Question

The hemoglobin within macrophages that have consumed RBCs is broken down into heme and globin. What are the products of the breakdown of hemoglobin?

1) Heme and globin
2) Heme and iron
3) Globin and iron
4) Heme, globin, and iron

Answer 1

The breakdown of hemoglobin produces heme, globin, and iron, where globin becomes amino acids, iron is recycled or stored, and heme is degraded into bilirubin and then stercobilin for excretion.

Step-by-step explanation:

The products of the breakdown of hemoglobin are heme, globin, and iron. The globin component is broken down into amino acids, which are used in synthesizing new proteins. The heme is broken down into iron and biliverdin. Iron can be stored in the liver or spleen or carried back to the bone marrow for recycling into new red blood cells. Biliverdin is further reduced to bilirubin and eventually converted to stercobilin, which is excreted in feces. So the correct answer to the question 'What are the products of the breakdown of hemoglobin?' is option 4) Heme, globin, and iron.