Cereal Chem 53:33 - 40.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Utilization of Iron from Enriched Wheat Bread by Normal and Anemic Rats.

J. Miller. Copyright 1976 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were normal in rats fed for 6 weeks from weaning on diets of bread supplemented with a minimum amount of lysine to produce significant growth. Supplementation of the diet with soybean meal or with methionine and additional lysine improved growth rate and feed efficiency. The effects of the two kinds of supplement were additive. Iron storage in the liver was increased by supplementation with the two amino acids, but not with soybean meal. Anemic rats were provided with graded levels of iron by addition of either ferrous sulfate or bread to their diets. The relative biological value of bread iron, compared to ferrous sulfate iron, differed for the several parameters of iron metabolism that were evaluated. Bread as a source of dietary iron for anemic rats appeared to stimulate production of red blood cells to a greater extent than could be accounted for by the iron available for hemoglobin synthesis or for restoration of iron content of solid tissues.