1996 Volume 47 Issue 11 Pages 1073-1078
It is known that using an iron frying pan increases iron in the dish, although the bioavailability of iron is not obvious. In order to elucidate the bioavailability of dissolved iron, the effects of dissolved matter from an iron frying pan on anemia were studied by comparing with those of ferrous sulfate.
Iron-deficient anemic rats were fed with a diet containing 4 or 2 mg of Fe/100 g of dissolved iron (dissolved in 10% vinegar) or equivalent concentrations of iron as ferrous sulfate for 4 weeks. During and after feeding, the Hb, Ht, RBC and serum iron concentrations, the total iron-binding capacity, and the liver and spleen iron concentrations were analyzed.
With the 4 mg of Fe/100 g diets, both the dissolved matter and ferrous sulfate enhanced the Hb, Ht, RBC and serum iron concentrations, and the total iron-binbing capacity to the same level as those from the control diet after 4 weeks, and showed a significant effect on the anemia. However, both resulted in significantly lower liver and spleen iron concentrations when compared with those from the control diet. With the 2 mg of Fe/100 g diets, both the dissolved iron and ferrous sulfate resulted in lower Hb and serum iron concentrations when compared with those from the control diet, although the difference was not significant. These results suggest that the dissolved matter from an iron frying pan had a significant effect on anemia and comparably higher bioavailability than ferrous sulfate.
