In order to determine the role of ferrous iron transport in Legionella pathogenesis, we identified and mutated the feoB gene in virulent Legionella pneumophila strain 130b. As it is in Escherichia coli, the L. pneumophila feoB gene was contained within a putative feoAB operon. L. pneumophila feoB insertion mutants exhibited decreased ferrous but not ferric iron uptake compared to the wild type....

Resveratrol (RVT) is a polyphenolic compound found mainly in the grape and attributed with various pharmacological properties, among them their antioxidant activity. In the present study, we assess the antioxidant activity of resveratrol on oxidative damage induced by ferrous iron/ascorbate (100 µM/150 µM) in sperm of CD1+ mice. We evaluated several parameters in spermatozoa treated with or wit...

An adequate supply of iron is essential for normal development of the fetus and newborn child. Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) during pregnancy increase the risk of preterm birth and low birth weight. Iron is important for development of the fetal brain and cognitive abilities of the newborn. Children born to iron-deficient mothers will start their lives suffering from iron def...

A major process of iron homeostasis in whole-body iron metabolism is the release of iron from the macrophages of the reticuloendothelial system. Macrophages recognize and phagocytose senescent or damaged erythrocytes. Then, they process the heme iron, which is returned to the circulation for reutilization by red blood cell precursors during erythropoiesis. The amount of iron released, compared ...

OBJECTIVE A systematic review was conducted to analyze the tolerability of several oral iron supplements based on data obtained in available publications and to report the incidence of adverse effects (AEs) for each supplement both overall and gastrointestinal. METHODS Electronic databases - Medline, the Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched for studies published up to January 2009. Clin...

We investigated iron uptake mechanisms in five marine microalgae from different ecologically important phyla: the diatoms Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Thalassiosira pseudonana, the prasinophyceae Ostreococcus tauri and Micromonas pusilla, and the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi. Among these species, only the two diatoms were clearly able to reduce iron, via an inducible (P. tricornutum) or c...

Rod-shaped bacteria capable of oxidizing ferrous iron at 55 degrees C were cultured from samples of a copper mine leach dump. Yeast extract or cysteine was required by these Thiobacillus-like bacteria for growth, using ferrous iron as an energy source.

Benzoic acid, sorbic acid, and sodium lauryl sulfate at low concentrations (5 to 10 mg/liter) each effectively inhibited bacterial oxidation of ferrous iron in batch cultures of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. The rate of chemical oxidation of ferrous iron in low-pH, sterile batch reactors was not substantially affected at the tested concentrations (5 to 50 mg/liter) of any of the compounds.

Two experiments involving 22 litters were conducted to study the effects of adding ferrous fumarate to the lactation diet on iron level of sow’s milk and on weight gains and hemoglobin levels of suckling pigs. Ferrous fumarate was not effective in increasing iron content of milk, when added to the lactation diet at a level of 1984 mg. of iron per kg. The increase in hemoglobin level observed at...

Photoreduction of ferric to ferrous iron was determined in water held in bottles placed in a New Jersey Pinelands stream, although concentrations of ferrous iron in the stream itself remained below detection (15 ng mlI). The low ambient levels of ferrous iron apparently resulted from the action of iron-oxidizing microorganisms in water and soil, as shown by a temperature optimum for, and by the...