Utilization of dietary calcium by iron-deficient rats

Iron deficiency causes cytological and enzymic changes in the gastrointestinal mucosa of animals and man that can be expected to impair the digestion and absorption of other nutrients. In experiment 1, healthy, weanling, female rats were grouped into pair-mates and pair-fed either an iron-deficient or an iron-supplemented diet for 19 weeks. In experiment 2, iron-deficient offspring reared by iron-deficient females were grouped into pair-mates and pair-fed either an iron-deficient or an iron-supplemented diet for 15 weeks. In experiment 1, apparent absorption of calcium was significantly depressed in week 9 (p less than 0.001) and slightly depressed in weeks 10 and 11. In experiment 2, the apparent absorption of calcium was significantly (p less than 0.001) depressed in weeks 6, 13, and 14. Absorption was not measured in other weeks in these experiments. The concentrations of calcium and magnesium were consistently higher in the fecal dry matter of the iron deficient rats in both experiments. It was concluded that any defects in digestion and absorption by the iron-deficient rats was confined primarily to the mineral nutrients because in both experiments apparent absorption of dry matter was consistently higher in these animals compared to their iron-supplemented pair-mates.