The Central Role of Iron in Human Nutrition: From Folk to Contemporary Medicine
Iron is a fundamental element in human history, from the dawn of civilization to contemporary days. The ancients used the metal to shape tools, to forge weapons, and even as a dietary supplement. This last indication has been handed down until today, when martial therapy is considered fundamental to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/6/1761 |
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| author | Matteo Briguglio Silvana Hrelia Marco Malaguti Giovanni Lombardi Patrizia Riso Marisa Porrini Paolo Perazzo Giuseppe Banfi |
| author_facet | Matteo Briguglio Silvana Hrelia Marco Malaguti Giovanni Lombardi Patrizia Riso Marisa Porrini Paolo Perazzo Giuseppe Banfi |
| author_sort | Matteo Briguglio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Iron is a fundamental element in human history, from the dawn of civilization to contemporary days. The ancients used the metal to shape tools, to forge weapons, and even as a dietary supplement. This last indication has been handed down until today, when martial therapy is considered fundamental to correct deficiency states of anemia. The improvement of the martial status is mainly targeted with dietary supplements that often couple diverse co-factors, but other methods are available, such as parenteral preparations, dietary interventions, or real-world approaches. The oral absorption of this metal occurs in the duodenum and is highly dependent upon its oxidation state, with many absorption influencers possibly interfering with the intestinal uptake. Bone marrow and spleen represent the initial and ultimate step of iron metabolism, respectively, and the most part of body iron circulates bound to specific proteins and mainly serves to synthesize hemoglobin for new red blood cells. Whatever the martial status is, today’s knowledge about iron biochemistry allows us to embrace exceedingly personalized interventions, which however owe their success to the mythical and historical events that always accompanied this metal. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:12:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-116db6ee186d44c6bc4136a6f39c6531 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:12:42Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-116db6ee186d44c6bc4136a6f39c65312023-11-20T03:36:30ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432020-06-01126176110.3390/nu12061761The Central Role of Iron in Human Nutrition: From Folk to Contemporary MedicineMatteo Briguglio0Silvana Hrelia1Marco Malaguti2Giovanni Lombardi3Patrizia Riso4Marisa Porrini5Paolo Perazzo6Giuseppe Banfi7IRCCS Orthopedic Institute Galeazzi, Scientific Direction, 20161 Milan, ItalyDepartment for Life Quality Studies, University of Bologna, 47921 Rimini, ItalyDepartment for Life Quality Studies, University of Bologna, 47921 Rimini, ItalyIRCCS Orthopedic Institute Galeazzi, Laboratory of Experimental Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 20161 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), Division of Human Nutrition, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), Division of Human Nutrition, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, ItalyIRCCS Orthopedic Institute Galeazzi, Postoperative Intensive Care Unit & Anesthesia, 20161 Milan, ItalyIRCCS Orthopedic Institute Galeazzi, Scientific Direction, 20161 Milan, ItalyIron is a fundamental element in human history, from the dawn of civilization to contemporary days. The ancients used the metal to shape tools, to forge weapons, and even as a dietary supplement. This last indication has been handed down until today, when martial therapy is considered fundamental to correct deficiency states of anemia. The improvement of the martial status is mainly targeted with dietary supplements that often couple diverse co-factors, but other methods are available, such as parenteral preparations, dietary interventions, or real-world approaches. The oral absorption of this metal occurs in the duodenum and is highly dependent upon its oxidation state, with many absorption influencers possibly interfering with the intestinal uptake. Bone marrow and spleen represent the initial and ultimate step of iron metabolism, respectively, and the most part of body iron circulates bound to specific proteins and mainly serves to synthesize hemoglobin for new red blood cells. Whatever the martial status is, today’s knowledge about iron biochemistry allows us to embrace exceedingly personalized interventions, which however owe their success to the mythical and historical events that always accompanied this metal.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/6/1761ironanemiavitamindietary supplementsnutraceuticalfunctional food |
| spellingShingle | Matteo Briguglio Silvana Hrelia Marco Malaguti Giovanni Lombardi Patrizia Riso Marisa Porrini Paolo Perazzo Giuseppe Banfi The Central Role of Iron in Human Nutrition: From Folk to Contemporary Medicine Nutrients iron anemia vitamin dietary supplements nutraceutical functional food |
| title | The Central Role of Iron in Human Nutrition: From Folk to Contemporary Medicine |
| title_full | The Central Role of Iron in Human Nutrition: From Folk to Contemporary Medicine |
| title_fullStr | The Central Role of Iron in Human Nutrition: From Folk to Contemporary Medicine |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Central Role of Iron in Human Nutrition: From Folk to Contemporary Medicine |
| title_short | The Central Role of Iron in Human Nutrition: From Folk to Contemporary Medicine |
| title_sort | central role of iron in human nutrition from folk to contemporary medicine |
| topic | iron anemia vitamin dietary supplements nutraceutical functional food |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/6/1761 |
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