Clinical studies of hip: An oral heme-iron product

Iron bound to heme appears to be more bioavailable than iron salts, but in the United States no heme iron supplement presently exists. We performed ir on absorption studies to evaluate a heme iron product made from digested he moglobin (HIP) and compared iron absorption from this preparation to iron s alts and placebo. In the study 14 subjects were given a standard breakfast and tested with three different preparations: 20 mg of iron as HIP; 20 mg o f iron as ferrous fumarate and placebo. Change in serum iron was measured a t 3 hour and 6 hours post ingestion. Statistical analysis was done using pa ired T tests. HIP allowed for significantly increased iron absorption taken with a meal when compared to iron salts or placebo (p<0.03 and p<0.02, res pectively). There was a correlation between iron stores, as estimated by se rum ferritin, and iron absorption from HIP with iron absorption from HIP si gnificantly increased compared to placebo for those with lower ferritin val ues. Thus, a new heme iron product is bioavailable when taken with a meal a nd would have potential advantages over iron salts as a supplement. (C) 200 0 Elsevier Science Inc.