Plasma Zinc Concentration Increases within 2 Weeks in Healthy Senegalese Men Given Liquid Supplemental Zinc, but Not Zinc-Fortified Wheat Bread

Abstract

The responsiveness of plasma zinc concentration to zinc fortification is uncertain. Our objective in this study was to determine whether plasma zinc concentration changes in response to consuming zinc-fortified foods or liquid zinc supplements. We conducted a 4-wk double-blind, randomized trial among 132 healthy Senegalese men ≥ 18 y. Participants received 1 of 4 interventions: 1) (control) 200 g/d of wheat bread fortified with iron and folic acid, but not zinc, and a liquid multivitamin supplement without zinc between meals; 2) (zinc supplement) the same bread and the same multivitamin supplement with 15 mg zinc as ZnSO(4) added; 3) (moderate zinc fortification) the same bread cofortified with 7.5 mg zinc as ZnO and the same multivitamin supplement without zinc; or 4) (high zinc fortification) the same bread cofortified with 15 mg zinc as ZnO and the same multivitamin supplement without zinc. Fasting blood samples were collected twice at baseline and at d 15 and 29 of the intervention. There was no significant interaction between group and study day (P = 0.11). However, at d 15, the mean change in plasma zinc concentration in the zinc-supplemented group was greater than in the placebo and fortification groups ( 0.72 μmol/L vs. -0.09 to 0.03 μmol/L; P = 0.05). At d 29 there were no significant group-wise differences. Across all time points, the zinc-supplemented group was the only group where plasma zinc concentration increased from baseline (P = 0.006). These results suggest that plasma zinc concentration may not be a sufficiently sensitive indicator to evaluate short-term responses to zinc fortification.

Comparison of methods to assess adherence to small‐quantity lipid‐based nutrient supplements (SQ‐LNS) and dispersible tablets among young Burkinabé children participating in a community‐based intervention trial

“…Furthermore, the use of PDAs to collect these observations was challenging because of frequent malfunctions in the field, which resulted in some loss of data (corrupted files). Although the low level of observed supplement consumption is consistent with the level of change in PZC, this conclusion may only be valid for the group assigned to zinc tablets, because previous studies have found that PZC may not respond to additional zinc provided in food, despite the consistent positive response to supplements (Brown et al 2002Aaron et al 2011;Lo et al 2011).…”

“…Additionally, interactions with food and non‐linear dose–response relationships may influence the adherence estimates (Aaron et al . ; Lo et al . ).…”

Daily consumption of ready-to-use peanut-based therapeutic food increased fat free mass, improved anemic status but has no impact on the zinc status of people living with HIV/AIDS: a randomized controlled trial

“…This result suggested that either one RDA is not enough to cover the zinc requirement of PLWH, or the concentration of plasma zinc does not reflect zinc status during fortification contrary to zinc supplementation. In our laboratory, we have demonstrated that plasma zinc concentration increased in children and adults who received daily zinc supplementation for a short time but not in those who received a zinc-fortified food containing a similar amount of zinc [24, 49]. Also, Mocchegiani et al showed that zinc supplementation with 3 times the RDA increases significantly the plasma zinc of PLWH [21].…”

Iron, Zinc, Folate, and Vitamin B-12 Status Increased among Women and Children in Yaoundé and Douala, Cameroon, 1 Year after Introducing Fortified Wheat Flour

“…A recent review concluded that zinc added alone to foods may increase serum zinc, but zinc added with other micronutrients may have no effect on serum zinc (28). In controlled efficacy studies, plasma zinc did not respond to the consumption of zinc-fortified foods after 6 mo among children 6–8 mo of age in Peru (3 mg Zn/d) (29) and after 4 wk among men ≥18 y of age in Senegal (7.5 or 15 mg Zn/d) (30). However, serum zinc concentrations were greater after 24 and 36 mo among women in rural China whose families received wheat flour fortified with zinc and other nutrients than in women who received unfortified wheat flour (31).…”