Source: Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (GB) Revision Year: 2018 Publisher: Athlone Pharmaceuticals Limited, Ballymurray, Co. Roscommon, Ireland
Pharmacotherapeutic group: Antianemic preparations
ATC code: B03AA03
Iron is an essential constituent of the body, being necessary for haemoglobin formation and for the oxidative processes of living tissues. More than 80% of the iron present in the body is involved in the support of red blood cell production. Iron is also an essential component of myoglobin, hema enzymes such as cytochromes, catalase, peroxidase, and the metalloflavoprotein enzymes, including xanthine oxidase and the mitochondrialenzyme alpha glycerophosphate oxidase.
After acidification and partial digestion of food in the stomach its content of iron is presented to the intestinal mucosa as either inorganic or heme iron. These fractions are taken up by the absorptive cells of the duodenum and upper small intestine and the iron is either transported directly into the plasma or is stored as mucosal ferritin. Normal absorption is about1mg per day in the adult male and about 1.4mg per day in the adult female. Increased uptake and delivery of iron into the circulation occurs when there is an iron deficiency, when iron stores are depleted or when erythropoiesis is increased. Only 10% of total iron is lost per year from normal men and that accounts for 1mg per day. Two thirds of this iron is excreted from the gastrointestinal tract as extravasated red cells, iron in bile and iron in exfoliated mucosal cells. The other third is accounted for by small amounts of iron in desquamated skin and in the urine. Physiological losses of iron in the male vary over a relatively narrow range decreasing to about 0.5mg in the iron deficient individual and increasing to as much as 1.5mg or possibly 2mg per day when excessive iron is consumed. Additional losses of iron occur in females due to menstruation. While this averages about 0.5mg per day, 10% of normal menstruating females lose over 2mg per day.
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