Efficacy of orally administered montmorillonite for acute iron poisoning detoxification in rat

Iron overload in the amount of 10–20 mg/kg of body weight can induce toxicity. Iron causes its toxic effects in a form of oxidative stress and inhibition of key metabolic enzymes. It seems that montmorillonite clay can reduce absorption of elemental iron by iron fixation in the gastrointestinal tract. The potential effect of montmorillonite in decontaminating the gastrointestinal tract was investigated based on serum iron concentration. In the present experiment, ferrous sulfate (100 mg/kg) was administered to Wistar male rats followed by oral gavage of montmorillonite suspensions at three different doses (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g/kg). Blood for determination of serum iron concentrations was drawn at 1 h after montmorillonite administration. The results showed that montmorillonite clay with doses of 0.5 and 1.0 g/kg were the best for significantly decreasing the elevated serum iron concentration compared to 1.5 g/kg (p < 0.05), probably through the proper adsorption of elemental iron. The activity of control and 1.5 g/kg treated groups diminished compared with other groups. Rats in the control group also defecated loser fecal matter than others.