%0 Journal Article
%T Relative bioavailability of iron and folic acid from a new powdered supplement compared to a traditional tablet in pregnant women
%A Brenda Hartman-Craven
%A Anna Christofides
%A Deborah L O'Connor
%A Stanley Zlotkin
%J BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
%D 2009
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2393-9-33
%X Eighteen healthy pregnant women (24 ¨C 32 weeks gestation) were randomized to receive the supplements in a crossover design. Following ingestion of each supplement, the changes (over baseline) in serum iron and folate over 8 hours were determined. The powdered supplement contained 30 mg of iron as micronized dispersible ferric pyrophosphate with an emulsifier coating and 600 ¦Ìg folic acid; the tablet contained 27 mg iron from ferrous fumarate and 1000 ¦Ìg folic acid.Overall absorption of iron from the powdered supplement was significantly lower than the tablet (p = 0.003). There was no difference in the overall absorption of folic acid between supplements. Based on the differences in the area under the curve and doses, the relative bioavailability of iron from powdered supplement was lower than from the tablet (0.22).The unexpected lower bioavailability of iron from the powdered supplement is contrary to previously published reports. However, since pills and capsules are known to be poorly accepted by some women during pregnancy, it is reasonable to continue to explore alternative micronutrient delivery systems and forms of iron for this purpose.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00789490Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common micronutrient deficiency in women of reproductive age affecting approximately 17% of women during pregnancy [1].Supplements containing iron and folic acid are recommended during pregnancy by various health organizations to meet requirements and to reduce the risk for deficiency [2]. Folate deficiency has significantly decreased in North America primarily due to folic acid fortification of the food supply but the need for adequate folate intake prior to conception and during the early weeks of pregnancy remains a significant concern to reduce the risk for the development of neural tube defects (NTD) [3]. Approximately 57.7% of Canadian women will take a multivitamin preparation prior to conception and up to 89.7% will take multivitamins containing fol
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2393/9/33