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Availability to Rats of Iron in Ferric Hydroxide Polymers^1,2,

Department and Institute of Food Science, New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University ^* U.S. Plant, Soil, and Nutrition Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ithaca, NY 14853

Availability to rats of Fe in isolated ferric hydroxide polymers was assessed. Polymers were prepared by hydrolyzing an ⁵⁹Fe-labeled ferric nitrate solution with base (KHCO₃). After isolation by gel filtration, the polymers were characterized by spectrophotometric, dialysis, and ultracentrifugation methods. In a split-plot design experiment, Fe-adequate (Hb 11.4–14.0 g/dl) or Fe-deficient (Hb 4.7–9.6 g/dl) male Sprague-Dawley rats (10/treatment) were dosed by stomach tube with one of the following ⁵⁹Fe-labeled solutions: polymers, Fe(NO₃)₃ (low-molecular-weight control), polymers + citrate, or Fe(NO₃)₃ + citrate. As expected, Fe-deficient animals absorbed more Fe than adequate animals (P < 0.01). There was no difference in absorption of Fe between polymers and low-molecular-weight control doses (P > 0.05). In Fe-adequate animals, citrate significantly depressed the uptake of Fe both from Fe(NO₃)₃ and polymers. These results indicate 1) that polymerization of Fe species prior to ingestion is not a likely means by which Fe is rendered unavailable and 2) that the effect of citrate on Fe absorption may depend on the Fe status of the animal.

KEY WORDS: • iron • iron availability • ferric hydroxide polymers

¹ Supported by U.S. Department of Agriculture Grant No. 82-CRCR-11-004.

² Presented at the 68th Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, April 1–6, 1984, St. Louis, MO. Fed. Proc. 43(4), 1050 (abs. 4477).

³ Address reprint requests to: Dennis D. Miller, Department of Food Science, Stocking Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.

Manuscript received 21 December 1984. Revision accepted 16 April 1985.