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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #146630
Title: EFFECT OF ACUTE ZINC DEPLETION ON ZINC HOMEOSTASIS AND PLASMA ZINC KINETICS IN MEN

Author
item KING, JANET - WEST HUMAN NUTR RSCH CTR
item SHAMES, DAVID - UC DAVIS
item LOWE, NICOLA - UC DAVIS
item WOODHOUSE, LESLIE - UC DAVIS
item SUTHERLAND, BARBARA - UC DAVIS
item Abrams, Steven
item TURNLAND, JUDITY - WEST HUMAN NUTR RSCH CTR
item JACKSON, MALCOLM - UC DAVIS

Submitted to: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/7/2000
Publication Date: 7/1/2001
Citation: King JC, Shames DM, Lowe NM, Woodhouse LR, Sutherland B, Abrams SA, Turnland JR, Jackson MJ. 2001. Effect of acute zinc depletion on zinc homeostasis and plasma zinc kinetics in men. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 74(1):116-124.

Interpretive Summary: The purpose of this study is to measure what happens when men do not have enough zinc in their bodies. This was done by a process called compartmental modeling. It was found that a loss of zinc in the blood is due to the lack of zinc in long-term storage areas.

Technical Abstract: Zinc homeostasis and normal plasma zinc concentrations are maintained over a wide range of intakes. The objective was to identify the homeostatic response to severe zinc depletion by using compartmental analysis. Stable zinc isotope tracers were administered intravenously to 5 men at baseline (12.2 mg dietary Zn/d) and after 5 wk of acute zinc depletion (0.23 mg/d). Compartmental modeling of zinc metabolism was performed by using tracer and mass data in plasma, urine, and feces collected over 6-14 d. The plasma zinc concentration fell 65% on average after 5 wk of zinc depletion. The model predicted that fractional zinc absorption increased from 26% to essentially 100%. The rate constants for zinc excretion in the urine and gastrointestinal tract decreased 96% and 74%, respectively. The rate constants describing the distribution kinetics of plasma zinc did not change significantly. When zinc depletion was simulated by using an average mass model of zinc metabolism at baseline, the only change that accounted for the observed fall in plasma zinc concentration was a 60% reduction in the rate constant for zinc release from the most slowly turning over zinc pool. The large changes in zinc intake, excretion, and absorption-even when considered together-only explained modest reductions in plasma zinc mass. The kinetic analysis with a compartmental model suggests that the profound decrease in plasma zinc concentrations after 5 wk of severe zinc depletion was mainly due to a decrease in the rate of zinc release from the most slowly turning over body zinc pool.