Effects of dietary tin on tin and calcium metabolism of adult males.

The effects of dietary tin on tin and calcium metabolism were determined in eight adult males. Subjects were fed mixed diets containing 0.11 mg tin daily (control diet) and 49.67 mg tin daily (test diet) for 20 days each in a cross-over design. The level of tin in the control diet was typical of the level of tin found in diets that contained only fresh and frozen foods; the level of tin in the test diet was typical of the amount of tin in diets that contained several servings of certain canned foods. Subjects apparently absorbed 3 and 50% of their dietary tin intake when fed the test and control diets, respectively. Subjects lost significantly more tin in their urine, but retained significantly more tin when fed the test diet rather than the control diet. The fecal and urinary losses and serum levels of calcium were not affected by the dietary treatments.