Zinc has been discussed as a feed additive to improve hoof horn quality and skin diseases. Hooves of good quality contain more zinc than hooves of poor quality (1). Because zinc supplementation seems to increase the zinc content of the hoof (1), the bioavailability of different zinc compounds became potentially important. In the present investigation the serum response after oral supplementatio...

Zinc is a nutritionally essential trace element, and thus zinc deficiency may severely affect human health. Many studies were published in which the effect of nutritional zinc supplementation on the incidence or severity of a certain disease was investigated. This review summarizes the main observations and aims to evaluate the use of nutritional zinc supplementation for prevention and treatmen...

BACKGROUND Adequate zinc is critical for immune function; however, zinc deficiency occurs in >50% of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adults. We examined the safety and efficacy of long-term zinc supplementation in relation to HIV disease progression. METHODS A prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted involving 231 HIV-infected adults with low plasma zinc le...

Zinc supplementation trials in the elderly showed that the incidence of infections was decreased by approximately 66% in the zinc group. Zinc supplementation also decreased oxidative stress biomarkers and decreased inflammatory cytokines in the elderly. In our studies in the experimental model of zinc deficiency in humans, we showed that zinc deficiency per se increased the generation of IL-1β ...

OBJECTIVE Leptin, the product of the ob gene, plays a key role in a feedback loop that maintains energy balance by signaling the state of energy stores to the brain and by influencing the regulation of appetite and energy metabolism. Zinc also plays an important role in appetite regulation. Thus, we evaluated the relationship between zinc status and the leptin system in humans. METHODS We stu...

Background: Zinc is an essential trace element required for the functional activity of several enzyme systems. Several studies have been carried out to assess the effect of zinc supplementation on children’s growth, but controversy exists as to the effect of zinc on growth and GH-IGF-I system. Objective:  The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of zinc supplementation on linear growth ...

The primary objective of the current study was the investigation of the influence of zinc asparaginate supplementation for 7 and 14 days on toxic metal and metalloid content in rat organs and tissues. Rats obtained zinc asparaginate in doses of 5 and 15 mg/kg/day for 7 and 14 days. At the end of the experiment rat tissues and organs (liver, kidney, heart, m. gastrocnemius, serum, and hair) were...

This study was carried out to determine whether a short-term zinc supplementation contributes to beneficial changes in glycemic control among type 2 diabetic patients. Seventy-six diabetic subjects and 72 normal adults participated in this study. Subjects were divided into supplemented and control groups. Forty-four diabetic patients and 34 normal subjects were supplemented with 50 mg zinc dail...

BACKGROUND Previous trials have shown that zinc supplementation can decrease the risk of diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria in children; however, the effects of zinc supplementation on mortality remain unclear. This study aimed at evaluating the benefits and risks of zinc supplementation on both total mortality and cause-specific mortality. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We searched PubMed,...

short-course prophylactic zinc supplementation in reducing the burden of ALRI among infants during the subsequent months. Furthermore, the magnitude and directionality of the effects estimated by this study bolster the conclusions of a previous meta-analysis, which reported no difference between the effects of short-course and routine zinc supplementation trials [9]. Future studies should asses...