Iron Absorption in Iron-Deficient Women, Who Received 65 mg Fe with an Indonesian Breakfast, Is Much Better from NaFe(III)EDTA than from Fe(II)SO4, with an Acceptable Increase of Plasma NTBI. A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Plasma non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI) is potentially harmful due to the generation of free radicals that cause tissue damage in vascular and other diseases. Studies in iron-replete and iron-deficient subjects, receiving a single oral test dose of Fe(II)SO4 or NaFe(III)EDTA with water, revealed that FeSO4 was well absorbed when compared with NaFeEDTA, while only the Fe(II) compound showed a remarkable increase of NTBI. As NaFeEDTA is successfully used for food fortification, a double-blind randomized cross-over trial was conducted in 11 healthy women with uncomplicated iron deficiency. All subjects received a placebo, 6.5 mg FeSO4, 65 mg FeSO4, 6.5 mg NaFeEDTA, and 65 mg NaFeEDTA with a traditional Indonesian breakfast in one-week intervals. Blood tests were carried out every 60 min for five hours. NTBI detection was performed using the fluorescein-labeled apotransferrin method. Plasma iron values were highly increased after 65 mg NaFeEDTA, twice as high as after FeSO4. A similar pattern was seen for NTBI. After 6.5 mg of NaFeEDTA and FeSO4, NTBI was hardly detectable. NaFeEDTA was highly effective for the treatment of iron deficiency if given with a meal, inhibiting the formation of nonabsorbable Fe-complexes, while NTBI did not exceed the range of normal values for iron-replete subjects.

Acute Administration of Bioavailable Curcumin Alongside Ferrous Sulphate Supplements Does Not Impair Iron Absorption in Healthy Adults in a Randomised Trial

“…To assess acute iron absorption from ferrous sulphate, it is advised to administer a dose yielding 65 mg of elemental iron and assess serum iron at 2–3 h post supplementation [ 67 , 68 ]. This method is used to evaluate gut iron absorption in humans [ 68 , 77 , 78 ]. If gut iron absorption is adequate, there is approximately a 17.9 µmol/L increase in serum iron levels as suggested by Alleyne et al [ 68 ] or an increase of two to three times above baseline levels [ 67 ].…”

Determination of an Acceptable Portion Size of Daal for a Bangladeshi Community-Based Iron Intervention in Adolescent Girls: A Feasibility Study

“…Additionally, we chose dehulled lentils for Fe fortification, because an earlier study reported that lentil seed coat removal increases the relative Fe bioavailability [ 27 ]. This is because ferric iron has the highest binding stability with EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid) and EDTA thus protects from binding to iron absorption inhibitors [ 28 , 29 ].…”

Iron-fortified water: a new approach for reducing iron deficiency anemia in resource-constrained settings

“…Fe-rich groundwater contains bioavailable Fe II . Whenever clean Fe-rich groundwater is available as a drinking water source, it suffices to stabilize Fe II , for example by addition of AA or lemon juice, to improve the Fe status of the population 25 , 40 , 41 .…”

“…Fe 0 and Fe III sources are less soluble and their bioavailability is correspondingly low. In other words, soluble Fe should be present as stable Fe II to be absorbed by the human body 2 , 7 , 17 , 25 . This is the reason why the simultaneous consumption of Fe rich diets and vitamin C (ascorbic acid—AA) has consistently and successfully treated IDA 2 , 7 , 22 , 24 , 26 .…”