Gryder Laura K, Young Sharon M, Zava David, Norris Wendy, Cross Chad L, Benyshek Daniel C
J Midwifery Womens Health. 2017 Jan;62(1):68-79. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.12549. Epub 2016 Nov 3.
Advocates of human maternal placentophagy report that encapsulated placenta is an excellent source of dietary iron. Our study compared the effect of ingested encapsulated placenta on maternal postpartum iron status versus that of a beef placebo.
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study (N = 23) was conducted among healthy human research participants experiencing a normal pregnancy. Maternal iron status was measured via hemoglobin, transferrin, and ferritin taken from blood samples drawn in the participants' homes at 4 time points: the 36th week of pregnancy, within 96 hours of parturition, between days 5 and 7 postpartum, and during week 3 postpartum. Iron concentrations in the encapsulated placenta and encapsulated beef placebo were compared using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.
Seventy-eight percent (18/23) of study participants' hemoglobin concentrations were above the World Health Organization cutoff for gestational iron deficiency (≥ 11.0 g/dL) during the 36th week of pregnancy. Results revealed no statistically significant differences (hemoglobin, P = .603; ferritin, P = .852; transferrin, P = .936) in maternal iron status (including postpartum iron rebound in the first week postpartum) between women in the placenta supplement (n = 10) and placebo (n = 13) groups. Average iron concentrations were considerably higher in encapsulated placenta (0.664 mg/g) compared to the encapsulated beef placebo (0.093 mg/g) but provided only 24% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for iron among lactating women based on the study's maximum daily intake.
The current study suggests that encapsulated placenta supplementation neither significantly improves nor impairs postpartum maternal iron status for women consuming the RDA of dietary iron during pregnancy and lactation, compared to a beef placebo. This may be an especially important finding for women who are iron deficient postpartum and whose only source of supplemental dietary iron is encapsulated placenta, as this may provide an inadequate source of supplemental iron in cases of deficiency.
提倡食用人类母体胎盘的人宣称，胎盘胶囊是膳食铁的优质来源。我们的研究比较了摄入胎盘胶囊与食用牛肉安慰剂对母体产后铁状态的影响。
在经历正常妊娠的健康人类研究参与者中进行了一项随机、双盲、安慰剂对照的试点研究（N = 23）。通过在4个时间点采集参与者家中血样检测血红蛋白、转铁蛋白和铁蛋白来测量母体铁状态：妊娠第36周、分娩后96小时内、产后第5至7天以及产后第3周。使用电感耦合等离子体质谱法比较胎盘胶囊和牛肉安慰剂胶囊中的铁浓度。
78%（18/23）的研究参与者在妊娠第36周时血红蛋白浓度高于世界卫生组织妊娠期缺铁临界值（≥11.0 g/dL）。结果显示，胎盘补充剂组（n = 10）和安慰剂组（n = 13）女性在母体铁状态（包括产后第一周的产后铁反弹）方面无统计学显著差异（血红蛋白，P = 0.603；铁蛋白，P = 0.852；转铁蛋白，P = 0.936）。与牛肉安慰剂胶囊（0.093 mg/g）相比，胎盘胶囊中的平均铁浓度（0.664 mg/g）要高得多，但根据研究的最大日摄入量，仅提供了哺乳期妇女铁推荐每日摄入量（RDA）的24%。
当前研究表明，与牛肉安慰剂相比，对于在妊娠和哺乳期摄入膳食铁RDA的女性，补充胎盘胶囊既不会显著改善也不会损害产后母体铁状态。对于产后缺铁且唯一的膳食补充铁来源是胎盘胶囊的女性而言，这可能是一项尤为重要的发现，因为在缺铁情况下，这可能是一种不足的补充铁来源。
