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A comparison of the bioavailability of ferrous fumarate and ferrous sulfate in non-anemic Mexican women and children consuming a sweetened maize and milk drink

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 65, pages 20–25 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

Ferrous fumarate is recommended for the fortification of complementary foods based on similar iron absorption to ferrous sulfate in adults. Two recent studies in young children have reported that it is only 30% as well absorbed as ferrous sulfate. The objective of this study was to compare iron absorption from ferrous fumarate and ferrous sulfate in infants, young children and mothers.

Subjects/Methods:

Non-anemic Mexican infants (6–24 months), young children (2–5 years) and adult women were randomly assigned to receive either 4 mg Fe (women) or 2.5 mg Fe (infants and young children) as either [57Fe]-ferrous fumarate or [58Fe]-ferrous sulfate added to a sweetened drink based on degermed maize flour and milk powder. Iron absorption was calculated based on incorporation of isotopes into erythrocytes after 14days.

Results:

Within each population group, no significant differences (P>0.05) in iron absorption were found between ferrous fumarate and ferrous sulfate. Mean iron absorption from ferrous fumarate vs ferrous sulfate was 17.5 vs 20.5% in women (relative bioavailability (RBV) =86), 7.0 vs 7.2% in infants (RBV = 97) and 6.3 vs 5.9% in young children (RBV = 106).

Conclusions:

Ferrous fumarate is as well absorbed as ferrous sulfate in non-anemic, iron sufficient infants and young children, and can be recommended as a useful fortification compound for complementary foods designed to prevent iron deficiency. Further studies are needed to clarify its usefulness in foods designed to treat iron deficiency.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the women, children and infants for their participation in the study and Dr Marisela Almazon for her assistance. All authors contributed to the study design, data analysis and writing of the paper. MH, CH and GOP carried out the field work. SV, MBZ, TW, JAR and RFH supervised the field work, and CZ and TW were responsible for stable isotope analysis. MH wrote the first draft of the paper, and all authors contributed to its editing. The study was supported by the Micronutrient Initiative, Ottawa, Canada, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich, Switzerland and the Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Human Nutrition, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich, Switzerland

    M Harrington, C Zeder, M B Zimmermann, T Walczyk & R F Hurrell

  2. Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico,

    C Hotz, G O Polvo, S Villalpando & J A Rivera

Authors
  1. M Harrington
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  2. C Hotz
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  3. C Zeder
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  4. G O Polvo
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  5. S Villalpando
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  6. M B Zimmermann
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  7. T Walczyk
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  8. J A Rivera
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  9. R F Hurrell
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Correspondence to R F Hurrell.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Harrington, M., Hotz, C., Zeder, C. et al. A comparison of the bioavailability of ferrous fumarate and ferrous sulfate in non-anemic Mexican women and children consuming a sweetened maize and milk drink. Eur J Clin Nutr 65, 20–25 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2010.185

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2010.185

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