• Small bowel
• nutritional support
• intestinal failure
• IBD clinical
• Helicobacter pylori
• acid-related diseases
• non-ulcer dyspepsia
• genetic polymorphisms
• gastric neoplasia
• ulcerative colitis
• Crohn's disease
• dietary factors
• iron nutrition

Werner et al showed that oral iron sulphate supplementation resulted in the development of ileitis in a rodent model, while parenteral administration of the same compound did not.1 I submit that these observations, although valid, may be true and unrelated. The colono-toxic effects of the sulphur component of iron sulphate were first observed following the development of acute colitis in rodents treated with dextran sodium sulphate.2 3 Sulphide compounds appear to be the most toxic to isolated colonocytes.4 Sulphate-reducing bacteria found in the colon and terminal ileum produce hydrogen sulphide,5 which in turn is converted to anionic sulphide by colonic bicarbonate.6 Hydrogen sulphide …