J. Anim Sci.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bentley, P. J.
Right arrow Articles by Grubb, B. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bentley, P. J.
Right arrow Articles by Grubb, B. R.

Journal of Animal Science, Vol 69, Issue 12 4876-4882, Copyright © 1991 by American Society of Animal Science

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Effects of a zinc-deficient diet on tissue zinc concentrations in rabbits

P. J. Bentley and B. R. Grubb
College of Vet. Med., Dept. of Anat., North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27606.

Young male New Zealand White rabbits given a diet containing 2 ppm of Zn (Zn-deficient diet) ceased to grow after 5 wk. Control rabbits given diets containing 80 or 85 of ppm Zn and experimental animals given 7 ppm of Zn (low-Zn diet) grew normally. The rabbits given the Zn-deficient diet also exhibited alopecia, skin lesions, and frequent pasteurella infections. These conditions were not observed in rabbits fed the other diets. The testes and thymus were smaller in the rabbits fed the Zn-deficient diet than in rabbits fed the control diet. Serum Zn concentrations in rabbits given the low- or Zn-deficient diets reached new lower levels after 2 wk, and these concentrations were maintained for up to 12 wk. The serum Zn concentration was, however, lower in the rabbits fed the Zn-deficient diet (approximately .35 micrograms/ml compared with .8 micrograms/ml for rabbits fed the low-Zn diet and 1.4 micrograms/ml for rabbits fed the control diet). Tissue Zn concentrations generally declined in rabbits fed the low- and Zn-deficient diets, but this response depended on the particular tissue and diet. Zinc levels in bone decreased by approximately 45% and in fur by 20 to 30% on either low-Zn or Zn-deficient treatments. With a Zn-deficient diet, Zn in liver and testes decreased by 20%, Zn in skin by 35%, and Zn in brain by 10%. The Zn concentration in the skeletal muscle and thymus was, however, maintained. In the eye, Zn concentration in the aqueous humor declined by approximately 20% in rabbits fed the Zn-deficient diet.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Am. Coll. Nutr.Home page
B. H. Grahn, P. G. Paterson, K. T. Gottschall-Pass, and Z. Zhang
Zinc and the Eye
J. Am. Coll. Nutr., April 1, 2001; 20(2): 106 - 118.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1991 by the American Society of Animal Science.