ArticleThe Journal of nutrition2012
Iron depletion and repletion with ferrous sulfate or electrolytic iron modifies the composition and metabolic activity of the gut microbiota in rats.
Article in The Journal of nutrition, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03866837 (Prebiotic GOS and Lactoferrin for Beneficial Gut Microbiota With Iron Supplements), which is not on this map. Cited by 121 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Prebiotic GOS and Lactoferrin for Beneficial Gut Microbiota With Iron Supplements
Who cites it
121 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 213 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gut microbiota bridges dietary nutrients and host immunity.Science China. Life sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Ferrous sulfate supplementation causes significant gastrointestinal side-effects in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2015Pooled it
- Trial
- Effect of Vitamin E With Therapeutic Iron Supplementation on Iron Repletion and Gut Microbiome in US Iron Deficient Infants and Toddlers.Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition · 2016Trial
- In-home fortification with 2.5 mg iron as NaFeEDTA does not reduce anaemia but increases weight gain: a randomised controlled trial in Kenyan infants.Maternal & child nutrition · 2015Trial
- A rapid, simple questionnaire to assess gastrointestinal symptoms after oral ferrous sulphate supplementation.BMC gastroenterology · 2014Trial
- Effects of different complementary feeding regimens on iron status and enteric microbiota in breastfed infants.The Journal of pediatrics · 2013Trial
- Oral iron-induced stunting is associated with increased Christensenella abundance in a piglet model for human infants.European journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- The Gut-Iron-Immune Axis in Severe Anaemia and Bacteraemia.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Multi-omics analysis reveals Parabacteroides distasonis and Kineothrix alysoides as potential key bacterial species associated with anemia in sows.Journal of animal science and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Pharmacomicrobiomics of Non-Antibiotic Drugs: Mechanisms and Clinical Consequences of Gut Microbiota Alterations.Pharmaceutics · 2026Review
- Dietary iron and metal-based growth promoters differentially modulate the gut resistome and Escherichia coli virulome in weaned pigs.Journal of animal science and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Time-of-day difference in iron supplementation in iron-deficient pregnant model mice.NPJ science of food · 2026Article
- Dietary iron and metal-based growth differentially modulate growth and gut microbiome of weaned piglets.Animal microbiome · 2026Article
- Gut microbiome signatures associated with iron-deficiency anemia in young adults.Iranian journal of microbiology · 2026Article
- Effects of iron-porphyrin on growth performance, physiology, enterohepatic health, and its preliminary mechanism in Epinephelus cyanopodus.Fish physiology and biochemistry · 2026Article
- The Effects of Biofortified Cowpeas on Iron, Glucose, and Lipid Metabolism in Rats Fed a High-Fat/High-Sugar Diet.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2026Article
- Why Do FilamentousAnnual review of microbiology · 2025Review
- Infantile Anemia and Iron Treatments Affect the Gut Microbiome of Young Rhesus Monkeys.Microorganisms · 2025Article
- Dietary Iron Intake Impacts the Microbial Composition of the Murine Intestinal and Lung Microbiome.Nutrients · 2025Article
61 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Iron (Fe) deficiency anemia is a global health concern and Fe fortification and supplementation are common corrective strategies. Fe is essential not only for the human host but also for nearly all gut bacteria. We studied the impact of Fe deficiency and Fe repletion on the gut microbiota in rats. Weanling rats were fed an Fe-deficient diet for 24 d and then repleted for 13 d with FeSO₄ (n = 15) or electrolytic Fe (n = 14) at 10 and 20 mg Fe · kg diet⁻¹. In addition, one group of rats (n = 8) received the Fe-deficient diet and one group (n = 3) received a Fe-sufficient control diet for all 37 d. Fecal samples were collected at baseline and after the depletion and repletion periods, and colonic tissues were examined histologically. Microbial metabolite composition in cecal water was measured and fecal samples were analyzed for microbial composition with temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis and qPCR. Compared to Fe-sufficient rats, Fe-deficient rats had significantly lower concentrations of cecal butyrate (-87%) and propionate (-72%) and the abundance of dominant species was strongly modified, including greater numbers of lactobacilli and Enterobacteriaceae and a large significant decrease of the Roseburia spp./E. rectale group, a major butyrate producer. Repletion with 20 mg FeSO₄ · kg diet⁻¹ significantly increased cecal butyrate concentrations and partially restored bacterial populations compared to Fe-deficient rats at endpoint. The effects on the gut microbiota were stronger in rats repleted with FeSO₄ than in rats repleted with electrolytic Fe, suggesting ferrous Fe may be more available for utilization by the gut microbiota than elemental Fe. Repletion with FeSO₄ significantly increased neutrophilic infiltration of the colonic mucosa compared to Fe-deficient rats. In conclusion, Fe depletion and repletion strongly affect the composition and metabolic activity of rat gut microbiota.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.