DrugLib.com — Drug Information Portal

Rx drug information, pharmaceutical research, clinical trials, news, and more



Dry cereals fortified with electrolytic iron or ferrous fumarate are equally effective in breast-fed infants.

Author(s): Ziegler EE, Fomon SJ, Nelson SE, Jeter JM, Theuer RC

Affiliation(s): Fomon Infant Nutrition Unit, Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. ekhard-ziegler@uiowa.edu

Publication date & source: 2011-02, J Nutr., 141(2):243-8. Epub 2010 Dec 22.

Publication type: Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Precooked, instant (dry) infant cereals in the US are fortified with electrolytic iron, a source of low reactivity and suspected low bioavailability. Iron from ferrous fumarate is presumed to be more available. In this study, we compared a dry infant rice cereal (Cereal L) fortified with electrolytic iron (54.5 mg iron/100 g cereal) to a similar cereal (Cereal M) fortified with ferrous fumarate (52.2 mg Fe/100 g) for efficacy in maintaining iron status and preventing iron deficiency (ID) in breast-fed infants. Ascorbic acid was included in both cereals. In this prospective, randomized double-blind trial, exclusively breast-fed infants were enrolled at 1 mo and iron status was determined periodically. At 4 mo, 3 infants had ID anemia and were excluded. Ninety-five infants were randomized at 4 mo, and 69 (36 Cereal L, 33 Cereal M) completed the intervention at 9 mo. From 4 to 9 mo, they consumed daily one of the study cereals. With each cereal, 2 infants had mild ID, a prevalence of 4.2%, but no infant developed ID anemia. There were no differences in iron status between study groups. Iron intake from the study cereals was (mean +/- SD) 1.21 +/- 0.31 mgkg(-1)d(-1) from Cereal L and 1.07 +/- 0.40 mgkg(-1)d(-1) from Cereal M. Eleven infants had low birth iron endowment (plasma ferritin < 55 mug/L at 2 mo) and 54% of these infants had ID with or without anemia by 4 mo. We conclude that electrolytic iron and ferrous fumarate were equally efficacious as fortificants of this infant cereal.

Page last updated: 2011-12-09

-- advertisement -- The American Red Cross
 
Home | About Us | Contact Us | Site usage policy | Privacy policy

All Rights reserved - Copyright DrugLib.com, 2006-2017