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Absorption of Iron in Young Men Studied by Monitoring Excretion of a Stable Iron Isotope (⁵⁸Fe) in Feces¹

Nuclear Reactor Laboratory, Department of Nutrition and Food Science and Clinical Research Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139

Fecal excretion of a stable iron isotope (⁵⁸Fe) in five young adult men consuming a diet enriched with the isotope added as an extrinsic tag was investigated as a possible tool for the study of iron absorption. Data are presented to illustrate rapidity and completeness of unabsorbed ⁵⁸Fe excretion. Procedures are outlined to investigate the extent of ⁵⁸Fe re-entry into the gastrointestinal tract of the absorbed ⁵⁸Fe from the label with the cumulative fecal ⁵⁸Fe method and its limitations are discussed. Two methods of estimating ⁵⁸Fe absorption are discussed and compared.

KEY WORDS: • stable isotopes • iron • absorption • excretion • ⁵⁸Fe

¹ Supported by grant #7919112-PFR from the National Science Foundation and by Ralston Purina Co., St. Louis, MO.

Manuscript received 21 February 1980.