Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42669658›Full record

Trial reportNature communications2026

Effect of a complementary feeding intervention based on iron- and zinc-biofortified pearl millet on the gut microbiota in 12-18-month-old children: a randomized trial.

Samantha L Huey, Nathaniel L Cole, Ioanna Pagani, Antonio González, Julia L Finkelstein, Jere D Haas, Shobha A Udipi, Padmini Ghugre, Ramesh D Potdar, Rob Knight and 1 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02233764 (Effect of Iron- and Zinc-Biofortified Pearl Millet), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02233764 nacompletednot on this map

Effect of Iron- and Zinc-Biofortified Pearl Millet (ICTP8203-Fe) Consumption on Growth and Immunity in Children Aged 12-18 Months in India

TypeinterventionalSponsorCornell UniversityRan2017 to 2018Enrolled223ConditionsIron Deficiency, Zinc DeficiencyArmsFeZnPM, CtrlPM
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Samantha L Huey *Cornell Joan Klein Jacobs Center for Precision Nutrition and Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9774-8642
Nathaniel L Cole *Cornell Joan Klein Jacobs Center for Precision Nutrition and Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5132-3681
Ioanna PaganiCornell Joan Klein Jacobs Center for Precision Nutrition and Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Antonio GonzálezDepartment of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Julia L FinkelsteinCornell Joan Klein Jacobs Center for Precision Nutrition and Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9512-5559
Jere D HaasDivision of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Shobha A UdipiSNDT Women's University, Mumbai, India.
Padmini GhugreSNDT Women's University, Mumbai, India.
Ramesh D PotdarCentre for the Study of Social Change, Mumbai, India.
Rob KnightDepartment of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0975-9019
Saurabh MehtaCornell Joan Klein Jacobs Center for Precision Nutrition and Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. smehta@cornell.edu.ORCID 0000-0003-3788-0665

Funding

TRAINING IN MATERNAL AND CHILD NUTRITIONT32HD087137 · NICHD · CORNELL UNIVERSITY · PI Laura Bellows, Julia L. Finkelstein · 2016 to 2026
$2.0M
NICHD NIH HHS T32 HD087137United States Department of Agriculture | Agricultural Research Service (USDA Agricultural Research Service) 2021-67017-34008U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) 5T32HD087137
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Iron supplementation studies in children under five suggest potentially adverse gut microbiota shifts. Given iron's importance during early childhood, food-based approaches may offer a more viable supplementation strategy. Using shotgun metagenomics, we examined the effects of 9 months' daily consumption of iron/zinc-biofortified pearl millet (FeZnPM; 8.70 mg/100 g iron) versus control pearl millet (CPM; 3 mg/100 g iron) on the gut microbiome in 12-18-month-old children without severe anemia (hemoglobin ≥9.0 g/dL) from Mumbai urban slums through a randomized controlled trial, the primary outcomes of which were iron status biomarkers and infant growth (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02233764). In paired (n = 81) and endpoint (n = 108) analyses, FeZnPM consumption was not associated with detectable adverse effects on developing microbiomes and exploratory analyses suggest that it may support beneficial metabolic adaptations via direct modulation of antibiotic, antioxidant, and pollutant degradation pathways. This suggests biofortified crops could provide a sustainable approach to addressing iron deficiency while maintaining healthy microbiome development in early life.

Indexed as

Food, FortifiedGastrointestinal MicrobiomeInfant Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaIronPennisetumZincDietary SupplementsFecesFemaleHumansInfantMaleIronZinc

Identifiers

PMID42669658
PMCPMC13527057

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.