[Excerpt] Introduction: Iron is one of the essential minerals for human nutrition, and it is a vital element for human life due to its critical roles in oxygen and electron transport, cell division, differentiation, and regulation of gene expression. In the human body, 70% of the iron is complexed within hemoglobin, the molecule of red blood cells (RBCs) responsible for oxygen delivery. The rest of the Fe binds to other proteins, such as myoglobin, transferrin, and ferritin, or is stored in the cells. The reticuloendothelial system, which clears damaged RBCs by macrophages of the spleen, liver, and bone marrow, plays a role in systemic iron homeostasis (Piskin et al., 2022). To meet the demand for heme production necessary for erythropoiesis, iron must be recycled from senescent red cells which is carried out by the macrophages of the reticuloendothelial system (RES) (Knutson and Wessling-Resnick, 2003). Iron participates in a wide variety of metabolic processes, including respiration, energy production, DNA synthesis, and cell proliferation (Abbaspour et al., 2014). Iron deficiency anemia due to insufficient bioavailable Fe in the diet is a primary contributor to the global prevalence of anemia. While the burden is disproportionately high in low- and lower-middle-income countries, particularly among socioeconomically disadvantaged and rural populations, iron deficiency anemia remains a significant public health concern in developed countries. This condition affects individuals across all stages of life but is most prevalent among pregnant women and young children. Globally, iron deficiency anemia is estimated to affect 500 million women 15-49 years of age and 269 million children aged 6-59 months (World Health Organization, 2025). In the United States, anemia prevalence increased from 7.8% in 2000 to 11.5% in 2018, and during August 2021-August 2023, the prevalence of anemia was 17.4% for adolescent girls 12-19 and 14.0% for women 20-59 (CDC, 2024). According to the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey, anemia affects 16.2% of the general population and as many as 27.7% of pregnant women (Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, 2024). Anemia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in women and children (Scott et al., 2014; Black et al., 2013), poor birth outcomes (Haider et al., 2013), decreased work productivity in adults (Haas and Brownlie, 2001), and impaired cognitive and behavioral development in children (Chaparro and Suchdev, 2019).