Evaluation of Iron Bioavailability From Iron Chlorophyllin

The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the iron absorption from iron chlorophyllin. Iron deficiency is a public health problem in both developing and industrialized countries. There are several approaches to combat iron deficiency. Most supplements in the present day, to address the problem of iron deficiency, are in the form of iron salts, known as ferrous salts, especially ferrous sulfate. However, we can only usually absorb about 20% of the total iron content in ferrous sulfate. The common strategy of food supplement companies is to increase the amount of iron in the supplements to compensate for the low absorption rate. However, this often causes gastrointestinal side effects. In the present study, we would like to measure the iron bioavailability from sodium iron chlorophyllin, which made up from ferrous salts and chlorophyllin and where we hypothesize that it is absorbed via a different pathway than ferrous sulfate. Via this mechanism, we further hypothesize that sodium iron chlorophyllin will therefore have an enhanced bioavailability and more favorable side effect profile than ferrous sulfate and other iron salts.