CHAPTER 6 



INTERACTION OF DIFFERENT ORGANIC AND 



INORGANIC ZINC AND COPPER SOURCES 



FED TO RATS 



Introduction 



For many years it has been known that the amount of Zn 

 absorbed can be influenced by the amount of dietary Cu (Miller 

 et al . , 1979) . The absorption process of Zn and Cu is not 

 completely understood. Perhaps the first site for interaction 

 of Zn and Cu is the intestinal membrane. Subsequently, 

 through the binding of these minerals to metallothionein (MT) 

 an additional interaction could occur (Cousins and Hempe, 

 1990) . This metalloprotein has a higher affinity for Cu than 

 for Zn . 



A recent study evaluated mineral content of rat tissues 

 fed different levels of inorganic sources of Zn and Cu (Larsen 

 and Sandstrom, 1992) . There was a high interaction which 

 affected not only the intestinal absorption, but also 

 distribution of previously absorbed elements in tissues. 



Several products offering minerals complexed with amino 

 acid are available for mineral supplementation. In contrast 

 to our knowledge with inorganic forms of Cu and Zn, it is not 



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