Iron Therapy and Refeeding in Experimentally Malnourished Rats

Abstract

Summary1. Rats suffering from protein-energy malnutrition were found to have low serum iron, low PCV, and low hemoglobin concentrations.2. Oral iron supplement during the refeeding of these animals caused various types of infection, the severity of which was related to the dose of iron given.3. A close association between high serum iron, low serum transferrin, and high incidence of bacterial infection was found.4. A high protein diet without any oral iron supplement was found to raise the PCV and hemoglobin concentration to the same levels as a high protein diet containing 65 mg iron/kg body wtlday, although this dose of iron was sufficient to produce infection in the malnourished rats during refeeding. SpeculationIron supplementation during the treatment of children with protein-energy malnutrition may predispose to bacterial infection, the severity of which depends on the dose of iron given.Although all are agreed that iron-deficiency anemia is a common problem in malnourished children, there is no agreement regarding the addition of iron to the diet during the treatment of these children. Segura et al. (12) suggested that malnourished infants should be given supplements of iron to combat iron-deficiency anemia.O n the other hand, McFarlane et al. (7) reported that some children with severe kwashiorkor developed overwhelming infections during treatment. This study is concerned with the effects of iron therapy during the refeeding of experimentally malnourished rats. Iron tablets were used. These were ground into powder. Ganote and Nahara (2) reported that large doses of ferrous sulfate were toxic in rats. Since the optimal iron requirements of rats are not known, it was decided to employ the following different dose schedules: 65, 130, 195 and 200 mg/kg body wt/ day. Each rat was weighed and the calculated daily dose of iron powder required was added to its diet. 62OTHER MATERIALS Antisera to rat transferrin and C3 were obtained from Cappel Laboratories, Inc., USA, while anti-rat albumin and IgG were obtained from Miles Laboratories. Iron determination kits were obtained from Boehringer Corporation Ltd. METHODSMalnutrition was established in Sprague-Dawley rats by feeding them ad libitum for 42 days on average grade baker's flour which had been fortified with multivitamins.The rats were placed in individual stainless steel cages and were allowed free access to distilled water. At the end of this period, the animals had developed some loss of hair and their mean body weight was 80.5 +-20.3 g compared with 320 +-60.5 g for those fed on a high protein mouse cube diet. Ten of these malnourished animals and 1 0 well fed controls had their eyes swabbed for bacteriologic investigations and were then killed. Blood was collected for H b , PCV, and for serum albumin, transferrin, C3, and iron estimations. The remaining malnourished rats were divided into five groups, each consisting of 1 0 animals, and were refed with the high protein mouse cube diet as follows: group I, diet containing 65 mg iron/kg body wt/ day; gr...