Abstract
Iron deficiency (ID) is the biggest cause of anemia. This pilot study aimed to investigate the effects of food-derived oligopeptide iron chelates on ameliorating liver injury and restoring gut microbiota homeostasis in iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) female rats. Female Sprague-Dawley rats at 21 days old were selected and randomly divided into a control group (N = 4) and an ID model group (N = 16). The ID model group was fed an iron-deficient diet containing 4 mg kg-1 iron for 28 days to generate the IDA rat model and then randomly subdivided into four groups (N = 4 for each group): ID group, ferrous sulfate group, marine fish oligopeptide iron chelate (MCOP-Fe) group, and whey protein oligopeptide iron chelate (WPP-Fe) group. Iron supplements were given to rats in the three intervention groups once per day via intragastric administration for three weeks. After iron supplementation, the hemoglobin levels in the three intervention groups were significantly improved, with the MCOP-Fe and WPP-Fe groups returning to normal. The ALT and AST levels in the ID group increased significantly, while levels in all intervention groups decreased to normal levels. Liver glutathione in the WPP-Fe group was increased, while the activity of superoxide dismutase also tended to be higher. In addition, 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that IDA resulted in changes to intestinal microbiota. After intervention, the WPP-Fe group showed increased alpha diversity of intestinal microbes. Therefore, MCOP-Fe and WPP-Fe may improve the iron status of IDA female rats as well as ameliorate liver damage, with WPP-Fe showing a greater potential in improving gut microbiota imbalance.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.