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Maternal Dietary Zinc, and Development and Zinc, Iron, and Copper Content of the Rat Fetus^{1, 2, 3 ,}

Department of Foods and Nutrition, College of Human Development, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania

High levels (0.2 and 0.4%) of zinc were fed to adult female rats beginning at either 0-day age of the fetus or 21 days before breeding to study the development and iron, copper, and zinc status of the 15- to 20-day-old fetus. Growth reduction in terms of dry matter or variable degrees of death and resorption occurred in fetuses from mothers fed 0.4% zinc; 100% resorption occurred in the 15- and 16-day-old fetus of mothers fed 0.4% zinc beginning at 21 days before breeding. Fetal development was normal in the fetus of mothers fed 0.2% zinc beginning at 21 days before breeding. No external anatomical malformations were observed in the fetus from zinc-fed mothers. Total zinc and concentration of zinc were significantly higher in the 15- to 20-day-old fetus of mothers fed 0.4% zinc. No significant elevation of zinc occurred in the fetus from mothers fed 0.2% zinc. Reduced total iron and concentration of iron was the trend found in the fetus from mothers fed excess zinc; the reduction was significant only in the 16- and 18-day-old fetus from mothers fed 0.4% zinc beginning at 0-day age of the fetus. Liver iron was not reduced in the 18-day-old fetus; the decrease in the fetus, therefore, was a reflection of the significant reduction of body iron. Copper was significantly reduced in the fetus from zinc-fed mothers except the 15- and 16-day-old fetus from mothers fed 0.4% zinc beginning at 0-day age of the fetus. No significant change was found in maternal liver, but trends showed liver iron to be increased in mothers fed 0.4% zinc for 15 and 16 days and decreased with the other zinc regimens. With the exception of mothers fed 0.4% zinc for 15 days of fetal age, copper content in the liver was significantly reduced by all zinc regimens.

² This investigation was supported by Public Health Service Research Grant no. HD-02103 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

³ Presented in part before the 51st Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Chicago, 1967. A portion of this paper was taken from a thesis submitted by the senior author to the Graduate School, Pennsylvania State University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.

Manuscript received 22 January 1968.

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