Absorption of iron in rats with experimental enteritis

Inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract and iron-deficiency a nemia are very common in humans. Acute intestinal inflammation was patholog ically established in rats by intraluminal administration of acetic acid in to the duodenum and the proximal jejunum. The study included two control gr oups of intact (untreated) rats and sham-operated (saline-treated) rats for each intestinal segment. A third group of rats received acetic acid. The a cetic acid-induced inflammatory process was established histopathologically and biochemically. Two days after treatment, iron absorption was measured using ligated 10-cm loops of proximal jejunum or ligated duodenum in which Fe-59 was injected intraluminally (n = 6 in each group). In another four co ntrol groups (intact and sham-operated for each intestinal segment) and two acetic acid-treated groups, serosal-luminal secretion of Fe-59 was measure d after intravenous injection (n = 5 in each group). Fe-59 transfer from th e lumens of the duodenum and jejunum to the portal system was significantly lower in those rats in whom inflammation was induced by acetic acid. There was no apparent serosal-luminal secretion of intravenously injected Fe-59 in any of the studied groups. We conclude that acetic acid-induced intestin al inflammation significantly reduces iron absorption by the duodenum and t he proximal jejunum.