In May 2021, a clinical trial on 85 subjects showed >Your< Iron Syrup can help iron-deficient children correct their iron status and avoid anemia. The addition of a new study on a mouse model of diet-induced iron deficiency enabled the comparison of this unique product to iron sulphate, the benchmark for efficacy and one of the most commonly prescribed iron sources. It also allowed researchers to investigate the effects of both products on iron uptake mechanisms and inflammatory response at a molecular level. Eighty-four mice (42 male and 42 female) were fed for 11 weeks with either control or iron-deficient diet and then divided in 3 groups for 2 weeks of supplementation: negative control group - saline solution, test group - >Your< Iron Syrup, and comparator group - iron sulphate. The measured outcomes included hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum & liver iron, serum & liver ferritin, expression of Hamp (hepcidin antimicrobial peptide) and expression selected liver inflammatory marker genes. The study was published by MDPI Biology.
Results showed superior performance of PharmaLinea’s private label iron supplement compared to iron sulphate in improving several iron-related parameters. For example, >Your< Iron Syrup showed a 70% higher increase in serum ferritin levels in male mice and 82% higher increase in female mice. Serum ferritin was significantly higher in >Your< Iron Syrup groups, both for male (p = 0,0230) and female (p = 0,0227) mice, as compared to control group. In contrast, the increase in serum ferritin was not statistically significant in iron sulphate groups.
>Your< Iron Syrup was also confirmed to be efficient in correcting iron status, as it restored ferritin, hemoglobin, hematocrit, transferrin saturation, and serum iron to healthy levels.
Iron supplementation often causes intestinal inflammation, which is connected to side effects like pain and nausea. Intestinal inflammation can be analyzed at the molecular level via expression of selected liver inflammatory response markers. Hepcidin acts as master regulator—when increased, it inhibits further iron absorption, reducing the efficacy of supplementation. >Your< Iron Syrup did not induce the expression of liver inflammation markers, giving mechanistic details into the product’s good tolerability. Research on the effects of iron supplementation on the inhibition of absorption through hepcidin is recently moving into the spotlight and the published comparative study has provided additional insight into the subject.
Anton Oražem, CEO of PharmaLinea, commented: “We are very pleased with the results as iron sulphate represents a benchmark in efficacy and is very commonly prescribed or taken—both in iron supplements and in iron drugs. As such, the substantially higher increase in serum ferritin by >Your< Iron Syrup is highly relevant. It is important for us that we keep investing into the scientific substantiation of our iron supplement line.