OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of iron supplement on metabolism of iron and folic acid.METHODS: Thirty-two weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups, iron-normal and iron-deficiency, feeding twice a day with synthetic fodder containing 800 micrograms and less than 20 micrograms iron per day, respectively. Half of the rats in each group were supplemented with 8,000 micrograms of iron daily, and the other half of the rats were fed unchanged. Finally, four groups of rats, i.e., iron-normal with iron supplement, iron-deficiency with iron supplement, iron-normal and iron-deficiency, were set up. The fodder for all the four groups contained less than 10 micrograms of folic acid per day.RESULTS: Iron deficiency affected the growth, body weight and hemoglobin level of the rats, and their liver weight and iron content in the liver were significantly lower than the normal level, and their folic acid level was significantly higher than that in iron-normal rats. The growth, weight and hemoglobin level improved significantly, and iron content in the liver increased rapidly and exceeded the normal level after supplement with iron, while folic acid level in the liver declined until that was significantly lower than the normal.CONCLUSION: Folic acid content in the rats with deficiency both in iron and folic acid declined further after iron supplement, and no significant change was found in iron-normal rats.
Animals Animals, Newborn