IRON ABSORPTION. IV. THE ABSORPTION OF HEMOGLOBIN IRON*

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Using the 2 radioisotopes of iron, Fe55 Fe59, the gastrointestinal absorption of iron in rabbit hemoglobin, hemin and ferritin has been compared to that of ferrous salts in healthy volunteers and subjects with iron-deficiency anemia. Like that of ferrous salt, absorption of hemoglobin iron varied with the dose administered and with the iron requirement of the subject. In contrast to that of ferrous salt, absorption of hemoglobin iron was not reduced by food or by phytate, and was not increased by ascorbic acid. Absorption of iron in hemin was likewise unaffected by food. The findings indicate that iron in heme complexes is absorbed without conversion to the free ionized form, and that the present hypothesis of iron absorption based on the behavior of iron salts is not adequate for all types of food iron.