In a breakthrough for iron deficiency anemia patients, a new form of iron called Ferrochel®, which is iron bisglycinate, was studied against the standard iron preparation ferrous sulfate.
Just 15 mg/day of Ferrochel was compared to 40 mg/day of ferrous sulfate in 145 pregnant wome by measuring haemoglobin transferrin saturation, and serum ferritin. By the end of the study, only 30.8% of the women had iron deficiency anemia in the Ferrochel group, compared to 54.5% in the ferrous sulfate group, despite the higher dose in the ferrous sulfate group. In addition, none in the Ferrochel group stopped taking the supplement due to taste; in the ferrous sulfate group, however, 29.8% stopped the treatment because of the taste. The researchers wrote:
“It is concluded that daily supplementation with Ferrochel was significantly more effective, in spite of the lower dose, than supplementation with ferrous sulfate.”