Indications and Usage

● Iron deficiency anemia (anemia is a condition in which the body does not have enough healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells provide oxygen to body tissues).
● It help to prevent neural tube defects.
● Some people use folic acid to prevent colon cancer or cervical cancer. It is also used to prevent heart disease and stroke.
● For prevention and treatment of iron deficiency anaemia in pregnancy and to supply maintainance dosage of folic acid.
● Treatment of iron deficiency concomitant with folic acid deficiency in non pregnant patients

Mechanism of Action

Ferrous Ascorbate is a synthetic molecule of Ascorbic Acid & Iron. Iron is critical to a number of synthetic and enzymatic processes. Most of the body iron is part of the haemoglobin molecule where iron serves a key role in oxygen transport. Small amounts of Iron are found in Myoglobin and in plasma (bound to transferrin). Iron is recycled & thus conserved by the body.
Folic acid is essential for the production of certain coenzymes in many metabolic systems such as purine and pyrimidine synthesis. It is also essential in the synthesis and maintenance of nucleoprotein in erythropoesis. It also promotes WBC and platelet production in folate-deficiency anaemia.

Drug Interaction

Ferrous ascorbate+Folic acid may interact with :
• barbiturates
• diphenylhydantoin
• primidone
• tetracycline group of drugs
• quinolones
• penicillamine
• L-dopa
• methyldopa
• bisphosphonates and calcium salts

Warning and Precautions

Ferrous Ascorbate: Oral iron preparations may aggravate existing peptic ulcer, regional enteritis and ulcerative colttis.
Folic Acid: There is a potential danger in administering folic acid to patients with undiagnosed anaemia, since folic acid may obscure the diagnosis of pernicious anaemia by alleviating the haematologic manifestations of the disease while allowing the neurologic complications to progress. This may result in severe nervous system damage before the correct diagnosis is made. Adequate dosage of vitamin B12 may prevent, halt, or improve the neurologic changes caused by pernicious anaemia

Side Effects

● Stomach cramps
● Constipation
● Heartburn
● Nausea
● Vomiting
● Iron may impact the stools by turning them black

Contraindications

Ferrous Ascorbate is contraindicated in patients with hypersensitivity to Iron supplementation (which circumvents this mechanism) should be avoided in patients who have active bacterial infections Contraindicated in patients with Hemosiderosis, Hemochromatosis, Hemolytic anemia.