PEDIATRICS Vol. 78 No. 4 October 1986, pp. 640-645
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Bioavailability of Iron in Soy-Based Formula and Its Effect on Iron Nutriture in Infancy

Eva Hertrampf MD, MSc1, Marisol Cayazzo RN1, Fernando Pizarro MT1, and Abraham Stekel MD1

1 From the Hematology Unit, Division of Human Nutrition and Medical Sciences, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, Universidad de Chile, Santiago

Soy products have been reported to inhibit absorption of nonheme food iron and fortification iron. Iron bioavailability from a soy formula (Prosobee-PP 710) (iron added as ferrous sulfate: 12 mg/L; ascorbic acid: 54 mg/L) was examined in 16 adult women using the extrinsic radioactive tag method. The geometric mean absorption from the soy formula was only 1.7%. The effect of this formula on iron nutrition in infants was studied in 47 healthy term infants weaned spontaneously before 2 months of age and who received the formula ad libitum until 9 months of age. For control, 45 infants received a cow's milk formula fortified with ferrous sulfate (iron: 15 mg/L; ascorbic acid: 100 mg/L), which has been shown to be effective in preventing iron deficiency, and 49 additional breast-fed infants were also followed. All babies received solid foods (vegetables and meat) starting at 4 months of age. Iron nutritional status was determined at 9 months. Infants fed soy formula and iron-fortified cow's milk had similar mean values of hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, transferrin saturation, free erythrocyte protoporphyrin, and serum ferritin; both formula groups differed significantly (P < .05) from the breast-fed group in all measurements except free erythrocyte protoporphyrin. Anemia (hemoglobin <11 g/dL) was present in only 4.3% and 2.2% of infants receiving the soy and the fortified formulas, respectively, V 27.3% in the breast-fed group. These results indicate that soy formula, in spite of the lower iron bioavailability when measured in adults, is essentially as effective as iron-fortified cow's milk in preventing iron deficiency in infants.

Key Words: iron absorption • infant formula • soy protein

Submitted on December 2, 1985
Accepted on March 19, 1986




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