How much elemental iron is contained in a 27 mg dose of ferrous fumarate?

Elemental Iron Content in Ferrous Fumarate 27 mg

Ferrous fumarate 27 mg contains approximately 9 mg of elemental iron, representing roughly 33% of the total compound weight.

Calculation Method

• Ferrous fumarate has a consistent elemental iron content of approximately 33% by weight across all formulations 1
• Standard ferrous fumarate tablets contain 69 mg elemental iron per 210 mg tablet, 100 mg elemental iron per 305 mg capsule, or 106 mg elemental iron per 322-325 mg tablet 1
• Using the 33% conversion factor: 27 mg ferrous fumarate × 0.33 = approximately 9 mg elemental iron 1

Clinical Context for This Dose

• This 9 mg elemental iron dose is insufficient for treating iron deficiency anemia, which requires 50-100 mg elemental iron daily 1, 2
• A 27 mg ferrous fumarate dose would be appropriate only for:
  • Multivitamin supplementation in individuals without documented deficiency 1, 2
  • Pediatric dosing at 2-3 mg/kg/day elemental iron 1
  • Prevention rather than treatment of iron deficiency 3

Standard Treatment Doses for Comparison

• For iron deficiency anemia treatment, adults require ferrous fumarate 210-325 mg tablets (providing 69-106 mg elemental iron) taken once daily 1, 2
• The 27 mg ferrous fumarate dose provides only 9-18% of the therapeutic target for treating iron deficiency 1, 2
• Multivitamin preparations typically contain ≤14 mg elemental iron and are explicitly not recommended as sole therapy for iron deficiency anemia 1, 2

Important Caveats

• Verify the actual indication: If this dose is intended to treat documented iron deficiency anemia, it is inadequate and should be increased to 50-100 mg elemental iron daily 1, 2
• Ferrous fumarate has equivalent bioavailability to ferrous sulfate when comparing equivalent elemental iron doses 4
• The 33% elemental iron content makes ferrous fumarate more concentrated than ferrous sulfate (20% elemental iron) or ferrous gluconate (11-12% elemental iron) 1