Effect of marginal maternal zinc intake on zinc absorption and growth of 3-month-old infant rhesus monkeys.
One compensatory mechanism for marginal zinc intake may be through an enhanced absorption of zinc. Such a compensatory mechanism could be of value to the neonate, as poor zinc nutriture during early life has severe consequences on growth and development. We studied the uptake of zinc by 3-month-old infant rhesus monkeys born to dams fed control diets (100 micrograms of zinc per gram of diet or zinc-restricted diets (4 micrograms of zinc per gram of diet). Zinc uptake/retention was studied by feeding 3-month-old infant monkeys that had fasted an infant formula containing zinc 65 by gavage. Whole body radioactivity was counted immediately after intubation and on days 10 and 17 after intubation. Regardless of dietary group, 65 zinc retention was high, ranging from 33% to 71% of the dose fed to the monkeys. There were no significant differences between the two dietary groups in the percentage of zinc retention at days 10 and 17. Independent of the dietary group, there was no correlation between plasma zinc and zinc absorption. A positive correlation was found between weight gain and zinc retention in the marginal zinc infants, while a negative correlation between weight gain and zinc retention was observed in the control infants. These observations suggest that the mechanisms underlying growth may be different in infants born to dams fed control vs marginal zinc diets.
Lönnerdal
B
B
Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis 95616.
Keen
C L
CL
Bell
J G
JG
Golub
M S
MS
Hendrickx
A G
AG
Gershwin
M E
ME
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000032:analysis; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis; D008251:Macaca; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D015032:Zinc / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000378:metabolism; D015037:Zinc Radioisotopes
D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D015037:Zinc Radioisotopes; D015032:Zinc