Supplementation of a cereal-milk formula with haem iron palliates the adverse effects of iron deficiency on calcium and magnesium metabolism in rats.

Aside from the well known alteration of Fe status in Fe deficiency, this condition has also a negative effect on the bioavailability of Ca and Mg. We studied the influence of the supplementation of a commercial cereal-milk formula with bovine blood on Fe, Ca, P, and Mg metabolism in control and Fe-deficient rats to investigate whether high Fe levels in diet produce some interactions and the possibility of decreasing these latter by a haem-Fe supplementation. The bioavailability in control and Fe-deficient animals was determined as the apparent digestibility coefficient and hemoglobin regeneration efficiency, both of which are accurate estimations of total Fe utilization. Non-fortified cereal-milk formula decreased the apparent digestibility coefficient of Ca and Mg in Fe-deficient rats; the concentrations of these minerals in liver, femur, and sternum were lower than in control animals. However, when the Fe content of the cereal-milk formula was doubled by supplementation with bovine blood, the adverse effects on the digestive utilization of Ca, and especially of Mg, were palliated, the concentration of these two minerals in the organs investigated increased, and the overall Fe status improved in Fe-deficient rats.