Iron is essential for all life because of its need for the production of red blood cells. All the iron the body uses comes from the food consumed, which is why there is estimated to be in excess of one billion people who suffer from iron-deficient anemia. This research attempts to increase the level of iron in spinach leaves, by spiking the soil with varying concentrations of ferric nitrate. The spinach plants are grown from seeds and then harvested at maturity. The leaves are then ashed in a furnace and acid digested. The solution is then analyzed using the Atomic Absorbance Spectrometer. The research so far has been concerned with testing the method described above using store bought spinach. The literature shows that 30g of store bought spinach contains 0.81mg of iron or 27 µg/g. Preliminary testing of store bought spinach, using the method above, showed an highest average of 118 µg/g and the lowest average of 99 µg/g. The standard deviation is 7.71 µg/g and 1.13 µg/g respectively. Currently work is focused on testing more samples of store bought spinach and testing spiked spinach samples to observe if their iron content can be increased.

Best spinach that Popeye ever ate

249th National Meeting (2015)

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