Male Iron Research Articles

Relationship between Oxidative Stress and the Blood Iron Concentration and Antioxidant Status in Major ß-thalassemia in Iraq.

Reduction or total lack of beta-globin chains caused by a congenital disease called ß-thalassemia major is one of the lives threatening diseases. Patients who suffer from ß-thalassemia need a repeated blood transfusion for survival. The repeated blood transfusion in ß-thalassemia patients may cause oxidative stress and tissue injury due to iron overload, altered antioxidant enzymes, and other essential trace element levels. The current study aimed to investigate the correlation of oxidative stress with serum trace element levels and antioxidant enzyme status in ß-thalassemia major patients. A total of 130 serum samples were obtained from ß-thalassemia major patients (n=100; 50 males and 50 females) and healthy individuals (n=30; 15 males and 15 females). Hematological parameters were measured on both groups by a comprehensive blood test that included the amount of hemoglobin Hb, packed cells volume, number of red blood cells, mean corpuscular volume ratio, mean corpuscular hemoglobin ratio, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, red cell distribution width, white blood cells, and platelets counts. All of these blood parameters showed a clear decrease in thalassemia patients, except for red blood cells and platelets counts, which demonstrated a significant increase. The highest significant mean for iron in males and females were 233.768 and 219.150 µgm\dL in patients, respectively, while the mean level of iron significantly reduced in the control group (113.40 and 103.33 µgm\dL in males and females, respectively). The results indicated a significant decrease in uric acid in males and females in the patient group (41.042 and 40.582 mg\L in males and females, respectively), compared to the control group (53.866 and 43.60 mg\L in males and females, respectively). Allantoin concentration was detected by high-performance liquid chromatography technique, the results of which showed that the highest values in patients were 62.822 and 25.480 mg\L in males and females, respectively, compared to the control group 2.342 and 1.481 mg\L in males and females, respectively. Superoxide dismutase concentration decreased in patients (129.635 and 111.848 U\mL in males and females, respectively), compared to the control group (208.623 and 190.413 U\ml in males and females, respectively).

Factors associated with serum ferritin levels and iron excess: results from the EPIC-EurGast study.

Excess iron is involved in the development of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. We aimed to describe the prevalence of excess iron and its determinants in healthy European adults. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, iron status, dietary information, and HFE genotyping were obtained from controls from the nested case-control study EPIC-EurGast study. High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) was measured to address possible systemic inflammation. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were used to assess iron status and its determinants. Out of the 828 participants (median age: 58.7years), 43% were females. Median serum ferritin and prevalence of excess iron were 143.7µg/L and 35.2% in males, respectively, and 77µg/L and 20% in females, both increasing with latitude across Europe. Prevalence of HFE C282Y mutation was significantly higher in Northern and Central Europe (~ 11%) than in the South (5%). Overweight/obesity, age, and daily alcohol and heme iron intake were independent determinants for iron status, with sex differences even after excluding participants with hsCRP > 5mg/L. Obese males showed a greater consumption of alcohol, total and red meat, and heme iron, compared with those normal weight. Obesity, higher alcohol and heme iron consumption were the main risk factors for excess iron in males while only age was associated with iron overload in females. Weight control and promoting healthy lifestyle may help prevent iron overload, especially in obese people. Further research is needed to clarify determinants of excess iron in the healthy adult population, helping to reduce the associated comorbidities.

Serum iron and serum ferritin levels in cholelithiasis: a randomized study

Background: The role of iron in the pathogenesis of gallstone disease has not been well established so far. Iron deficiency has been shown to alter the activity of several hepatic enzymes, leading to increased cholesterol saturation of bile in gall bladder and hence promoting cholesterol crystallization.Serum iron, total iron binding capacity and transferrin saturation are not good indicators of iron status in individuals. In infection free situation, serum ferritin is an ideal indicator for diagnosis of iron deficiency.Methods: The study was conducted as a prospective study in the department of Surgery. The study population was divided into two groups; Case group with 200 patients with gallstone disease and control group with 50 patients without gallstone disease. Serum iron and ferritin contents of both groups will be analyzed and compared with each other.Results: In this study the gallstones are more prevalent in female population than males in ratio of 5.4:1. Serum iron in males was low in 41.93% not comparable 20.8% of control suggesting that low serum iron is not associated with Cholelithiasis in male. In males, serum ferritin was low in 64.5% of cases and 16.66% of controls. Serum ferritin levels were normal in 35.50% of cases and 66.66% of controls and above normal in 16.66% of controls suggesting that low serum ferritin is associated with gall stones in males. In this study, low serum iron was seen in 23.07% of females comparable to 23% low serum iron in control females and low ferritin was seen in 35.50% of female cases as compare to 15.38% of controls.Conclusions: It was concluded that a low body store of serum iron is a risk factor for cholelithiasis in females and serum iron, serum ferritin may be used as marker of iron store so that low serum iron status could be diagnosed at early stage.

Improving the quality of nutrient-rich Teff ( Eragrostis tef) breads by combination of enzymes in straight dough and sourdough breadmaking

The growing interest in the benefits of wholegrain products has resulted in the development of baked products incorporating less utilised and ancient grains such as, millet, quinoa, sorghum and teff. However, addition of wholegrains can have detrimental effects on textural and sensory bread product qualities. Enzymes can be utilised to improve breadmaking performance of wholegrain flours, which do not possess the same visco-elastic properties as refined wheat flour, in order to produce a healthy and consumer acceptable cereal product. The effects of Teff grain on dough and bread quality, selected nutritional properties and the impact of enzymes on physical, textural and sensory properties of straight dough and sourdough Teff breads were investigated. Teff breads were prepared with the replacement of white wheat flour with Teff flour at various levels (0%, 10%, 20%, and 30%) using straight dough and sourdough breadmaking. Different combinations of enzymes, including xylanase and amylase (X + A), amylase and glucose oxidase (A + GO), glucose oxidase and xylanase (GO + X), lipase and amylase (L + A) were used to improve the quality of the highest level Teff breads. A number of physical, textural and sensory properties of the finished products were studied. The nutritional value of breads was determined by measuring chemical composition for iron, total antioxidant capacity, protein, fibre and fat. The obtained results were used to estimates intakes of nutrients and to compare them with DRIs. The incorporation of Teff significantly ( P < 0.05) improved dietary iron levels as 30% Teff breads contained more than double the amount of iron when compared to corresponding wheat bread (6 mg/100 g v 2 mg/100 g). Addition of Teff also significantly ( P < 0.05) improved total antioxidant capacity from 1.4 mM TEAC/100 g to 2.4 mM TEAC/100 g. It was estimated that an average daily allowance of 200 g of Teff enriched bread would contribute to DRIs in the range of 42–81% for iron in females, 72–138% for iron in males; 38–39% for protein in males, 46–48% for protein in females; and 47–50% of fibre in adults. The major challenge was encountered in producing the highest level of Teff bread with good textural and sensory attributes. Increasing the level of Teff significantly ( P < 0.05) increased dough development time, degree of softening, crumb firmness and bitter flavour whilst decreasing the dough stability, specific loaf volume and overall acceptability of the bread. Teff breads produced with the addition of enzyme combinations showed significant improvements ( P < 0.05) in terms of loaf volume, crumb firmness, crumb structure, flavour and overall acceptability in both straight dough and sourdough breadmaking.

In silico QTL mapping of basal liver iron levels in inbred mouse strains

Both iron deficiency and iron excess are detrimental in many organisms, and previous studies in both mice and humans suggest that genetic variation may influence iron status in mammals. However, these genetic factors are not well defined. To address this issue, we measured basal liver iron levels in 18 inbred strains of mice of both sexes on a defined iron diet and found ∼4-fold variation in liver iron in males (lowest 153 μg/g, highest 661 μg/g) and ∼3-fold variation in females (lowest 222 μg/g, highest 658 μg/g). We carried out a genome-wide association mapping to identify haplotypes underlying differences in liver iron and three other related traits (copper and zinc liver levels, and plasma diferric transferrin levels) in a subset of 14 inbred strains for which genotype information was available. We identified two putative quantitative trait loci (QTL) that contain genes with a known role in iron metabolism: Eif2ak1 and Igf2r. We also identified four putative QTL that reside in previously identified iron-related QTL and 22 novel putative QTL. The most promising putative QTL include a 0.22 Mb region on Chromosome 7 and a 0.32 Mb region on Chromosome 11 that both contain only one candidate gene, Adam12 and Gria1, respectively. Identified putative QTL are good candidates for further refinement and subsequent functional studies.

Pattern of dietary intake and consumption of street foods among Nigerian students.

An assessment of the food and nutrient intake of 81 male and 35 female University students was conducted using structured questionnaires and 24-hr. diet recall procedures. The contribution of Street Foods (SF) to their nutrients intakes was also assessed. The major dietary sources of nutrients for both groups were Cereals, Roots and Tubers and Legumes. Energy intake by males (9.81 MJ or 83.9% RDA) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than intake (8.59 MJ or 81.8% RDA) by female subjects. Street Foods contributed 50.3% and 48.3% of energy to male and female subjects respectively. Total Protein intake approximated RDA for both groups although on average only 25% of this was from animal sources. Intakes of minerals and vitamins were generally below RDA except for Calcium and vitamin A. Female subjects had significantly higher intakes of Iron, Thiamin and vitamin A than males. Overall Street food's contribution to RDA ranged from 23.0% (Iron in males) to 80.0% (vitamin A, also in males).

Iron content and distribution in Japanese quail.

Determination of blood haematocrit and haemoglobin, plasma iron content, total iron binding capacity and phosphoprotein (vitellogenin), and the iron content of different organs (pectoral muscle, liver, spleen, intestine, femur bone marrow, blood, gonad and eggs, and feathers) were carried out in prelaying, onset of laying and full laying females, as well as in adult males. The whole iron content was also determined on incinerated specimens giving these results: 53.7 parts per million (p.p.m.) iron in the prelaying group, 54.5 p.p.m. iron at the onset of laying, 64.3 p.p.m. iron in full laying and 53.5 p.p.m. iron in males. The plumage represented 5-8% of the total body weight, and its iron content oscillated between 152-163 p.p.m. iron in males and non-laying females and 177.3 p.p.m. iron at full laying. The laying period induced important variations in plasma levels and in organ distribution, but not in haematological values. The first eggs laid were smaller (9.2 g) and richer in iron (427 micrograms iron) than those laid by older layers (11.8 g and 305 micrograms iron). The percentage distribution of the total iron content of organs was, in prelaying females: feathers, 21.9; blood, 56.6; pectoral muscle 8.1; liver, 9.7; intestine, 2.7. In laying females: 29.1; 46.6; 11.5; 7.4; 4.2. In males: 17.4; 59.6; 11.4; 7.9; 2.3. The increase in intestinal iron content in laying quails coincided with a double intake of food. This distribution differs from the mammalian model, as egg production (where each egg represented 2.5-5.5% of the total iron) and the great inert iron deposits in the plumage require an elaborate iron metabolism control system to cover all the iron needs in birds.

Blood lead and serum iron levels in non-occupationally exposed males and females.

A study has been performed in 148 non occupationally exposed subjects (19–21 yrs) divided into three groups: males, females without and females using oral contraceptives. PbB-levels ranged from 46 to 238 ppb. Freeerythrocyte-porphyrins (FEP), serum iron (Fe-S), Hb, Ht, total iron-bindingcapacity and unsaturated-iron-binding-capacity were measured. A negative correlation was found between PbB and Fe-S in males only. In females FEP was higher than in males at same PbB-levels. Females using oral contraceptives had higher Fe-S-levels and total-iron-binding-capacity than females not taking these; no difference was found between individual preparations. Two hypotheses are suggested to explain the negative relationship between lead in blood and serum iron in males. In a study of 51 other male subjects, 19-21 yrs, again a negative trend for Fe-S with increasing PbB was observed; the pooled data showed a negative relation; there was no difference in morning and afternoon Fe-S levels.