Laboratory Assessment of Early Dietary, Subclinical Zinc Deficiency: A Model Study on Weaning Rats

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Male weaning rats were pair-fed a low-zinc diet or a controt diet. After 10 d, the animals fed the low-zinc diet showed physiologic signs of deficiency; however, they showed no clinical symptoms. Their estimated whole body zinc was 25 μtmol versus 39 μmol for the controls. The ⁶⁵Zn absorption increased 2-fold and the tissue distribution altered: muscle and erythrocytes contained more, small intestine and liver less activity at 0.5 h postdose. in vitro, the erythrocyte ⁶⁵Zn uptake rate increased also. The ⁶⁵Zn uptake experiments required small quantities of erythrocytes. The difference observed between the deficient and control cells was significant and showed little overlap. The increase of the ⁶⁵Zn uptake from a medium was not affected when the animals underwent endotoxn exposure 24 h before, as was reported to occur in whole blood ⁶⁵Zn uptake. Therefore, we suggest the in vitro erythrocyte ⁶⁵Zn uptake, performed in a standardized, near physiologic medium, to detect early, subclinical zinc deficiency.

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