Does oral iron supplementation have an erythropoietic effect?

Abstract
Summary. Haematological indices and serum ferritin were measured for 6 months in 20 healthy non‐pregnant women, nine of whom took oral iron supplements. Whereas the mean serum ferritin concentration increased from 16.2 μg/1 to 41.7 μg/1 during oral iron supplementation, the mean haemoglobin concentration remained unchanged at 13.5g/dl. No stimulatory action of iron on erythropoiesis could be demonstrated.