Ferritin iron absorption in man

The iron absorption from ferritin and hemosiderin biosynthetically labeled with radioiron was studied in 108 subjects. The geometric mean absorption of ferritin iron in both normal and iron-deficient subjects was 1.9 percent. Its mean absorption ranged from 0.9 percent in normal subjects to 2.5 percent in subjects with moderate iron deficiency and 5.7 percent in subjects with marked iron deficiency. The administration of this iron compound with vegetals in a meal showed distinctly lower absorption values than the absorption from either maize, wheat, or soybean. Ferritin iron absorption was also different from that of ferric chloride when they were administered together as a drink or mixed with maize or liver. The iron absorption from ferritin was markedly increased when it was administered with either meat or liver, but it did not reach the absorption level of these foods. It is still to be elucidated whether the difference in iron absorption between ferritin and vegetable foods administered together reflect that this iron is incompletely miscible with a nonheme iron pool or that it really forms a third iron pool.