The effects of iron and vitamin B12 on body weight and hematobiochemical parameters in mice

Abstract

Background: Vitamin and mineral supplementation is common practice in both human and animal health, But indiscriminate, overdose and long term used may cause toxicity. The research work was designed to evaluate the effect of iron (Fe) &vitamin B12 (Vit-B12) on body weight, hematological parameters: Total Erythrocyte Count (TEC), Hemoglobin (Hb) and Total Leukocyte Count (TLC), and biochemical parameters: serum creatinine (SC), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels in mice.

Methods: One-month old 20 female Swiss Albino mice (Rattus norvegicus) having 19.52±0.54 g body weight were divided into four equal groups (n=5). After acclimatization, the mice of group A was treated with Fe@ 0.2 mg/kg body weight (bwt) in pellet, group B was treated with Vit-B12 @ 5 mg/kg bwt, group C was treated with combination of Fe and Vit-B12 and group D was fed with standard pellet and was considered as control.

Results: The result showed significant (P<0.05) increase in body weight of treatment groups compared to the control group. The values of TEC, Hb and TLC in the treated groups were increased significantly (P<0.05). ALT, AST and SC values were decreased significantly (P<0.05) in the treated groups compared to the control group.

Conclusions: It is concluded that administration of Fe and Vit-B12 significantly (P<0.05) increased body weight and hematological (TEC, Hb, and TLC) parameters however biochemical parameters (ALT and AST) were decreased significantly (P<0.05). In addition, combination of Fe&Vit-B12 showed better effects compared to their single uses.