INTESTINAL ZINC ABSORPTION IN DESFERROXAMINE-TREATED RATS

Desferroxamine (Desferal) is used tochelate iron in thalassemia, a disease of very high prevalence in various parts of lran. We have investigated intestinal zinc absorption in Desferal-treated rats which, in pilot experiments, showed low serum levels of both iron and zinc. Intraperitoneal administration of ten 0.5 g doses of Desferal (one injection every other day) to male rats produced severe iron deficiency accompanied by lower plasma zinc levels. An oral dose of 0.4 mg zinc sulfate, given to Desferal-treated rats, resulted in a higher increase in mucosal zinc absorption after 2 hours compared to normal controls. Similar results were obtained when the oral dose contained 0.4 mg each of ferrous sulfate and zinc sulfate. This suggests that the presence of iron has no effect on intestinal zinc absorption with the dose employed in this study. Zinc absorption increased with an oral zinc dose given to normal rats while iron absorption did not increase with an oral iron plus zinc dose given to normal rats, suggesting the absence of a regulatory mechanism for zinc absorption, similar to the one known to exist for iron absorption.