives: Other: X.gideon with ascorbic acid

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Fractional Iron absorption

    Fractional iron absorption will be calculated based on the shift of the iron isotope ratios in the collected blood samples after the administration of the intervention products .Fractional iron absorption will be measured as erythrocyte incorporation of the naturally occurring iron forms with different masses used to label the iron supplements.

    Measured: 30th day of the study

Secondary outcomes (6)
  1. Hemoglobin (Hb)

    Iron status marker

    Measured: screening (-1), day 16th and day 30th of the study

  2. Plasma ferritin (PF)

    Iron status marker

    Measured: screening (-1), day 16th and day 30th of the study

  3. C-Reactive Protein (CRP)

    Inflammation status

    Measured: screening (-1), day 16th and day 30th of the study

  4. Soluble transferring receptor (sTfR)

    Iron status marker

    Measured: screening (-1), day 16th and day 30th of the study

  5. Body iron stores (BIS)

    Iron status marker

    Measured: screening (-1), day 16th and day 30th of the study

  6. Alpha 1 acid glycoprotein (AGP)

    Inflammation marker

    Measured: screening (-1), day 16th and day 30th of the study

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted14 Apr 2022
  2. Study start20 May 2022
  3. Primary completion20 Jul 2022 (estimated)
  4. Study completion30 Jul 2022 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Participant
Enrolment
11 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05328141
Sponsor's protocol ID
Sust-iron-able2
Acronym
Sustironable2
Status last verified
Jun 2022
First submitted
7 Apr 2022
Last updated
10 Jun 2022
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Bread and butter, X.gideon and X.gideon with ascorbic acid in people with Iron-deficiency, run by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at 1 site in Switzerland.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 8 inclusion and 9 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 10 Jun 2022. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Switzerland. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Fractional Iron absorption (time frame: 30th day of the study). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 10 Jun 2022.

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