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Fatty Acid Composition of Erythrocyte Membranes Affects Iron Absorption in Rats^1,2,

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain

We studied the influence of the fatty acid composition of three different diets on iron absorption in relation to the lipid peroxidation of the erythrocyte membranes. After weaning, three groups of rats were fed isoenergetic semipurified diets for 16 wk: control diet (containing canola oil and peanut oil), tripalmitin diet (a saturated fatty acid diet) and a sardine oil diet rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Eight rats from each group were administered ⁵⁹FeSO₄ by gastric intubation for ferrokinetic studies, and six rats from each group were used for several analyses in blood, liver, spleen and erythrocytes. Results obtained from ⁵⁹Fe eliminated in feces and ⁵⁹Fe present in plasma, both calculated by the area under the curve and from maximum concentration in plasma, indicated that the sardine oil diet induced higher iron absorption than the control diet. The lipid peroxidation of erythrocyte membranes in rats fed sardine oil was higher than that in control rats due to high membrane's (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acid content and low -tocopherol level. The ⁵⁹Fe in liver and spleen of rats fed the sardine oil diet was higher than in rats fed the control diet, and ⁵⁹Fe was diverted to erythrocytes to a greater extent than in rats fed the control diet due to their reduced life-span. The sardine oil diet, by lessening -tocopherol and raising the degree of lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes, augments iron absorption, whereas the tripalmitin diet, by protecting erythrocyte membranes from lipid peroxidation, leads to a lower rate of iron absorption.

KEY WORDS: • iron absorption • lipid peroxidation • rats • polyunsaturated fatty acids • saturated fatty acids

¹ Supported by the Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica (DGICYT) PB 91-0432.

² The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 USC section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

³ To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Manuscript received 1 February 1996. Revision accepted 30 August 1996.

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