Eggs and Iron Absorption

Abstract

S ummary . Iron absorption from eggs labelled biologically with 59 Fe has been studied in 27 subjects by the use of a whole‐body counter. Eggs were given in a standard meal on three successive days. Absorption was compared with that obtained from the same meal with the addition of 100 ml of orange juice, and with absorption of iron from three daily doses of 1 mg of ferrous iron or a single dose of 5 mg of ferrous iron. Mean absorption from the eggs alone was 3.7% which was about a tenth of that obtained with the ferrous iron salt. The addition of orange juice to the standard meal gave a highly significant enhancement of iron absorption to a mean of 10.4%. In rats iron absorption from 59 Fe labelled eggs was enhanced in iron deficiency. In these animals egg yolk was found to interfere with absorption from a ferrous iron salt but not with that of iron from labelled haemoglobin.