Journal of Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism2015; 2: e740.doi: 10.14800/janhm.740; © 2015 by Mohamed Rezk, et al. http://www.smartscitech.com/index.php/janhm Page 1 of 5 Oral lactoferrin versus ferrous sulphate and ferrous fumerate for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy Mohamed Rezk 1 , Mohamed Kandil 1 , Ragab Dawood 1 , Abd-Elhamid Shaheen 1 , Adel Allam 2,3 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, ShibinElkom teaching hospital, Menoufia governorate, Ministry of Health,Egypt 3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Elbagour central hospital, Menoufia governorate, Ministry of Health,Egypt Correspondence: Mohamed Rezk E-mail: m_rezk9207@yahoo.com Received:March 20, 2015 Published online:April 07, 2015 A prospective, randomized, parallel-group, multi-center study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Menoufia University Hospital and central hospitals at Menoufia governorate, Egypt including 300 pregnant women in the second trimester diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) who were divided into three groups, the first received lactoferrin capsules, the second received ferrous sulphate capsules and the third received ferrous fumerate capsules daily for two months. There was a highly significant difference between the three groups (p< 0.001) regarding increments in Hb after one and two months and overall increase in Hb in the lactoferrin group, there was a highly significant difference between the three groups(p< 0.001) with gastrointestinal adverse effects being the least in the lactoferrin group, there was a highly significant difference between the three groups(p< 0.001) with the best compliance, acceptability and overall satisfaction in the lactoferrin group. According to the results obtained in this clinical trial, oral lactoferrin was better tolerated and more acceptable with higher increase in mean hemoglobin when compared to oral iron therapy over two month treatment. Oral lactoferrin can be used as a good substitute to oral iron therapy in mild to moderate IDA during pregnancy. Keywords: Lactoferrin; ferrous sulphate; ferrous fumerate; pregnant women; iron deficiency anemia To cite this article: Mohamed Rezk, et al. Oral lactoferrin versus ferrous sulphate and ferrous fumerate for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy.J AdvNutr Hum Metab 2015; 2: e740. doi: 10.14800/janhm.740. Introduction Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the condition in which there is anemia due to a lack of iron. IDA develops when available iron is insufficient to support normal red cell production and is the most common type of anemia [1] . Anemia has a significant impact on the health of the fetus as well as that of the mother. It impairs the oxygen delivery through the placenta to the fetus and interferes with the normal intrauterine growth, leading to fetal loss and perinatal deaths. Anemia is associated with increased preterm labor (28.2%), preeclampsia (31.2%), and maternal sepsis [2, 3] . The oral route is the first choice to replace iron stores as this allows the normal mechanism of absorption to be used, in addition to being an inexpensive and effective treatment [3, 4] . Lactoferrin (formerly known as lactotransferrin) is a glycoprotein, and a member of a transferrin family, thus belonging to those proteins capable of binding and transferring iron [5] . This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness, safety and acceptability of lactoferrin in comparison to RESEARCH ARTICLE