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Dietary Bioactive Components (Poster Session)

(P26-039-25) Effects of Almond Intake on Iron Status in Aging Mice

Monday, June 2, 2025
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board C-66

    Presenting Author(s)

  • LL

    Lindsey G. Lemus, BS

    Graduate Student
    The University of North Carolina Greensboro
    Lexington, North Carolina, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • SA

    Seth Armah, PhD

    Associate Professor
    University of North Carolina at Greensboro
    Greensboro, North Carolina, United States

  • SF

    Steve C. Fordahl, Ph.D.

    Assistant Professor
    University of North Carolina at Greensboro
    Greensboro, North Carolina, United States

  • GD

    George Donati, PhD

    New York State Department of Health, United States

  • IC

    Ian Carroll, PhD

    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

  • ZA

    Zachariah C. Agbala, BS

    Graduate Student
    The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
    Winston Salem, North Carolina, United States

Disclosure(s):
Lindsey G. Lemus, BS: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Zachariah C. Agbala, BS: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of almond intake on iron status in aging mice. We hypothesized that aging mice fed a diet supplemented with almonds will have improved iron status biomarkers and red blood cell (RBC) antioxidant activity compared to control mice.

Methods: Forty-eight male and female C57BL/6 mice (18 months old) were randomized to receive a low fat (15% kcal from fat) diet with or without 15% calories from almond meal for 12 or 24 weeks (four groups, n=12/group). Mice were kept in cages of three mice per cage under standard pathogen-free conditions on a 12:12 light dark cycle with food and water ad libitum. Body weights were recorded weekly and dietary intake was recorded three times per week. Mice were euthanized after their respective intervention periods and blood, liver, and spleen samples were collected. Antioxidant markers (RBC alpha-tocopherol concentrations and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity), and iron status markers (complete blood count analysis and plasma, liver, and spleen iron concentrations) were measured for each mouse.

Results: Due to poor survival rate in the control group, the study ended at 21 weeks. Seven mice from the control group died or were euthanized early compared to three mice in the almond group. Based on our preliminary data, almond intake resulted in lower odds of anemia (OR= 0.20, p=0.046) and red blood cell distribution width (RDWsd; β=-3.9, p= 0.017), higher RBC count (β= 0.82, p=0.026) and a weakly significant increase in RBC SOD activity (β= 22.0, p=0.066) after adjusting for sex and length of intervention (12 vs 21 weeks) in regression analysis. There was no effect of almond intake on spleen and liver iron and RBC alpha-tocopherol concentration. Mice with higher RBC SOD activity were less likely to develop anemia (OR= 0.96, p= 0.016) or die early (OR= 0.88, p=0.028).

Conclusions: Diet supplementation with almond meal in aging mice improved selected markers of iron status and reduced anemia risk.

Funding Sources: This study was funded by NIDDK (NIH).