A double-blind, randomized crossover study was conducted that evaluated absorption kinetics of 3 forms of dietary supplement iron by measuring iron levels in the blood after acute ingestion.

Background: The biotransformation of minerals through glycosylation by microorganisms, such as yeast or probiotics, can produce nutrients bound to a food matrix, potentially enhancing their bioavailability. This study aimed to compare the absorption kinetics of iron bound to a glycoprotein matrix (GPM) with those of ferrous bisglycinate chelate (FBC) and ferrous fumarate (FF). Methods: In a double-blind, crossover design, 17 participants ingested 11 mg of iron in one of three forms: GPM (Pharmachem Innovation, Kearny, NJ, USA), FBC (Ferrochel®, Balchem Corp., Montvale, NJ, USA), or FF (FerroPharma Chemicals Ltd, Hungary). Blood samples were collected at baseline and at 30-, 60-, 90-, 120-, 180-, 240-, 300-, 360-, 420-, and 480-minutes post-ingestion. Water intake was standardized throughout the protocol, and an iron-free snack was provided at 4 hours post-ingestion. Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed, with key outcome variables including the area under the concentration vs. time curve (iAUC), maximum concentration (Cmax), and time to maximum concentration (Tmax). The a priori significance level was set at p < 0.05.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants had to have a normal body weight [body mass index (BMI) of 19-24.99 kg/m2] and engage in recreational physical activity, as defined by the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines.
• Participants must be healthy and have no diagnosed chronic disease conditions

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participants were not allowed to consume any nutritional supplements known to affect the measures of the current study for at least 6 weeks prior to participation, including pro-, post- and prebiotics, as well as digestive enzymes.
• Individuals who were currently being treated for or diagnosed with a gastrointestinal, cardiac, respiratory, circulatory, musculoskeletal, metabolic, immune, autoimmune, psychiatric, hematological, neurological, or endocrinological disorder.
• Participants whose body mass had deviated by more than 2% in the previous 30 days
• Participants who were unwilling to abstain from alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine for 12 hours prior to each visit.

Individual data is available upon reasonable request based on the data in the actual peer-reviewed paper

From date of possible manuscript publication and 2 years following that publication date.

Research can contact the listed corresponding author in published manuscript of this data.

lab staff that did the analysis and lead author that performed statistical analyses