Effect of Dietary Protein and Zinc on the Absorption and Liver Deposition of Radioactive and Total Copper

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Results of experiments reported in this study have shown that the accumulation of copper in the livers of rats fed high levels of copper may be influenced by such dietary factors as zinc and protein. This effect did not result from a simple interrelationship between copper and the other dietary factors but was a more complex interaction which was dependent upon the relative concentration of all the factors present. The effect of the protein level in the diet was greater than the effect exerted by the levels of zinc, at least with respect to a toxic level of copper. At a dietary level of 25% of protein with the maximum level of zinc used in these experiments, any mutual or reciprocal influence between copper and zinc was apparently eliminated. The action of protein appeared to be both in the intestinal tract where a regulation of copper absorption occurred and in the liver where there was an increased elimination of copper as the concentration approached a toxic level. Observations demonstrated that an accumulation of orally administered copper64 in the liver might have indicated increased absorption but not necessarily increased availability of the element to an animal, and also, that a decreased liver storage of the element did not necessarily indicate a decrease in liver metabolism of the element.