Metabolism of Iron and Copper in Anemic Rats

Abstract

Rats were made anemic by restriction to a diet of cow's milk. This milk was obtained directly in glass bottles from Guernsey cows and contained an average of 0.14 mg. of copper per liter. One group of 5 anemic rats was sacrificed. The stomachs and intestines were removed, and the carcasses were analyzed for iron and copper. Another group of 5 rats received daily supplements of 0.5 mg. of iron as pure ferric chloride. A third group of 6 rats received daily intraperitoneal injections of 0.5 mg. of iron, and a fourth group received 0.5 mg. of iron and 0.025 mg. of copper as copper sulfate each day per os.

Hemoglobin determinations were made at intervals on blood samples secured from the tails. In 17 days the animals receiving iron by mouth had increased their hemoglobin from an average concentration of 4.15 gm. to 7.23 gm. per 100 cc. of blood. The rats receiving iron intraperitoneally increased their hemoglobin from 4.03 gm. to 12.92 gm. in the same time, and the rats receiving iron and copper orally increased their hemoglobin from 3.90 gm. to 13.40 gm. per 100 cc. of blood. These data confirm conclusions reached in previous work from this laboratory, 1 namely, that supplements of iron bring about some hemoglobin production in anemic rats and that intraperitoneal injections of iron result in hemoglobin production at about the same rate and to the same extent as oral administrations of both iron and copper.

The average values for the analyses of the carcasses of the rats for iron and copper are recorded in Table I. These figures show that the hemoglobin production in the rats receiving injections of iron is associated with an increase in the copper content of the body over that of control rats sacrificed at the beginning of the experiment. It has been calculated that the average retention of copper in this group of rats was 73% of the total intake in the form of the copper of the milk, while in the group receiving iron orally it was 17% and, in the group receiving both iron and copper, only 12% of the total intake during the experimental period.