American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 26, 952-957, Copyright © 1973 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Tissue storage iron in Singapore

¹ Lecturer, Department of Physiology, University of Singapore, Singapore

Liver storage (non-heme) iron was chemically estimated in 125 presumably normal subjects of various ages at necropsy. It showed that the high levels of liver storage iron seen in the newborn period fell during infancy and rose gradually to the adult level during late adolescence. In adult males, the concentration of liver storage iron remained constant at approximately 233 µg/g of wet tissue, whereas that in premenopausal women was significantly lower at 130 µg/g of tissue. In postmenopausal women, the concentration rose to adult male levels.

Simultaneous estimations of storage iron in the spleens and kidneys of a smaller group of subjects showed a similar trend. There was a highly significant (P < 0.001) correlation among the concentrations of storage iron in the three organs.