Role of iron deficiency in inducing susceptibility to manganese toxicity.

Daily intraperitoneal administration of manganese chloride (15 mg/kg) to rats, maintained on an irondeficient diet, produced marked alterations in the activity of succinic dehydrogenase, monoamine oxidase, and in the morphology of the liver. Manganese accumulation was also significantly increased in such rats than after similar treatment to normally fed rats. Iron deficiency leads to increased absorption of manganese which is responsible for increased susceptibility to manganese toxicity in these animals.