Effect of High Dietary Manganese on Hemoglobin Formation ,

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Abstract
In two experiments young growing lambs were depleted of iron either by an iron deficient diet or by a combination of the diet and phlebotomy. In the first experiment, a whole milk diet fortified with iron, copper, cobalt and vitamins A and D was supplemented with various levels of manganese. A level as low as 45 ppm of manganese fed to young lambs brought about a decrease in the concentration of hemoglobin and of serum iron. Higher levels of manganese, up to 5000 ppm, were associated with decreased concentrations of iron in the liver, spleen and kidney. In the second experiment anemic lambs were fed a roughage diet supplemented with three levels of manganese, 0, 1000, and 2000 ppm. Hemoglobin regeneration was markedly retarded and serum iron depressed in lambs fed diets containing either 1000 ppm or 2000 ppm of manganese. The data indicate that manganese interferes with iron absorption rather than with hematopoiesis. It is postulated that excessive manganese antagonizes the enzyme systems that oxidize or reduce iron at the site of absorption.