Increased iron absorption in lemurs: Quantitative screening and assessment of dietary prevention

• Published in: American journal of primatology Vol. 61; no. 3; pp. 101 - 110
• Main Authors: Wood, C., Fang, S.G., Hunt, A., Streich, W.J., Clauss, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.11.2003; Wiley-Liss
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biological anthropology; diagnosis; Diet; Diet, Diabetic - veterinary; dietary prevention; Diseases; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; hemosiderosis; Hemosiderosis - diet therapy; Hemosiderosis - prevention & control; Hemosiderosis - veterinary; Iron; Iron Chelating Agents - therapeutic use; iron storage; Iron, Dietary - metabolism; Lemuridae - metabolism; lemurs; Madagascar; Mammalia; Nutrition; Phytic Acid - therapeutic use; Primatology; Prosimians; Transferrin - metabolism; Vertebrata; Ascorbic acid; Interspecific comparison; Vitamin; Metabolic diseases; Iron; Hemosiderosis; Feeding; Prevention; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Diet; Primates; Captivity; Zoo
• ISSN: 0275-2565; 1098-2345
• DOI: 10.1002/ajp.10113

Iron storage disease (ISD) in lemurs has been reported since as early as the 1960s, and in the 1980s was demonstrated to be a consistent finding in postmortem investigations of captive lemurs. Since then this disease has consistently been diagnosed at the point of necropsy. In the current study we describe a preclinical screening procedure, as well as the quantified preventive effects of dietary intervention upon iron absorption. Twenty‐three individual lemurs of four species were initially tested with the transferrin saturation test (%TS); 21 of these animals were on conventional zoo diets, and two were fed a specific diabetic diet. Initially, 20 of 21 lemurs on conventional zoo diets were demonstrated to have %TS levels above the normal range for humans; 17 of these lemurs were in the category (for humans) of excessive iron absorption. A dietary change aimed at reducing dietary iron and vitamin C levels and increasing the levels of iron‐chelating tannins and/or phytates was instigated. After the animals were retested, a matched‐pair comparison of %TS values before and after the diet change revealed significantly (P=0.038, n=7) lower %TS values after the diet change. All species averages were in the human hyperabsorption range on conventional zoo diets (n=21). No species averages were in that range after the dietary change (n=18). The results indicate that further investigations into the use of %TS testing in lemur husbandry, and specific preventive dietary measures, should be conducted. Am. J. Primatol. 61:101–110, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.