Received June 24, 2022
Accepted December 23, 2022

Objectives Women are more susceptible to both iron deficiency and copper toxicity due to monthly flow and estrogen action respectively. Oral iron is beneficial for menstruating women and enhances erythropoiesis but both deficiency and excess of copper alter iron absorption and mobilization. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of mitigating copper toxicity in female Wistar rats while supplementing with iron. Methods 20 female rats (160-180g) were grouped into four: Groups 1 (Control) received 0.3mls normal saline, 2- copper-toxic (100m mg/kg Copper sulphate), 3- Copper-toxic+Iron (100 mg/kg Copper sulphate + 1 mg/kg Ferrous sulphate) and 4- Iron (1 mg/kg Ferrous sulphate). All treatment was administered orally for 5 weeks. Blood was collected retro-orbitally after light anesthesia into EDTA and plain bottles for haematological, serum copper, iron, ferritin and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) analysis. Liver was excised for copper and iron levels while bone marrow was harvested for myeloid/erythroid ratio. Data were analyzed by one-Way ANOVA and statistical significance was considered at P<0.05. Results Iron supplementation significantly increased packed cell volume, haemoglobin concentration, red blood cell count and myeloid/erythroid ratio, compared to copper-toxic group. Serum iron and TIBC were significantly increased while liver copper and iron levels reduced significantly in iron supplemented group compared to copper-toxic group. Conclusion Oral iron supplementation mitigated alterations in iron absorption and mobilization following copper toxicity.