Table 1.

Characteristics of different oral iron formulations.

Formulations	Benefits	Complications
Ferrous Iron Salts *	Inexpensive, widely available	Tendency to cause gastrointestinal side effects
Polysaccharide-Iron Complex	Potentially lower risk of gastrointestinal intolerance, better taste profile	Less effective than ferrous salts in at least one randomized clinical trial of children.
Heme Iron	Higher absorption rate	Expensive. Not be a viable option for vegetarian or vegan individuals.
Carbonyl Iron	Inexpensive	No clear efficacy or side effect benefit as compared
Iron Protein Succinylate	Some data to suggest there may be better tolerability and efficacy as compared to ferrous salts.	Unsuitable for individuals with hypersensitivity to milk protein
Iron Amino Acid Chelates **	Less susceptible to dietary interactions.	May be more expensive than ferrous salts

^*Ferrous sulfate, Ferrous fumarate, Ferrous gluconate

^**Ferrous Bisglycinate, Ferric Trisglycinate