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The efficacy of ferrous bisglycinate
and electrolytic iron as fortificants in bread in
irondeficient
school children
vanStuijvenberg ME, et al.
Br J Nutr, (2006), 95, 532-538.
Food fortification is an important long-term strategy for
addressing micronutrient deficiencies. Finding the ideal Fe
fortification compound, however, remains a challenge. In the
present study the effect of ferrous bisglycinate as
fortificant in brown bread was compared with that of
electrolytic Fe among Fe-deficient school children in a
randomized controlled trial.
Children (n 160), aged 6-11 years, with serum ferritin <20
μg/l, were randomly assigned to one of three treatment
categories: (i) standard unfortified bread; (ii) bread with
electrolytic Fe as fortificant; and (iii) bread with ferrous
bisglycinate as fortificant. Each child received four slices
of bread (120 g) on school days, which supplied an average
of 3-66 mg elemental Fe per intervention day for 137 d (2·52
mg/d for 75 d and 5·04 mg/d for 62 d) over a period of 7·5
months. Hb, serum ferritin, serum Fe and transferring
saturation were measured at baseline and at the end of the
intervention. Significant treatment effects were observed
for Hb (P=0.013), serum Fe (P=0.041) and transferring
saturation (P=0.042) in the ferrous bisglycinate group, but
not in the electrolytic Fe group. There were no significant
intervention effects for serum ferritin in either treatment
groups. Overall, ferrous bisglycinate as Fe fortificant in
brown bread performed better than electrolytic Fe in a group
of Fe-deficient school children over a period of 7.5 months.
High prevalence of iron deficiency and
anemia in female military recruits
Dubnov G, et al.
Mil Med, 2006 ; 171(9) :866-9.
Iron deficiency anemia has long been known to impair
physical and mental performance. Iron deficiency itself,
even without anemia, may also cause such an effect. Similar
to female athletes, women in active military units may have
increased risks for iron deficiency and its detrimental
effects. Female recruits were screened for anemia and iron
store status, and a questionnaire on lifestyle habits and
menstruation was completed. Iron depletion (serum ferritin
level of <20 microg/L) was found for 77% of study
participants. Iron deficiency (ferritin level of <12 microg/L
and transferrin saturation of <15%) was found for 15% of
study participants. Anemia was found for 24% of subjects,
and iron deficiency anemia was found for 10% of subjects.
High prevalence of iron depletion, iron deficiency, anemia,
and iron deficiency anemia was found among female recruits
intended for active military duty. Therefore, a
recommendation can be made to screen such female recruits
for anemia and iron stores.
Acid-base status affects renal
magnesium losses in healthy elderly persons
Rylander R, et al.
J Nutr, 2006 ; 136(9) :2374-7.
Magnesium and calcium deficiency in humans is related to
a number of pathological phenomena such as arrhythmia,
osteoporosis, migraine, and fatal myocardial infarction.
Clinically established metabolic acidosis induces renal
losses of calcium. In normal subjects, even moderate
increases in net endogenous acid production (NEAP)
impair renal calcium reabsorption but no information is
available whether this also influences renal magnesium
handling. The aim of the study was to examine the
relation between NEAP and renal magnesium excretion in
healthy, free-living, elderly subjects. The subjects
(age 64 +/- 4.7 y, n = 85) were randomly selected from
the population register in Gothenburg (Sweden).
Magnesium, calcium, and potassium were measured in 24-h
urine samples and NEAP was quantified as renal net acid
excretion (NAE). NAE was positively correlated with
excretions of magnesium (R(2) = 0.27, P < 0.0001) and
calcium (R(2) = 0.30, P < 0.0001) but not potassium.
When 24-h urinary magnesium excretion was adjusted for
24-h urinary potassium excretion, a biomarker for
dietary potassium intake, the association between
magnesium excretion and NAE remained significant (R(2) =
0.21, P < 0.0001). The significant association between
potassium-adjusted magnesiuria and NAE suggests that the
acidbase status affects renal magnesium losses,
irrespectively of magnesium intake. Magnesium deficiency
could thus, apart from an insufficient intake, partly be
caused by the acid load in the body.
Magnesium and diabetes mellitus: their
relation
Sales CH, et al.
Clin Nutr, 2006 ; 25(4) :554-62.
The aim of this review was to elaborate a synthesis about
the discussions on magnesium and diabetes mellitus, in the
last 14 years. The magnesium deficiency has been associated
with chronic diseases, amongst them, diabetes mellitus.
Epidemiological studies had shown low levels of magnesium
ingestion in the general population, as well as a relation
between the ingestion of food rich in magnesium and the
reduction of diabetes installation and its complications.
Hypomagnesemia is frequently present in diabetic patients,
however there is not an exact elucidation of the mechanism
of magnesium deficiency in diabetes mellitus. On the other
hand, in the presence of this illness, it is observed that
inadequate metabolic control can affect the corporal
concentrations of magnesium, developing hypomagnesemia,
which may be still directly related with some micro and
macrovascular complications observed in diabetes, as
cardiovascular disease, retinopathy and neuropathy. This
way, the chronic complications of diabetes can appear
precociously. Based on this, the supplementation with
magnesium has been suggested in patients with diabetes
mellitus who have proven hypomagnesemia and the presence of
its complications.
Lymphocyte DNA damage and oxidative
stress in patients with iron deficiency anemia
Asian M, et al.
Mutat Res, 2006 ; 601(1-2) :144-9.
Oxidant stress has been shown to play an important role in
the pathogenesis of iron deficiency anemia. The aim of this
study was to investigate the association between lymphocyte
DNA damage, total antioxidant capacity and the degree of
anemia in patients with iron deficiency anemia. Twenty-two
female with iron deficiency anemia and 22 healthy females
were enrolled in the study. Peripheral DNA damage was
assessed using alkaline comet assay and plasma total
antioxidant capacity was determined using an automated
measurement method. Lymphocyte DNA damage of patients with
iron deficiency anemia was significantly higher than
controls (p<0.05), while total antioxidant capacity was
significantly lower (p<0.001). While there was a positive
correlation between total antioxidant capacity and
hemoglobin levels (r=0.706, p<0.001), both total antioxidant
capacity and hemoglobin levels were negatively correlated
with DNA damage (r=-0.330, p<0.05 and r=-0.323, p<0.05,
respectively). In conclusion, both oxidative stress and DNA
damage are increased in IDA patients. Increased oxidative
stress seems as an important factor that induces DNA damage
in those IDA patients. The relationships of oxidative stress
and DNA damage with the severity of anemia suggest that both
oxidative stress and DNA damage may, in part, have a role in
the pathogenesis of IDA.
Role of magnesium in hypertension
Sontia B, et al.
Arch Biochem Biophys, 2006 May 24 ; [Epub ahead of print] .
Magnesium affects blood pressure by modulating vascular tone
and reactivity. It acts as a calcium channel antagonist, it
stimulates production of vasodilator prostacyclins and
nitric oxide and it alters vascular responses to vasoactive
agonists. Magnesium deficiency has been implicated in the
pathogenesis of hypertension with epidemiological and
experimental studies demonstrating an inverse correlation
between blood pressure and serum magnesium levels. Magnesium
also influences glucose and insulin homeostasis, and
hypomagnesemia is associated with metabolic syndrome.
Although most epidemiological and experimental studies
support a role for low magnesium in the pathophysiology of
hypertension, data from clinical studies have been less
convincing. Furthermore, the therapeutic value of magnesium
in the management of hypertension is unclear. The present
review addresses the role of magnesium in the regulation of
vascular function and blood pressure and discusses the
implications of magnesium deficiency in experimental and
clinical hypertension, in metabolic syndrome and in pre-eclampsia
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