Rahmatika Alfia Amiliana / 1306370562 / Chemical Engineering

Garlic and Onion Can Improve The

Bioaccessibility of Iron and Zinc on Plant Foods
Micronutrient deficiencies such as vitamin A, iron, iodine, and zinc are still the
common problem for developing country. That is because the majority of people in
developing country are still relaying on plant foods. However the bioaccessibility or the
potential for some substances such as iron and zinc, to be absorbed by body is quite low for
plant foods, especially food grains. There were some experiments before that proved sulfur in
amino acid can improve the minerals absorption. So, onion and garlic, which rich in sulfur
content, have the possibility to improve the bioaccessibility of zinc and iron in plant foods.
There were some solution before to improve the bioaccessibility of minerals on plant
foods, such as heat treatment, germination, and fermentation, but they didn't provide optimal
impact in improving bioaccessibility of zinc and iron. The bioaccessibility of zinc from food
grains was observed lower in heat treatment. Germination can lead to reduced levels of
phytate grains and reduction of tannin content that have contributed to the increase in
bioaccessibility of iron, but not for zinc. Fermentation also increasing bioaccessibility effect
on zinc and iron elements, but only for certain conditions, namely when the food is still in the
form of dough.
Because of that situation, the scientist conducted an experiment in India to test
whether garlic and onion that rich in sulfur content have beneficial effects in improving the
bioaccessibilitiy of iron and zinc on plant foods, especially food grains, like rice, sorghum,
green beans, and chickpea. The results were garlic exerted a promoting effect on the
bioaccessibility of iron from all of the four food grains examined and significantly increases
the bioaccessibility zinc, that more higher in the cooked grains. Onion also have significant
positive impact of irons bioaccessibility for all four food grains that examined, whereas the
promotive effect of onion on zincs bioaccessibility is generally higher in raw grains.
Besides that, garlic and onions contain minerals zinc and iron which can increase the
amount of minerals in groceries that were used. Mineral content of iron in 100 grams of
garlic is 1.7 mg, while the mineral content of zinc is 1.2 mg. For onion in 100 gram serving,
contains 0.2 mg of iron and 0.2 mg of zinc. The addition of garlic and onion on foods can

also boost the taste of food. Garlic and onions are common used as a spice to flavor enhancer
in food. Even it become the obligatory spices when cooking.
So, from the experiment, we know that garlic and onion can be used for improve the
bioaccessibility of zinc and iron minerals in plant foods. Moreover, adding garlic and onion
on food grains give more advantages than the older solution, such as increase the
bioaccessibility minerals of zinc and iron more optimal on plant foods, increase the amount
of zinc and iron minerals are there, and enhance the flavor of the food when it is consumed. If
we could optimize this knowledge, it will open up the opportunities to lower the minerals
deficiency in developing countries.