The effect of different levels of dietary iron and calcium upon the iron content of the femur and incisor of the rat

Abstract

Weanling rats were maintained for eleven weeks on purified diets containing normal (0.025 per cent) and high (0.16 per cent) iron. These levels of iron were associated with either normal (0.56 per cent) or low (0.03 per cent) dietary calcium. The femora and incisors of each animal were examined for ash content and the iron content of femur, dentine and enamel estimated polarographically. Excess dietary iron significantly depressed the ash content of bone and dentine at both levels of dietary calcium. Both calcium deficiency and iron excess produced an increase in iron content of the bone whereas iron excess alone increased the concentration of the element in dentine. Neither ash content nor iron concentration in enamel was affected by the variations in the diets.