Absorption of hemoglobin iron

Abstract

Hemoglobin-iron was absorbed by the guinea pig as an iron-containing porphyrin compound. Absorption of both inorganic and hemoglobin-iron occurred primarily in the duodenum but about 1/3 of the quantity absorbed from the gut can be absorbed from the colon and small quantities can be absorbed from other portions of the gut. In the duodenal lumen, hemoglobin was split by proteolytic enzymes into absorbable he me and small quantities of iron. This heme entered the intestinal mucosal cells and subsequently was found in the plasma. Much of the absorbed heme was sequestered by the liver where it was probably degraded and the iron released. Liberated iron was concentrated in the intestinal mucosa where it might act to regulate the absorption of iron but not heme. This could explain the relatively unselective absorption of hemoglobin-iron by this animal.