Zinc in body

Zinc In Body By: Shaheryar Ahmed Ranjha

Contents:

• Zinc: a micronutrient• Zinc-Rich Foods and RDA• Absorption• Distribution• Excretion• Functions • Clinical Aspect and Significance• Therapeutic Significance in treatment of Diarrhoea • Synopsis

Zinc- a micronutrient:• 3rd most abundant trace element in body

• Essential for the proper function of cellular metabolism

• About 100 enzymes rely on zinc to help them catalyze vital

chemical reactions

• Protects cell membranes from oxidative damage and

stabilizes the structure of cell proteins

•Zinc proteins bind to DNA and help the cells to do what

• Important for growth, gestation and disease prevention

• Helps control the release of hormones and the transmission

of nerve impulses

Zinc Rich Foods

Do you take any of these food daily, if yes? so you are taking in zinc!!

Recommended Daily Allowance of Zinc:

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA for zinc:Infants0 - 6 months: 2* milligrams per day (mg/day)7 - 12 months: 3* mg/day*Adequate Intake (AI)Children1 - 3 years: 3 mg/day4 - 8 years: 5 mg/day9 - 13 years: 8 mg/dayAdolescents and AdultsMales age 14 and over: 11 mg/dayFemales age 14 to 18 years: 9 mg/dayFemales age 19 and over: 8 mg/dayPregnant and lactating mothers: 25mg/day

The best way to get the daily requirement of essential minerals is to eat a

balanced diet that contains a variety of foods.

Absorption:• In humans, zinc is absorbed mainly in the Dudoneum and Ileum• 33 percent is accepted as the average zinc absorption in

humans• zinc may be more bio-available from drinking water than from

food• The pancreas secretes a zinc binding factor which helps in the

absorption of zinc• HIGH amounts of Calcium phosphate and phytic acid interfere

with zinc absorption • Zinc-deprived humans absorb this element with increased

efficiency, whereas humans on a high-zinc diet show a reduced efficiency of absorption

Distribution:

•Zinc absorbed from the intestine is carried to the liver bound to albumin•Zinc is present in the human body in the concentration of 0.3 mg/ kg body weight •Zinc is abundant in red and white blood cells , with zinc found in the erythrocytes largely bound to carbonic anhydrase

•The remaining plasma zinc is primarily bound to albumin •Redistribution of zinc can occur under stress

Excretion:

• Zinc is primarily excreted via the gastrointestinal tract• Excretory mechanisms contribute to zinc homeostasis; • Under normal circumstances, about 0.5 mg of zinc

may be lost in perspiration, and about an equal amount is lost in daily urine

• Although the kidney nephrons appear capable of secreting and reabsorbing zinc, urinary zinc does not appear to fluctuate with diet

• High-protein diets, however, are reported to increase urinary zinc

Functions:

Zinc plays a vital role in the following: Enzyme Action Vitamin A metabolism Insulin Secretion Growth and Reproduction Wound Healing Biosynthesis of Mononucleotides Binding of regulatory proteins to DNA Three Unique Motifs Zinc- finger Motif

Clinical Aspect: ZINC- DEFICIENCY DISEASE Acrodermatitis Enteropathica• A rare inherited disease of abnormal zinc absorption • Autosomal recessive• Characterized by dermatologic, ophthalmologic, gastrointestinal

and neuropsychiatric features along with growth retardation and hypogonadism

OTHERSDepressed Immune ResponseHypogeusisNight Blindness Zinc decreases copper absorption in the body

Clinical Significance:

• Diabetes mellitus • Leaukemias • Malignancies• Atherosclerosis• Wound Healing• Hepatic Diseases• Acute myocardial infarction• Sickle cell anemia• Dermatitis• Clinical Syndrome- Rickets (mutation at Calcitriol receptor)

Therapeutic Significance in treatment of Diarrhoea: • No other treatment has been proven as efficacious as

zinc in reducing the duration of acute diarrhoea in children of developing countries

• Antibiotics, antiparasitic, antimotility, and antisecretory drugs and enzymes are overused

• Decreasing the occurrence of prolonged and persistent diarrhoea by zinc administration may substantially reduce the number of childhood diarrhoea deaths

Synopsis:

• What is zinc? and what does it do?• How much zinc do we need?• What are the sources of zinc?• How is zinc absorbed in the body?• How is zinc distributed in the body?• How is zinc excreted from the body?• What is the clinical significance of zinc?• What is the therapeutic significance of zinc?

Thank you