The effects of oral zinc supplementation in the mouse

Toxicological Profile for Zinc

“…However, mice receiving 70 mg zinc/kg/day as zinc sulfate in the drinking water for 5-14 months had hypertrophy and increased granularity suggesting increased activity of the pituitary (Aughey et al 1977).…”

“…Oral exposure to high levels of zinc has caused anemia, decreased levels of HDL cholesterol, and pancreatic damage in humans (Black et al 1988;Chandra 1984;Chobanian 1981;Hooper et al 1980;Murphy 1970) and animals (Allen et al 1983;Aughey et al 1977;Drinker et al 1927d;Katya-Katya et al 1984;Klevay and Hyg 1973;Maita et al 1981;Straube et al 1980). The mechanisms involved in the pancreatic damage have not been elucidated.…”

“…resulting from zinc ingestion have been observed in rats (Maita et al 1981), mice (Aughey et al 1977;Maita et al 1981), cats (Drinker et al 1927d), ferrets (Straube et al 1980), sheep (Allen et al 1983, and birds (Kazacos and Van Vleet 1989;Lu et al 1990). In dogs (Drinker et al 1927d) and minks (Aulerich et al 1991), histological changes in the pancreas have not been observed at doses comparable to or higher than the dose levels that caused abnormalities in rats, mice, cats, ferrets, and sheep.…”

“…In 2-month-old C3H mice exposed to 70 mg zinc/kg/day as zinc sulfate, hypertrophy and vacuolation of the β-cells of the pancreatic islets were observed beginning after 3 months of exposure and become more severe by 12 months (Aughey et al 1977). The pancreatic islets secrete the hormones glucagon and insulin.…”

“…In mice receiving 70 mg zinc/kg/day as zinc sulfate in the drinking water, hypertrophy and increased lipid content of the zona fasciculata cells of the adrenal cortex were observed as early as 3 months after the start of zinc supplementation (Aughey et al 1977).…”