Supplementation with Sucrosomial\xae iron leads to favourable changes in the intestinal microbiome when compared to ferrous sulfate in mice

Martha Zakrzewski,Sheridan L Helman,Germano Tarantino,Gregory J Anderson,Sarah J Wilkins,David M Frazer,Elisa Brilli

doi:10.1007/s10534-021-00348-3

Martha Zakrzewski, Sheridan L Helman + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-021-00348-3

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Abstract

Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies worldwide and is often treated with oral iron supplements. However, commonly used supplements, including those based on ferrous iron salts, are associated with gastrointestinal side effects and unfavorable changes in the intestinal microbiome. Sucrosomial® iron is a novel iron formulation that is effective at treating iron deficiency, and with fewer gastrointestinal side effects, yet its effect on the gut microbiome has not been examined previously. Thus, we treated mice for two weeks with diets containing either Sucrosomial® iron or ferrous sulfate as the sole iron source and examined bacterial communities in the intestine using 16S Microbial Profiling of DNA extracted from feces collected both prior to and following dietary treatment. Mice treated with Sucrosomial® iron showed an increase in Shannon diversity over the course of the study. This was associated with a decrease in the abundance of the phylum Proteobacteria, which contains many pathogenic species, and an increase in short chain fatty acid producing bacteria such as Lachnospiraceae, Oscillibacter and Faecalibaculum. None of these changes were observed in mice treated with ferrous sulfate. These results suggest that Sucrosomial® iron may have a beneficial effect on the intestinal microbiome when compared to ferrous sulfate and that this form of iron is a promising alternative to ferrous iron salts for the treatment of iron deficiency.

Highlights

Iron deficiency, and its more severe manifestation iron deficiency anaemia (IDA), are major global health issues estimated to affect more than two billion people worldwide (Camaschella 2019)
Frazer School of Biomedical Sciences, The Queensland University of Technology, Gardens Point, Brisbane, Australia mice treated with ferrous sulfate. These results suggest that SucrosomialÒ iron may have a beneficial effect on the intestinal microbiome when compared to ferrous sulfate and that this form of iron is a promising alternative to ferrous iron salts for the treatment of iron deficiency
To ensure that the intestinal microbiome was not affected by differences in systemic iron status in either group fed the iron containing diets, we examined liver and serum iron levels as well as haematological parameters

Summary

Introduction

Its more severe manifestation iron deficiency anaemia (IDA), are major global health issues estimated to affect more than two billion people worldwide (Camaschella 2019) They are most common in young children and women of child-bearing age (Pasricha et al 2010; Zimmermann and Hurrell 2007), and occur because the body cannot absorb enough iron from the diet to meet body requirements or replenish iron losses. Ferrous iron is highly bioavailable, a large proportion of the iron from oral supplements is not absorbed and remains in the intestinal lumen, where it can catalyse the formation of reactive oxygen species (Lund et al 1999; Orozco et al 2012). This can cause oxidative damage to the intestinal mucosa (Kaye et al 2008), and is thought to cause many of the gastrointestinal side effects associated with oral iron supplements, such as nausea and abdominal pain, and this in turn results in non-

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