Effect of lettuce biofortified with iodine by soil fertilization on iodine concentration in various tissues and selected biochemical parameters in serum of Wistar rats Aneta Kopec ´ a, *, Ewa Pia ˛tkowska a , Renata Biez ˙ anowska-Kopec ´ a , Miroslaw Pysz a , Aneta Koronowicz a , Joanna Kapusta-Duch a , Sylwester Smolen ´ b , Roksana Rakoczy b , Lukasz Skoczylas c , Teresa Leszczyn ´ ska a , Iwona Ledwoz ˙ yw-Smolen ´ d a Department of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Food Technology, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Balicka 122, 30-149 Krakow, Poland b Unit of Plant Nutrition, Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Horticulture, University of Agriculture in Krakow, al. 29 Listopada 54, 31-425 Krakow, Poland c Department of Fruit,Vegetable and Mushroom Processing, Faculty of Food Technology, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Balicka 122, 30-149 Krakow, Poland d Unit of Biochemistry, Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Horticulture, University of Agriculture in Krakow,Al. 29 Listopada 54, 31-425 Krakow, Poland ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 27 August 2014 Received in revised form 11 February 2015 Accepted 13 February 2015 Available online ABSTRACT In this study, for the first time, we evaluated the effect of lettuce biofortified with iodine on iodine content in various tissues and selected biochemical parameters in the serum of Wistar rats. Significantly higher concentrations of iodine were measured in urine, faeces, hearts, and kidneys of rats fed the control diet (C diet) and the diet containing biofortified lettuce (BFL) compared to rats fed a diet containing non fortified-control lettuce or a diet with a lower level of iodine (equal to the content in control lettuce). Significantly higher concentrations of iodine were measured in the liver and femoral muscle of rats fed the BFL diet compared to the other experimental groups. Thyroid hormones, thyroid stimulating hormone, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and selected genes’ mRNA activities were not affected by the presence of biofortified lettuce in the diet compared to the control group. Biofortified lettuce may be considered as a potential source of iodine in the prevention of deficiency of this trace element. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Iodine Biofortification Lettuce Rats 1. Introduction Iodine is a trace element which is essential for health and the development of humans and animals, particularly mammals (Dong, Liu, Wang, Xi, & Chen, 2009; WHO, 2014). This trace element is necessary for the biosynthesis of thyroid hor- mones: thyroxin (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Iodine deficiency contributes to a wide spectrum of diseases: from endemic goiter to impaired memory and cognitive function/mental disorder * Corresponding author. Department of Human Nutrition, Balicka 122, 30-149 Krakow, Poland.Tel.: +48126624818; fax +48126624812. E-mail address: akopec@ar.krakow.pl (A. Kopec ´). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2015.02.027 1756-4646/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. journal of functional foods 14 (2015) 479–486 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jff