Overview of iron uptake “Advanced Nutrition:Micronutrients”, Berdanier, 1998
Notes:
1. The body's iron content is regulated by controlling absorption.
Iron absorption is affected by the form in which iron is presented to the digestive tract, and inorganic iron ions change oxidation state during the absorption process.
2. Iron transport and storage also involve changes of oxidation state.
Iron is stored, mostly in the liver, as ferritin or hemosiderin.
Iron in intestinal mucosal cells or stored in the liver may be transferred into the blood for transport to other tissues.
The iron (III) storage form must be reduced to iron (II) in order to cross the plasma membrane.
In the blood, iron (II) is reoxidized to iron (III) by ferroxidase II.