The pool concept in food iron absorption and some of its implications

The absorption of iron from foods has been extensively studied for many years.It is known that there are at least two kinds of Fe in the diet with respect to the mechanism of absorption: haem Fe and non-haem Fe.Haem Fe is taken up by the mucosal cells as a porphyrin-Fe complex which is broken down in these cells before Fe is absorbed ('rurnbull, Cleton & Finch, 1962;Hallberg & Solvell, 1967).It is not known if all non-haem Fe compounds in the diet are absorbed in a uniform way, even if it is generally assumed that they are absorbed in the same way as Fe salts.