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The Value of the Oyster in Nutritional Anemia

(From the Laboratory of the South Carolina Food Research Commission and the Department of Nutrition of the Medical College of the State of South Carolina, Charleston)

The finding of large amounts of Cu in the oyster prompted a study of the influence of the oyster in hemogloblin regeneration in rats rendered anemic on milk.

When fed daily for a period of eight weeks, 0.56 gm. dried oysters (4.0 gm. fresh basis) allowed regeneration to the normal hemoglobulin level in 2 to 3 weeks, whereas 0.28 gm. (2.0 gm. fresh basis) brought a return to normal in 4 to 5 weeks. Fourteen hundredths of a gram (1.0 gm. fresh basis) permitted only about 80 per cent blood regeneration at the end of eight weeks. It is estimated that the minimum daily Fe requirement of the rat lies between 0.17 mg. and 0.30 mg.

A comparison of 1.-dried oysters, 2.-an acid solution of oyster ash and 3.-a solution containing Fe, Cu, and Mn, was made at various levels. All three supplements permitted blood regeneration at approximately the same rate, indicating, first, that inorganic elements present in the oyster are responsible for its antianemic potency and, second, that the effectiveness of the oyster in nutritional anemia can be accounted for on the basis of its Fe, Cu, and Mn content.

The question whether or not Mn is necessary and aids Cu in supplementing Fe cannot be answered from the results of these experiments.