Extracellular Zinc Concentration and Water Metabolism in Chicks

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Abstract
Four experiments were performed to determine the effect of dietary zinc deficiency on water metabolism. Day-old chicks were fed for 3 weeks diets which contained isolated soybean protein, cornstarch and graded levels of zinc. Chicks fed the basal (P < 0.05) less extracellular and more intracellular water than feed-restricted controls. There was no difference in total body water. Zinc-deficient chicks had significantly elevated ratios of Na+/K+ in liver, skin and muscle but no difference in serum. Treatment with a combination of zinc and saline significantly lowered the hematocrit within 2 hours when given intraperitoneally and within 4 hours when given intragastrically. The correlation between the plasma zinc concentration and water distribution suggests that extracellular zinc has a specific effect on water metabolism.