Abstract

Using the zinc tolerance test, we compared the absorption of zinc from zinc methionine with that from zinc sulfate or zinc polyascorbate. Nine adults received 25 mg of elemental zinc in the three different supplements, either alone in a water solution or added to a standard meal (SM). All subjects were also studied with water alone and the SM alone, as controls. The SM contained plant foods that are habitually consumed in rural Mexico. When the supplements were given with water the area under the curve (AUC) for the 4-h observation was: 262±30 μ/dl for zinc methionine, 225±9 μg/dL for zinc polyascorbate, 210±33 μg/dL for zinc sulfate and 1±6 μg/dL for water. Plasma zinc increased more after methionine than after zinc sulfate (p<0.05). The ingestion of SM alone produced a significant reduction in plasma zinc compared to fasting levels (AUC=−50±9 μg/dL) and the simultaneous addition of any of the three supplements failed to prevent this decline. The presence of food probably affected the utilization of absorbed zinc by peripheral tissues so that plasma zinc response was not useful for measuring the effect of food on zinc absorption.

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