Storage Iron Metabolism

Iron is an essential element for the living body. The human body stores iron mostly in liver, spleen, marrow and skeletal muscle in the form of ferritin and hemosiderin. Hemosiderin has been known as yellowish granules that can be stained by Prussian blue in the tissue cells. On the other hand, ferritin is invisible by photomicroscopy or may be faintly visible and stained diffusely in the tissue cells by Prussian blue, if concentrated. Ferritin and hemosiderin are iron containing proteins with magnetic susceptibility. Ferritin is water-soluble and heat-resistant up to 80°C, but hemosiderin is water-insoluble and thermally denatured. The total amount of body iron stores is around 600 to 1000 mg in the normal adult male and around 200 to 300 mg in the normal adult female [1]. The ratio of iron deficiency anemia in the menstruating female is less than 10% [2-4], and that of iron deficiency without anemia is around 20 to 40% in the menstruating female [3,4]. The amount of storage iron in the normal female increases gradually after menopause, but it is still lower [2] than the level of the normal male even after 20 years [5].