Study of hematopoiesis in riboflavin deficient rats with 59Fe as tracer.

Rats were deprived of riboflavin for 2 months by feeding the diets lacking in this vitamin. Radioactive iron was injected to those rats intravenously to study the half time for its disap pearance from plasma (PDT 1/2), plasma iron turnover, red cell iron utilization and its turnover. Similar experiments were per formed in normal pair-fed rats and the results obtained were compared with riboflavin deficient animals. These studies suggest that there is a disturbance in the iron utilization and this leads to defective hematopoiesis under riboflavin deficiency.