The Effect of Heat on the Availability of the Iron of Beef Muscle

Abstract

Young rats made anemic by a milk diet were given supplements of ferric chloride, oven-dried meat and vacuum-dried meat. When equal amounts of iron were fed in the form of the above-named supplements approximately the same amount of hemoglobin formation was observed when the supplement was oven-dried meat as when it was ferric chloride. Significantly less hemoglobin formation occurred when vacuum-dried meat was fed. Heat renders the iron of beef muscle of which at least 50% is in the organic form, as available for hemoglobin synthesis as the iron of an inorganic iron salt.