The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the zinc status of zinc-deficient rats is alleviated by restricted feeding of a zinc-deficient diet. A severe zinc-deficient diet (20% demineralized soy protein diet, ≦ 0.4 mg/kg Zn) was used in this experiment. Rats were fed either a zinc-deficient diet
ad libitum (ZDA) or a 4.0 g/d zinc-deficient diet by restricted feeding (ZDR). ZDA rats stopped growing at day 4 after initiation of feeding. Body weight decreased and the cyclic feeding pattern ceased with food restriction. Survival time of rats fed a zinc-deficient diet was extended from 35 ±2.2 to 43 ±1.7 d (
p<0.02). The results show that restricted feeding of a zinc-deficient diet alleviated zinc deficiency in rats. The body weight of zinc-deficient rats was decreased by food restriction, and zinc concentration increased in the serum, femur and carcass. In another experiment, zinc-deficient rats were fasted for 2 d. The body weight of zinc-deficient rats decreased rapidly, and the zinc concentration of serum, femur and carcass increased by fasting. Eventually, the decrease in body tissue resulted in an increase in zinc concentration and alleviated the zinc deficiency in rats.
抄録全体を表示