title: [Effects of zinc deficiency on the distribution of elements in the tissue of pregnant rats and their fetuses].
abstract: The influence of zinc(Zn) deficiency on the distribution of elements in tissues of pregnant rats and their fetuses was investigated. Pregnant Wistar rats were divided into zinc deficiency (ZD), pair-fed(PF), zinc supplement (ZS) and control (C) groups. ZD rats were fed for 21 days a zinc deficient (0.7 mg/kg) diet and other rats were fed a similar diet supplemented with zinc (100 mg/kg). On the 21st day of gestation, blood was drawn from heart, laparotomy was performed, and liver, spleen, kidney, placentas, fetuses were removed for analysing on zinc, copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and calcium (Ca). The results showed that the element levels in blood, organs and fetuses from ZD rats were significantly lower than those from ZS and C rats. Furthermore, the levels of Cu, Fe, Mn in blood, liver, spleen, kidney of ZD rats were significantly lower than those of PF rats. It suggests that there are some coordination relationships in intestinal absorption and tissue distribution between Zn and other elements, and the decrease of elements in the body does not mainly result from the reduction of dietary intake caused by zinc deficiency. The Fe content in placentas and Fe, Ca content in fetuses of ZD rats showed a significant increase as compared with those of rats in other groups. There may be a competitive mechanism on the transportation of Zn and Fe in the placenta of rats. In brief, the distribution of minerals in maternal tissues induced by zinc deficiency might be different from those in fetuses.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Shandong Medical University, Jinan 250012, China.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D003300:Copper / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000378:metabolism*; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015032:Zinc / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D003300:Copper; D007501:Iron; D015032:Zinc; D002118:Calcium