The importance of status and previous diet of animals on the estimation of bioavailability of different forms of metallic elements: Studies on Fe†

Abstract

Iron absorption from 240 μg Fe, labelled with ⁵⁹Fe, was measured in fasted anaemic and control rats, previously fed adequate (36mgFe/kg) or low‐Fe (8mg Fe/kg) diet for three days. Anaemia and prior consumption of a low‐Fe diet for just three days increased Fe absorption independently (P<0.0001). The diet effect was not seen in anaemic rats, presumably because their capacity to absorb Fe was already maximal. These results demonstrate the importance of controlling previous Fe intake as well as Fe status in studies in which the availability of different physico‐chemical forms of Fe are being examined.