Use of a traditional blood remedy. A study on regular blood donors

We have investigated, in a group of regular blood donors, the effect of donating a unit of blood on blood haemoglobin concentration, serum iron and ferritin over a three week study period. The fall in haemoglobin was not significant but the fall in serum iron reached statistical significance (P < 0.05). Serum ferritin fell significantly in the female donors (P < 0.05). We compared the use of Brand' Essence of Chicken, a traditional Chinese remedy for blood replenishment and alleviating tiredness, with placebo in a double-blind study on these changes. Haemoglobin and ferritin were not affected by the essence but serum iron in female donors returned to pre-donation levels at the end of the study only in those taking essence. This response is greater than would be expected from the iron content of the essence and the relevance of this finding is discussed.