2.2. Assessment of Fe levels in serum and bone marrow
Serum Fe levels were measured in 10 animals from each dose group. Samples
(0.4 ml) were collected from the retro-orbital plexus into tubes containing no
anticoagulant. The contents of the tubes were centrifuged to separate serum. Serum
Fe was measured using the FerroZine method and Cobas c501 Clinical Chemistry
Analyzer (Version 04-02; Roche Diagnostics; Indianapolis, IN). The Fe content in
bone marrow smears was also assessed in 5 animals per dose group. Gale scores
were used as semi-quantitative grading scheme to assess Fe content in bone marrow
(Gale et al., 1963). In each dose group, one bone marrow smear from each animal
was prepared and stained with Prussian blue to assess the presence of Fe.