• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.814-821
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to assess the maternal zinc status during pregnancy and to evaluate the relationship between the zinc concentration of maternal, umblical cord blood and placental tissue and pregnancy outcomes. Venous blood samples were drawn from 53 pregnant women just before delivery and the cord blood of their newborn babies was collected immediately after birth. In addition, placental tissues were extracted. We investigated the difference in the concentration of zinc in maternal, umbilical cord blood and placental tissue in two gestational age groups (preform delivery group [PT] and normal term delivery group [NT]) at 34.7 wk and 39.0 wk of mean gestational age, respectively). We also assessed correlations of the zinc concentration of maternal, umbilical cord blood and placental tissue. Lastly, we studied the correlations between the birth weights and the zinc concentration in the maternal, umbilical cord blood and placental tissue. The concentrations of maternal serum zinc and of umbilical cord serum zinc were significantly higher in the PT group (76.9$\pm$37.4 $\mu/dl$, 101.3$\pm$41.4 $\mu/dl$) than in those of the NT group (57.8$\pm$22.4 $\mu/dl$, 80.7$\pm$27.5 $\mu/dl$), respectively (p<0.05). The zinc concentration of the umbilical cord blood was significantly higher than that of the maternal blood in both groups (p<0.05). There was no significant correlation between the gestational age and the serum zinc concentration in the cord or the maternal serum. Our results showed that there was a negative relationship between the birth weight (r=-0.286) and the maternal serum zinc concentration. Despite there not being a significant difference, there was tendency for the highest concentrations of maternal serum zinc to be associated with the lowest birth weights. These findings support a possible relationship between the maternal zinc status and the pregnancy outcome, and suggest that zinc may play a role in the many biological processes involved in the successful outcome of a pregnancy.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.1022-1025
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• 2002

Effect of chemical stress of daily administration of glucocorticoid (dexamethasone @0.125 mg./calf/day) injections on plasma zinc levels, Zn status of body tissues and its distribution in sub cellular fractions, was studied in neonatal buffalo calves. Daily i/m injections of dexamethasone, starting at the completion of 1 week of age and continued till 8th week, led to a significant decline in plasma Zn concentration from 3rd week onwards, which then persisted throughout the rest of the experimental period. In control group, liver had the highest concentration of zinc, followed by heart, muscle, spleen, kidney and testis. In all these tissues, cytosolic fractions had the highest (>60%) zinc levels followed by nuclear, mitochondrial and microsomal fractions. In dexamethasone treated calves, there was a significant increase in the Zn uptake by the tissues of liver and muscle. This increase in zinc concentration was observed in all the sub cellular fractions of liver and muscle, however about 80% of this increase was in cytosolic fraction. It was concluded that glucocorticoid-induced stress caused increase in Zn levels of liver/muscles and decrease in blood plasma zinc, thus indicating a redistribution of Zn in body.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.117-126
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Vitamin D and zinc are recognized for their roles in immune-modulation, and their deficiencies are suggested to be important risk factors for childhood infections. This study, therefore, undertook to assess the occurrence of infections in rural Indian schoolchildren, subsequent to daily supplementation with vitamin D-calcium or zinc for 6 months. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in apparently healthy 6-12 year-old rural Indian children, recruited to 3 study arms: vitamin D arm (1,000 IU D3 - 500 mg calcium, n = 135), zinc arm (10 mg, n = 150) and placebo arm (n = 150). The infection status was assessed using a validated questionnaire, and the biochemical parameters of serum 25(OH)D and serum zinc were measured by ELISA and colorimetry, respectively. The primary outcome variable was occurrence of infections (upper respiratory and total infections). RESULTS: Serum 25(OH)D concentration in the vitamin D arm improved significantly by 34%, from 59.7 ± 10.9 nmol/L to 80 ± 23.3 nmol/L (P < 0.0001), but no improvement was observed for serum zinc concentration. While there was significant increase in the percentage of children reporting no or mild upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and total infections (TI) in all three groups, improvements in the supplemented groups were similar to the placebo group. However, the vitamin D arm reported lower URTI and TI status in the vitamin D sufficient versus insufficient children. Also, URTI and TI status were found to be significantly (P < 0.0001) lower in children with improved 25(OH)D versus unchanged 25(OH)D. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D-calcium supplementation helped to improve the vitamin D status but exerts no effect on the occurrence of infections when compared to the placebo group. Improvement in the serum 25(OH)D concentrations and attainment of vitamin D sufficiency may exert a beneficial effect on the infection status and needs to be investigated further. To evaluate the efficacy of zinc supplementation, higher dosages need to be administered in future studies.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.1270-1282
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• 1998

The purpose of this research is to compare the effdct of the new weekly iron supplementation on maternal iron and zinc nutritional status with the effect of the present daily iron supplementation. To assess the iron ad zinc status of rpegant women visiting public health center in Ulsan, interview for dietary survey and general aspect of each subject was given and biochemical analysis of blood and urine was performed. The study subjects were divided to two groups randomly, but the subjects whose Hgb level was very low were allocated in daily group ethically because theeffect of weekly supplementation was not yet established as safety. Daily group received 80mg elemental Fe(250mg Fe as ferrous sulfate) per day for 100days, while weekly group received 160mg elemental Fe once a week for 15 weeks. After treatement, Hgb(p<0.01), Hct(p<0.01) , serum iron(p<0.05) and serum ferritin(p<0.001) in weekly group but RBC, Hgb , Hct , serum iron and serum iron and serum ferritin increased slightly. After correction for the initial Hgb by including it in the MANIVA, the difference in treatment effects of Hgb and TIBC between groups was statistically significant. The effect of weekly vs, daily iron supplementation program on zinc status was also studied. The difference in treatment effect between two groups was, however, not sifnificant. It is concluded that once weekly rion supplementation program in pregnant women was less effectgive to improve the iron status than daily iron supplementation program. However, because the weekly dose prevented a decline in Hgb as well as in ferritin, itw effect was positive , given the fact that non-supplemented women almost always exhibit a sifnificant drop in Hgb values. It seems that it will improve the iron status well if the amount or frequency of supplements is to be adjusted . Biweekly supplementation of a different dose or antother type of iron supplement, such as through a gastric delivery system, might be better.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.83-87
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• 2004

To investigate the effects of dietary phytate reduction and zinc supplementation on biochemical iron parameters in elderly Korean women consuming inadequate iron, fifteen healthy women aged 64-75 years were recruited for a feeding study. A high-phytate diet (27.8 phytate:zinc molar ratio) was provided for 9 days, followed by a nine-day low-phytate diet(12.3) and a subsequent 28-day period of unregulated meals with zinc supplementation (22 mg/d as zinc gluconate). Serum iron increased significantly with the low-phytate diet (130.4 $\mu g$/L) but returned to the level observed during the high-phytate diet (113.0 $\mu g$ /L) period when subjects were taking zinc supplements (105.8 $\mu g$ /L). However, serum ferritin in the subjects decreased significantly with the low-phytate diet (73.8 $\mu g$ /L) as well as with zinc supplementation (57.2 $\mu g$ /L), compared to levels following consumption of the high-phytate diet (89.6 $\mu g$ /L). Transferrin receptor and transferrin saturation were unchanged with the treatments. In summary, zinc supplementation might result in deteriorated iron status in elderly Korean women who consume inadequate iron, while there was no significant effect from reducing dietary phytate.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.5043-5046
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• 2012

The role of Helicobacter pylori status and serum zinc value in gastric disease patients and healthy controls were investigated. Cases used in this work were 45 gastric cancer patients, 44 with peptic ulcers, 52 suffering gastritis and 64 healthy controls, all diagnosed histologically with the controls undergoing medical checkups. Helicobacter pylori status and serum levels of Zn were determined by 13C-urea breath test and flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer, respectively. Our study showed that Helicobacter pylori infection has no change in gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer group, on the contrast, serum levels of Zn were significantly reduced in gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer group, compared with healthy controls, and the higher the Zn levels are, the more increased risk of gastric cancer. Helicobacter pylori infection is a cause of gastritis, peptic ulcers and even gastric cancer, while serum zinc level is an indicator of protection of gastric membranes against damage.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.380-384
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• 2013

Zinc may participate in blood pressure regulation and in the pathogenesis of hypertension. The study examined the relationship between zinc status and blood pressure in obese Korean women. Forty obese women (body mass index (BMI) ${\geq}25kg/m^2$) aged 19-28 years participated in this study. Zinc intake was estimated from one 24 hour recall and 2-day diet records. Serum and urinary zinc concentrations were determined by atomic absorbance spectrophotometry. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured using an automatic sphygmometer. Metabolic variables, such as waist circumference, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, fasting glucose, and fasting insulin, were also measured. Dietary zinc intake of obese women was averagely 7.5 mg/day. Serum zinc and urinary zinc concentrations were $13.4{\mu}mol/L$ and $378.7{\mu}g/day$, respectively. Averages of SBP and DBP were 119 mmHg and 78 mmHg. Dietary zinc intake was negatively correlated with SBP after adjusting for energy intake (P < 0.05), but serum and urinary zinc concentrations were not found to be correlated with SBP or DBP. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that dietary zinc intake was inversely associated with SBP in obese women after adjusting for body weight, energy intake and sodium intake (P = 0.0145). The results show that dietary zinc intake may be an independent risk factor of elevated SBP in obese Korean women.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.325-330
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the obesity index and effect of dietary zinc and iron levels on serum trace minerals status in the high fat diet-induced obese rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to control and high fat diet groups. Ten weeks later, the control and high fat diet group were rearranged into six groups by zinc and iron levels. After 16 wk serum zinc, iron, copper and manganese was analyzed. Obesity index was significantly higher in the group fed high fat diet (20% lard) than that of control group (5% corn oil). Body fat content was 12.10$\pm$4.51g/100g BW in high fat diet group and 7.64$\pm$4.18g/100g BW in control group. So, the obese rats were successfully induced by high fat diet. The trace mineral concentration of obese rats in serum were affected by zinc levels. Serum zinc concentration was increased by dietary zinc overload, whereas the iron, copper and manganese were decreased. Specially the manganese concentration was significantly affected by zinc levels. In both groups, serum trace mineral concentration was not changed significantly by the dietary iron levels. There were positive correlations between zinc, iron and manganese concentration according to dietary zinc and iron levels.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.705-712
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• 1999

The purpose of this study was to assess the zinc and copper nutritional status of 102 college women by measuring zinc and copper intake, hematological parameters of zinc and copper, hair zinc and urinary excretion of zinc and copper. The mean zinc intake was 5.5mg(45.8% RDA) with food analysis and 4.5mg(37.8% RDA) with computation from food composition table. The copper intake with food analysis was 2.3mg and 1.2mg with computation. Mean serum zinc concentration was 77.02ug/dl and the proportion of subjects with zinc deficiency estimated by serum zinc(<70ug/dl)was 23.0%. Mean serum copper concentration was 121.80ug/dl and 4.1% of subjects showed serum copper less than 70ug/dl, The mean ceruloplasmin concentration was 22.63mg/dl and the proportion of subjects whose ceruloplasmin was lower than 18-40mg/dl was 6.6%. The mean hair zinc of subjects was 143.8ppm and the mean hair copper was 11.2ppm. The mean urinary excretion of zinc was 0.43mg/day and the proportion of subjects with marginal deficiency estimated by urinary zinc excretion( <0.3mg/day) was 23.3%. The mean urinary copper excretion was 0.044mg/day which was within the normal range(0.01-0.06mg/day). Assessing by zinc content in hair, urine and serum, 22.9-23.3% of college women had bordeline zinc deficiency or zinc deficiency. Whereas 4.1-6.6% of college women was assessed copper deficiency estimated by serum copper and ceruloplasmin.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.483-494
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• 1994

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of nutritional status on the cell-mediated and humoral immunity in female college students. The nutritional status of twenty subjects was determined by six-days food records, anthropometric measurements, and biochemical assessments of serum nutrients. Cell-mediated and humoral immunity of the subjects was analyzed by in vivo and in vitro assessments. The results were summerized as follows : First, The average daily energy intake was 1437Kcal(CHO : PRO : FAT = 61:13:26), which corresponds to 71.9% of RDA. Anthropometric measurements showed that 50% of the subjects was under-weight(BMI<20), only 5% was over-weight(25