Effects of Dietary Supplements on Young Rats Fed High Levels of Zinc

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Abstract
The effects of several dietary supplements on growth and mineral metabolism of young rats fed high levels of zinc were observed in a series of experiments. Soybean meal offered some protection against subnormal growth, but with a level of 0.75% of zinc, this protection was not as good as that obtained with either liver or distiller's dried solubles. The addition of 20% of distiller's dried solubles to a diet containing 0.75% of zinc completely prevented the marked decreases in weight gain, hemoglobin level and liver copper associated with zinc toxicity. Results of several experiments suggest that dietary protein per se is not the primary factor involved in the subnormal growth associated with zinc toxicosis that is being supplied by the addition of liver or distiller's dried solubles. Results of this study indicate that a high level of protein may accentuate, rather than reduce, the severity of zinc toxicity in rats under certain conditions. This observation does not agree with a previous report by other investigators.

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