HEPATIC HEMOSIDEROSIS IN COMMON MARMOSETS, CALLITHRIX-JACCHUS - EFFECT OF DIET ON INCIDENCE AND SEVERITY

We examined the effect of dietary iron concentration on the incidence of hepatic hemosiderosis in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and assessed the impact of hemosiderosis on animal health, Thirteen young adult common marmosets were fed nutritionally balanced natural-ingredi ent diets formulated to contain either 100 or 500 ppm of iron. Six wer e fed the low-iron and seven received the high-iron diet. Baseline blo od values and liver iron content were determined for each animal, Anim als were weighed monthly, blood work (hematologic analysis, serum iron concentration, total icon-binding capacity, percent of transferrin sa turation) was pet-formed semi-annually, and liver biopsies for iron an alysis were obtained after marmosets had consumed the test diets for 1 3 months or at necropsy, Midway in the study, the high-iron diet, was reformulated to contain 350 ppm of iron because of the death of a male which had consumed that diet for 7 months, Four of seven marmosets fe d the high-iron diet died during the first year of the study, compared with one death in the low-iron cohort, The mean increase in liver iro n content of the marmosets fed the high-iron diet was 6,371 mu g/g, dr y weight analysis, In contrast the low-iron cohort had a mean decrease of 621.5 mu g/g. These results indicate that liver iron content can b e affected by dietary iron intake, The increased mortality in the marm osets fed the high-hen diet also suggests that hepatic hemosiderosis c an be detrimental to marmoset health.