Animal and human studies on ferrous fumarate, an oral hematinic.

By M. C. BERENBAUM, K. J. CHILD, B. DAVIS, HELEN M. SHARPE AND E. G. ToMIci T HE ORAL TREATMENT of hypochromic anemia with inorganic salts of iron occasionally results in gastrointestinal distress, and massive doses produce necrosis of the gastric mucosa and liver ( Forbes, 1947; Smith, 1952; Swift, Cefalu and Rubell, 1952; Luongo and Bjornson, 1954) . A recent survey ( Hoppe, Marcelli and Tainter, 1955) recorded 23 deaths following accidental or deliberate poisoning with ferrous sulphate over 100 years; a further 36 cases required hospitalization. Attempts to find less toxic forms of iron for oral therapy have led to the introduction of the gluconate and succinate, and more recently the fumarate. The animal experiments described below were designed to compare the toxicologic and hematinic properties of ferrous fumarate with those of the sulphate, gluconate and succinate. The hematologic studies conducted Ofl