Innovative oral sucrosomial ferric pyrophosphate-based supplementation rescues suckling piglets from iron deficiency anemia similarly to commonly used parenteral therapy with iron dextran

Iron deficiency is the most common mammalian nutritional deficiency during the neonatal period. However, among mammalian species neonatal iron deficiency anemia (IDA), the most severe consequence of iron scarcity, occurs regularly in pigs. Although intramuscular supplementation of piglets with high amounts of iron dextran (FeDex) is largely considered an appropriate preventive therapy for IDA prophylaxis, an increasing evidence shows that it negatively affects pig physiology. The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of non-invasive supplementation of piglets with sucrosomial ferric pyrophosphate (SFP), a highly bioavailable dietary iron supplement in preventing IDA, in humans and mice. Results of our study show that SFP given to piglets per os in the amount of 6 mg Fe daily efficiently counteracts IDA at a rate comparable with the traditional FeDex-based supplementation (100 mgFe/kG b.w.; i.m. injection). This was indicated by physiological values of red blood cell indices and plasma iron parameters measured in 28-day old piglets. Moreover, SFP-supplemented piglets showed significantly lower (P ≤0.05) plasma level of 8-isoprostane, a biomarker for oxidative stress compared to FeDex-treated animals, implying lesser toxicity of this order of iron replenishment. Finally, supplementation with SFP does not increase considerably the blood plasma hepcidin, a peptide that acts to inhibit iron absorption from the diet. SFP emerges as a promising nutritional iron supplement, with a high potential to be adopted in the postnatal period.