Iron absorption and bioavailability in rats of micronized dispersible ferric pyrophosphate

Unlike commercial ferric pyrophosphate, micronized dispersible ferric pyrophosphate (MDFP: Sun-Active Fe) does not precipitate and is completely dispersible in liquid form. MDFP shows a sharp particle size distribution at a nanometer level, which is several times smaller than that of commercial ferric pyrophosphate. The bioavailability of MDFP was compared to ferric pyrophosphate, sodium ferrous citrate, and ferrous sulfate by three bioavailability tests in rats; namely the serum iron concentration curve, the hemoglobin regeneration efficiency, and Association of Official Analytical Chemists' hemoglobin repletion test. The high area under curve value, a lag in peak time, and continued high serum iron concentration by MDFP over the other iron compounds indicates a sustained release of iron in the serum iron concentration curve method. MDFP showed the highest hemoglobin regeneration efficiency among all the iron compounds tested. The relative biological value of MDFP per unit of ferrous sulfate in each bioavailability test showed a high value as compared to other iron compounds. The above results suggest that MDFP is an ideal compound with high bioavailability for iron fortification in various liquid applications.