Formulation and Evaluation of a Beetroot-Based Herbal Iron Jelly Enriched with Moringa and Date Palm Extracts for the Management of Iron Deficiency Anemia

Researchers developed a food-like iron supplement — a jelly made from beetroot, Moringa oleifera leaf extract, and date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) extract — and tested whether it could deliver iron effectively while remaining stable and pleasant to use. Iron deficiency anemia affects hundreds of millions of people globally, and many existing iron supplements cause digestive side effects or poor taste that reduce patient compliance. This team's approach was to combine natural iron-rich plant sources into a jelly format that might be easier to tolerate than conventional tablets or syrups. Four jelly formulations (F1 through F4) were prepared using different concentrations of pectin, a natural plant-based gelling agent, to find the best balance between texture, iron content, and how quickly the iron is released. The standout formulation, called F2, contained 9.2 mg of iron per 100 g, released 90% of that iron within 60 minutes in laboratory conditions, and showed no syneresis — meaning it did not weep liquid or separate during storage. Higher pectin concentrations made the jelly firmer and thicker but slowed iron release and made it harder to spread, so finding the right pectin level was central to the study. Stability testing confirmed the F2 formulation held its properties under standard storage conditions. Importantly, this was a laboratory formulation study — no human participants or animals were involved. The findings suggest that combining moringa and date palm extracts with beetroot in a pectin-based jelly is technically feasible and produces a stable product with measurable iron content, though clinical testing would be needed before any conclusions about effectiveness in people can be drawn.