Effects of Dietary Zinc and Calcium on the Retention and Distribution of Zinc in Rats Fed Semipurified Diets

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Abstract
The effects of feeding rats semipurified diets containing deficient (1 to 6 ppm), control (15 to 16.3 ppm) and high (1550 ppm) levels of zinc and 0.6 or 1.3% calcium on the retention and distribution of zinc have been studied. The retention of 65Zn, whether administered orally or intraperitoneally, was directly related to the levels of zinc fed. Zinc loss was primarily in the feces. The high calcium diet markedly decreased 65Zn absorption in rats fed a zinc-deficient diet but not in those fed a control diet. However, the high calcium level had no significant effect on the retention or distribution in the tissues studied of 65Zn injected intraperitoneally. In zinc-deficient rats, the greatest effect on zinc content was in the femur and hair. When the high zinc diet was fed, significant increases in zinc levels were observed in most tissues studied, the largest increase being in the pancreas.