Enhancement of Iron Bioavailability in Cold Plasma-Treated and Iron-Fortified Cicer arietinum L. Through Organic Acid Soaking

¹ Department of Life Science, Sharda School of Bio-Science & Technology, Sharda University, Greater Noida, 201310, India
² Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, 110016, New Delhi, India

^* Corresponding author: Ranjana Pande: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) remains one of the most prevalent micronutrient deficiencies globally, disproportionately affecting women of reproductive age and children in low- and middle-income countries. Cicer arietinum L. (chickpea) is a promising carrier for iron fortification; however, bioavailability is constrained by antinutritional factors such as polyphenols and phytic acid. This study evaluated a two-stage strategy combining cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) pre-treatment (9.5 kV and 11.5 kV, 30 kHz, 5 min) with organic acid soaking (citric acid 1 g/250 mL; ascorbic acid 0.1% w/v, 10 h) to enhance iron fortification of chickpea seeds using Na[Fe(EDTA)] or FeSO₄•7H₂O) (200–1200 μg g⁻¹). Organic acid soaking marginally reduced phenolic content (2.4–5.6%), antioxidant activity (1.0–4.8%), and lightness (Δ1.15–1.60), while significantly reducing lipoxygenase activity (13–30%) and preserving iron retention. Importantly, in vitro iron bioavailability improved substantially: post-soaking values for Na[Fe(EDTA)] reached 11.42–17.94% (9.5 kV) and 10.82–15.88% (11.5 kV), representing 36–58% and 25–44% improvements over pre-soaking values, respectively. For FeSO₄•7H₂O, improvements ranged from 32−16%. These findings demonstrate that CAP-assisted iron fortification combined with organic acid soaking offers an effective, scalable strategy for developing iron-enriched pulse-based foods to address iron deficiency.