Abstract
Iron is known to interact with various foods and drugs taken at the same time and since ascorbic acid generally seems to promote the intestinal absorption of iron, we performed a retrospective medical survey using medical charts to establish the effect of ascorbic acid on patients with iron deficiency anemia taking sodium ferrous citrate. The hemoglobin levels and hematocrits of patients with iron deficiency anemia were markedly improved after taking sodium ferrous citrate containing 50 mg of elemental iron alone for 4 to 8 weeks. However, there was no difference between the hemoglobin and hematocrit results for this group of patients and another group who took ascorbic acid (200mg) in addition to sodium ferrous citrate. These results suggest that ascorbic acid does not influence the efficacy of sodium ferrous citrate when these agents are administered together for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia.
