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Absorption of dietary iron in iron salt form (as in most supplements) varies somewhat according to the body's need for iron, and is usually between 10% and 20% of iron intake. Absorption of iron from animal products, and some plant products, is in the form of heme iron, and is more efficient, allowing absorption of from 15% to 35% of intake.
[1] [11] The average adult human contains about 0.005% body weight of iron, or about four grams, of which three quarters is in hemoglobin – a level that remains constant despite only about one milligram of iron being absorbed each day, [5] because the human body recycles its hemoglobin for the iron content. [12]
The body of an adult human contains about 4 grams (0.005% body weight) of iron, mostly in hemoglobin and myoglobin. These two proteins play essential roles in oxygen transport by blood and oxygen storage in muscles. To maintain the necessary levels, human iron metabolism requires a minimum of iron in the diet.
Ferritin genes are highly conserved between species. All vertebrate ferritin genes have three introns and four exons. [8] In human ferritin, introns are present between amino acid residues 14 and 15, 34 and 35, and 82 and 83; in addition, there are one to two hundred untranslated bases at either end of the combined exons. [9]
What does iron do to the human body? Iron is a vital component of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.
The reduction of Fe(III) is seen to oxidize sulfur (from H 2 S to SO 4 −2), which is a central process in marine sediments. Many of the first metalloproteins consisted of iron-sulphur complexes formed during photosynthesis. [13] Iron is the main redox metal in biological systems.
Metabolism (/ m ə ˈ t æ b ə l ɪ z ə m /, from Greek: μεταβολή metabolē, "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms.The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the conversion of food to building blocks of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates; and the ...
The human body has no controlled mechanism for excretion of iron. [23] This can lead to iron overload problems in patients treated with blood transfusions, as, for instance, with β-thalassemia. Iron is actually excreted in urine [24] and is also concentrated in bile [25] which is excreted in feces. [26]