Clinical studies of hip: An oral heme-iron product

Iron bound to heme appears to be more bioavailable than iron salts, but in the United States no heme iron supplement presently exists. We performed iron absorption studies to evaluate a heme iron product made from digested hemoglobin (HIP) and compared iron absorption from this preparation to iron salts and placebo. In the study 14 subjects were given a standard breakfast and tested with three different preparations: 20 mg of iron as HIP; 20 mg of iron as ferrous fumarate and placebo. Change in serum iron was measured at 3 hour and 6 hours post ingestion. Statistical analysis was done using paired T tests. HIP allowed for significantly increased iron absorption taken with a meal when compared to iron salts or placebo (p<0.03 and p<0.02, respectively). There was a correlation between iron stores, as estimated by serum ferritin, and iron absorption from HIP with iron absorption from HIP significantly increased compared to placebo for those with lower ferritin values. Thus, a new heme iron product is bioavailable when taken with a meal and would have potential advantages over iron salts as a supplement.