Liver Iron Depletion Without Copper Loss in Swine Fed Excess Zinc

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Abstract
Weanling pigs were placed on experiment to study the influence of high levels of dietary zinc on liver iron, copper, and zinc. Zinc levels of 0.2 and 0.4% in a soybean meal diet produced neither signs of a marked toxicosis nor an adverse effect on growth or feed consumption. Evidence was obtained demonstrating that 0.4% of zinc in the diet of swine results in a significant reduction in liver iron without a concomitant loss of liver copper. On the other hand, although 0.2% of zinc in the diet caused a significant increase of liver zinc, the iron content in the liver was not decreased.