The Effect of Digestibility Upon the Availability of Iron in Whole Wheat

Young rats depleted to hemoglobin levels averaging 3.3 gm. per 100 cc. of blood at 8 weeks of age were fed as supplements to fresh whole milk (1) whole wheat (3 gm.), yielding 0.1 mg. of iron and 0.02 mg. copper; (2) whole wheat (2.7 gm.) with all the starch dextrinized, furnishing the same amounts of iron and copper as (1); (3) 0.1 mg. of iron as FeCl3 and 0.02 mg. copper as CuSO4. Hemoglobin regeneration was best on the predigested wheat, next best on the natural wheat finely ground, and poorest on the mineral supplements, the gains in 6 weeks amounting to 9.6 and 7.6 and 7.0 gm. of hemoglobin per 100 cc. of blood respectively. The ease of digestion of the dextrinized wheat we believe to have been the factor causing the better hemoglobulin regeneration on this than on the wheat finely ground but not predigested. The gains in hemoglobin on 3 gm. of whole wheat in this series with animals depleted to an average hemoglobin level of 3.3 gm. of hemoglobin per 100 cc. of blood are in good agreement with those for animals in a previous series depleted to a level of 5.4 gm. As long as the level at depletion is sufficiently low to allow for considerable increase before reaching the normal hemoglobin level, we believe tests for hemoglobin regenerating values of foods will be reliable.