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Molecular Localization of Zinc in Rat Milk and Neonatal Intestine¹

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

The molecular localization of zinc in rat milk and pup intestine was determined by gel chromatography. Commercial gels were found to give low recoveries of zinc and also caused anomalous elution patterns. Treatment of the gel with sodium borohydride corrected these problems. With treated gels, all of the zinc in rat milk eluted with high molecular weight proteins (MW 30,000). In neonatal intestine, zinc eluted in two major peaks with molecular weights 30,000 and 6,000–8,000, respectively. However, incubating intestinal homogenates at 37° for 30 minutes produced a redistribution of zinc with a new major low molecular weight (1,500) peak. These results demonstrate the importance of sample preparation and chromatographic conditions when studying trace element ligands and also suggest that rat milk is not analogous to human milk in regard to zinc binding.

KEY WORDS: • Milk • zinc binding • trace element gel chromatography • ligand

¹ Supported in part by NIH Research grants HD-07143 and HD-12547 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. National Research Award DE-07001, from the National Institute of Dental Research, NIH.

Manuscript received 11 July 1980.