Effect of Copper and Iron on Hemoglobin of the Rat in Nutritional and Hemorrhagic Anemias.

Abstract

Following Hart, Steenbock 1 et al. on the influence of minute amounts of copper in improving the hemoglobin in rats with nutritional anemia it seemed desirable to determine whether or not this same thing could be obtained in the anemia of the rat induced by repeated bleedings.

We have compared two series of rats, (1) a group made anemic by long continued milk diet; (2) a group of normal animals made anemic by repeated bleedings. In both groups the animals were of the same age and weight, and treated exactly alike in every other particular.

Group I. Nutritional Anemia Group. These rats were kept on a diet of milk until they showed a definite anemia, and then divided into 3 sub-groups. The first sub-group was kept on milk only. The second sub-group was kept on milk with the addition of iron and copper. The third sub-group was kept on milk with iron only. The amount of iron used was 3 mg. per rat per day given in the form of ferric ammonium citrate. The amount of copper used was one-tenth milligram per rat per day, in the form of copper sulphate. We had on hand a considerable amount of the iron salt from our former experiments, and this was carefully analysed for the presence of copper as an impurity, and was found to contain only very slight traces of the latter metal.

After a preliminary examination of the blood of a few trial animals had shown that they had become sufficiently anemic the hemoglobin of all the animals was determined spectrophotometrically. Where relative results are wanted this is the most accurate method at our disposal for the determination of hemoglobin. These figures are recorded in each sub-group under the caption “First determination.” On the twenty-fourth and fifty-fourth days afterwards other determinations are made, which are recorded in the corresponding columns of each sub-group.