Although a number of reducing systems can release iron from ferritin, there is debate as to whether the process additionally requires a chelator. We have studied ferritin iron release by microsomes, paraquat and NADPH, by dialuric acid and by hypoxanthine and xanthine oxidase, using ferrozine to complex the released iron. In each case, Fe2+ (ferrozine) formation was detectable when the ferrozine was added at the beginning of the 10 min reaction period, but not at the end. However, with catalase present, up to 0.7 times as much Fe2+ could be measured with ferrozine added at the end. Further Fe2+ could be recovered by adding ascorbate with the ferrozine. These results indicate that an iron chelator is not required for reductive iron release from ferritin. However, the released iron will not be detectable as Fe2+ unless it forms a complex that is resistant to oxidation by H2O2 or other oxidants.