Iron-rich pearl millet reverses iron deficiency in children: study

A new study has found that pearl millet bred to be richer in iron was able to reverse iron deficiency in school-going Indian children in six months. In just four months, iron levels improved significantly.

In this recently published study, schoolchildren aged between 12 and 16 years, and many of whom were iron-deficient, ate iron-rich pearl millet in the form of ‘bhakhri’ (a flat, unleavened bread) during midday and evening meals.

Eating iron-rich pearl millet significantly improved their iron levels in four months, compared with ordinary pearl millet. Those children who were deficient in iron at the start and ate iron-rich pearl millet ‘bhakhri’ were 1.6 times more likely to have resolved their iron deficiency compared to those who ate ‘bhakhri’ made from the ordinary pearl millet.

According to Dr. Jere Haas from the Nancy Schlegel Meinig Professor of Maternal and Child Nutrition in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University, who led the study, more than 40 per cent of these schoolchildren were deficient in iron at the start of the study. “We now have clear evidence that feeding iron-bio-fortified pearl millet to schoolchildren to improve iron levels works,” said Dr. Jere, according to a press release here on Monday by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

Dr. Erick Boy, Head of Nutrition at HarvestPlus, said that this is the first study that shows that food that is naturally rich in iron can reverse iron deficiency within a short period of time. “The amount of iron naturally provided in the food is similar to iron supplements, so these results are comparable to supplements, and better than iron-fortified flours,” said Dr. Erick Boy.

The iron-rich pearl millet variety used in this study, ICTP-8203Fe, is commonly known as Dhanashakti, which means prosperity and strength, and was commercialised in 2012 in Maharashtra by HarvestPlus partner Nirmal Seeds.

Bio-fortification is a novel approach pioneered by HarvestPlus, a global programme to improve nutrition that helps close the deficiency gap by conventionally breeding food crops that are naturally higher in key vitamins and minerals. The iron-rich pearl millet variety used in this study was developed in partnership with the ICRISAT in India.