Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is the most commonly recognised clinical condition of fast-growing piglets reared in commercial settings. 

Iron is an essential micronutrient involved in numerous biochemical processes and is a fundamental element for normal development of the immune system. Newborn piglets are more susceptible to and develop iron deficiency in the first week of life due to the small iron storage at birth, low levels of available iron in the sows' colostrum and the rapid growth rate that occurs during this period of a pig’s life.  Its deficiency affects the capacity to have an adequate immune response when challenged by disease. 

Attempts to increase the placental transfer to the foetus or the iron concentration in milk by feeding high levels of iron to the sow were not successful. Because of this, an iron injection within the first few days of life is common practice in the swine industry. Gleptoferron is a macro-molecule complex that has the potential for increased absorption and bioavailability. It has previously been demonstrated that gleptoferron has a 4.6 times higher total absorption compared to iron dextran.

Gleptosil is a gleptoferron based iron injection which enables the production of healthy piglets. Iron is a constituent of the red pigments haemoglobin in the blood and myoglobin in the muscle. Haemoglobin is responsible for the transfer of oxygen to all cells in the body therefore supporting cellular metabolism. On-farm trials have demonstrated that pigs that received gleptoferron had higher haemoglobin levels compared to pigs that received iron dextran.