In vivo Interference of Zinc with Ferritin Iron in the Rat

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Abstract
A series of experiments was conducted to determine the nature of the effect of high zinc diets on iron metabolism. The rats used in all studies were fed a basal diet or the basal + 0.75% zinc. In the initial study radioisotope experiments with 59Fe were conducted to determine whether zinc was interfering with iron absorption. Results indicated that orally administered radioactive iron was absorbed equally by the 2 groups. Subsequent studies showed that the high zinc intake reduced both the amount of ferritin and the percentage of iron content of the ferritin present in the liver. In the next study, the livers of the experimental animals were partitioned and zinc analyses made on the liver fractions. Livers from animals receiving zinc showed that fraction III, the ferritin-containing fraction, was highest in zinc. Iron-induced ferritin synthesis studies showed that ferritin synthesis was not impaired by high dietary zinc. The hypothesis formulated from these studies was that zinc interferes with iron incorporation and release from ferritin.