Concurrent repletion of iron and zinc reduces intestinal oxidative damage in iron- and zinc-deficient rats

Table 1 Composition of the iron and zinc-deficient diet

Ingredient	Concentration g/kg diet
Egg albumin powder	220
Cornstarch	293
Sucrose	300
Cellulose	40
Peanut oil	70
Mineral mixture1	35
Vitamin mixture1	10
DL-methionine	4

¹Mineral and vitamin mixture were formulated according to AIN (1993), but mineral mixture was devoid of iron and zinc salts (4.0 mg Zn and 6.5 mg Fe/kg diet) during depletion and repletion.

Table 2 Iron and zinc status after concurrent depletion and repletion

Group	Hemoglobin (g/L)	Iron		Zinc
		Plasma (μmol/L)	Liver (μg/g)	Plasma (μmol/L)	Liver (μg/g)
-Fe - Zn	82.0a± 3.2	65.0a± 4.6	-	12.3a± 2.0	-
Fe	126.9b± 3.0	94.8b± 7.2	192.8a± 12.5	13.0a± 1.8	22.8a± 4.5
Zn	80.0a± 2.8	64.0a± 5.5	43.7b± 6.6	29.6b± 3.0	48.6b± 4.6
Fe + Zn	106.8c± 3.0	82.4c± 3.8	157.5c± 7.7	20.5c± 3.2	37.1c± 4.2

Iron and zinc deficient (-Fe-Zn) rats were administered 4.0 mg Fe and/or 3.3 mg Zn/day for 2 wk; Fe: Iron administered group; Zn: Zinc administered group; Fe + Zn: Iron and zinc administered group; Number of animals was 8 in each group. Values are mean ± SD; means with different superscripts are significantly different with P < 0.05.