Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T17:40:06.193Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Iron metabolism during lactation in the rabbit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

H. Tarvydas
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia
Susan M. Jordan
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia
E. H. Morgan
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

1. Iron metabolism was studied during lactation in the rabbit by the intravenous injection of 59Fe in order to measure plasma Fe turnover, Fe transfer to the milk and Fe absorption by the suckling young.

2. Although the plasma and red cell volumes were elevated in the lactating animal a significant increase of plasma Fe turnover was not demonstrated.

3. Between 2.5 and 11.5% of the injected dose of 59Fe appeared in the milk during the following 2–3 weeks. Secretion into the milk continued for at least 2 weeks, and the specific activity of Fe was higher in milk than in plasma, suggesting that the mammary gland contained a pool of Fe, with a low turnover rate from which milk Fe was derived. On the average, 150–315 μg Fe were secreted in the milk per day.

4. Almost all the 59Fe ingested by suckling rabbits, either in milk or sodium chloride solution, was absorbed.

5. It is concluded that in the rabbit the relatively small increase of body Fe which occurs during suckling is entirely due to the limited supply of Fe available in the milk. The high concentration of Fe-binding protein present in rabbit milk did not appear to aid Fe transfer into the milk or to affect Fe absorption by the young.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1968

References

Blanc, B. & Isliker, H. (1963). Helv. physiol. pharmac. Acta 21, 259.Google Scholar
Bond, C. F. (1958.) Endocrinology 63, 285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bothwell, T. H. & Finch, C. A. (1962). Iron Metabolism. London: J. and A. Churchill Ltd.Google Scholar
Bothwell, T. H., Pribilla, W. F., Mebust, W. & Finch, C. A. (1958). Am. J. Physiol. 193, 615.Google Scholar
Brambell, F. W. R. (1958). Biol. Rev. 33, 488.Google Scholar
Bunge, G. (1892). Hoppe-Seyler's Z. physiol. Chem. 16, 173.Google Scholar
Deutsch, J. Z. (1957). Br. J. Anim. Behav. 5, 53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erf, L. A. (1941). Proc. Soc. exp. Biol. Med. 46, 284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ezekiel, E. (1965). Biochim. biophys. Acta 107, 511.Google Scholar
Ezekiel, E. (1967). J. Lab. clin. Med. 70, 138.Google Scholar
Ezekiel, E. & Morgan, E. H. (1963). J. Physiol., Lond. 165, 336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garby, L. & Sjölin, S. (1959). Acta Paediat. 48, (Suppl. 117), p. 24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halliday, R. (1956). Proc. R. Soc. B, 145, 179.Google Scholar
Heilmeyer, L. (1958). In Iron in Clinical Medicine, p. 24. [Wallerstein, R. O. and Mettier, S. R., editors.] London: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Jordan, S. M., Kaldor, I. & Morgan, E. H. (1967). Nature, Lond. 215, 76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaldor, I. & Ezekiel, E. (1962). Nature, Lond. 196, 175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCance, R. A. & Widdowson, E. M. (1951). J. Physiol., Lond. 112, 450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, E. H. & Carter, G. (1959). Australas. Ann. Med. 9, 209.Google Scholar
Schulz, J. & Smith, N. J. (1958). Am. J. Dis. Child. 95, 109.Google Scholar
Underwood, E. J. (1962). Trace Elements in Human and Animal Nutrition, 2nd ed., p. 22. New York: Academic Press Inc.Google Scholar
Warner, G. T. & Oliver, R. (1962). Br. J. Radiol. 35, 349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wheby, M. S. (1966). Gastroenterology 50, 888.Google Scholar
Widdowson, E. M. (1950). Nature, Lond. 166, 626.Google Scholar
Zarrow, M. X., Denenberg, V. H. & Anderson, C. O. (1965). Science, N. Y. 150, 1835.CrossRefGoogle Scholar