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Prenatal and Postnatal Development after Transitory Gestational Zinc Deficiency in Rats¹

Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, California 95616

The consequences of transitory maternal zinc deficiency during gestation on postnatal growth, survival, and zinc status of rats were investigated. Female rats fed a zinc-deficient diet between days 6 and 14 of pregnancy had markedly lowered plasma zinc levels during this period which quickly became normal after zinc supplementation. They gave birth to offspring reduced in weight and with a high incidence of congenital malformations. Many of the young were stillborn, and survival to weaning was poor, although postnatal growth of survivors was normal. None of these changes occurred in females restricted in food intake during the same period. After parturition the plasma zinc of the female rat increased markedly, and the milk contained about 10 times as much zinc as the blood plasma, Neonatal rats were found to have plasma zinc levels four times greater than those of adult rats. Concentrations of zinc in milk and in plasma of mothers or young after birth were unaffected by the dietary treatment during pregnancy so that postnatal zinc nutriture was normal. The poor survival of young born to females fed a zinc-deficient diet for a short period during pregnancy cannot therefore be attributed to inadequate postnatal zinc intake. Congenital abnormalities may be a factor; failure to suckle due to weakness at birth may also be involved.

KEY WORDS: • zinc • prenatal • postnatal • development • congenital defects • rats

¹ Supported in part by Public Health Service Research Grant no. HD-01743 from the National Institutes of Health.

² National Institutes of Health Predoctoral Fellow.

Manuscript received 31 July 1972.

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