DIETARY ASCORBIC-ACID RAISES IRON-ABSORPTION IN ANEMIC RATS THROUGH ENHANCING MUCOSAL IRON UPTAKE INDEPENDENT OF IRON SOLUBILITY IN THE DIGESTA

We studied Fe absorption from FeSO4 in rats with Fe deficiency-induced anaemia that were given an Fe-sufficient purified diet without or wit h ascorbic acid (10.4 g/kg diet), Attention was focused on mucosal Fe uptake as measured in vivo by a double-isotope technique, Haemoglobin repletion and liver Fe levels were not affected when the ascorbic acid -supplemented diet was given, but apparent Fe absorption and retention of orally administered Fe-59 were significantly enhanced, The distrib ution of Fe between liquid and solid phases of contents of both the st omach and the proximal intestine was not affected by the feeding of th e ascorbic acid, but ascorbic acid significantly enhanced mucosal Fe u ptake, It is concluded that ascorbic acid in the diet raises mucosal F e uptake through a mechanism independent of the intestinal Fe solubili ty.