title: Plasma zinc concentration responds to short-term zinc supplementation, but not zinc fortification, in young children in Senegal1,2.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Simple, low-cost methods are needed to evaluate the effect of zinc-fortification programs. Plasma zinc concentration is a useful biomarker of zinc intake from supplementation, but responses to zinc fortification are inconsistent.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective was to compare the change in plasma zinc concentrations in young children who received zinc from either a liquid supplement or a zinc-fortified complementary food.
  
  
  METHODS
  A double-blind intervention trial was conducted in 137 young Senegalese children aged 9-17 mo who were randomly assigned to receive one of the following treatments for 15 d: 1) 30 g dry weight of an iron-fortified cereal porridge and a liquid multivitamin supplement without zinc (control group), 2) the same porridge and multivitamin supplement with 6 mg Zn added to the supplement dose (ZnSuppl group), or 3) the same porridge with added zinc to provide 6 mg Zn per 25 g dry weight of porridge and multivitamin without zinc (ZnFort group).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean (±SD) plasma zinc concentration (μg/dL) increased by 4.7 ± 1.6 (P = 0.004) in the ZnSuppl group, which was significantly greater (P = 0.009) than the mean change in the control group (-1.0 ± 1.6; P = 0.51) and in the ZnFort group (-1.8 ± 1.7; P = 0.29). The latter 2 groups did not differ from each other (P = 0.99).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Plasma zinc concentration increased in children who received daily zinc supplementation for 15 d but not in those who received a zinc-fortified complementary food containing a similar amount of zinc. Additional longer-term studies are needed to assess the effect of zinc-fortification programs on zinc-related functional outcomes and the usefulness of plasma zinc as a biomarker of program effect. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as study NCT0094398.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Nutrition, Département de Biologie Animale, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Dakar, Senegal.
authors.forename: Nafissatou Ba
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: Grant J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Aaron
authors.forename: Sonja Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Hess
authors.forename: Nicole Idohou
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Dossou
authors.forename: Amadou Tidiane
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Guiro
authors.forename: Salimata
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wade
authors.forename: Kenneth H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D002523:Edible Grain; D005260:Female; D005527:Food, Fortified; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D008297:Male; D012675:Senegal; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015032:Zinc