Abstract
The effects of zinc supplementation on levels of zinc, retinol and carotene in serum and breast milk were investigated in a double blind controlled prospective study amongst 66 poor urban Amazonian mothers in 1981. The mothers predominantly breast-fed their infants for the first five months of life and took supplements from soon after birth. Milk retinol levels were already significantly higher in zinc supplemented (ZS) than non-zinc supplemented (NZS) mothers by one month post-partum, and by four months had risen significantly in the ZS mothers but fallen in NZS mothers. At four months post-partum, milk retinol levels of ZS mothers were near normal and double those of NZS mothers. The effect of zinc supplementation on these retinol levels was possibly associated with an increased absorption and utilization of dietary carotene, since milk carotene levels also increased in ZS mothers to levels three times those of NZS mothers at four months post-partum. This impact of zinc supplementation on maternal and breast milk vitamin A levels has not been shown previously and is of potential relevance where zinc and vitamin A deficiency are common.
Highlights
In the 1980s, zinc was found to be one of the principal dietary inadequacies in the central Amazon valley (Shrimpton 1980; Shrimpton 1984; Amoroso & Shrimpton 1984), and a third of low-income urban workers had low serum zinc levels (
There were no significant differences between the experimental zinc supplemented (ZS) and non-zinc supplemented (NZS) groups of mothers for the various characteristics listed
The gastrointestinal parasite infection rates were just over 80% at the beginning of the study, progressively diminished with treatment, and were not significantly different between the groups at any month. Both zinc and energy intakes were slightly greater in the ZS than NZS mother at baseline and during the trial, but these differences were not statistically significant
Summary
In the 1980s, zinc was found to be one of the principal dietary inadequacies in the central Amazon valley (Shrimpton 1980; Shrimpton 1984; Amoroso & Shrimpton 1984), and a third of low-income urban workers had low serum zinc levels (
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