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ABSTRACT
The effects of ingested Al on the essential metals were investigated using mice. Animals were divided into 4 groups: 1) Control, 2) Al, 3) EtOH and 4) Al+EtOH groups. Powdered commercial food, containing 1.26% P, 1.36% Ca, 70ppm Zn, 15ppn Cu,200ppm Fe and 3.1ppm Al, was used to prepare the diets. For Al-treated groups, AL(A1Cl3) was added to powdered food at a concentration of 4000ppm. The co-existing effect of EtOH which is known to affect the essential metals, was also investigated as a possible modulater of A1 toxicity at a concentration of 5% for 22 days, followed by 10 for 36 days in the drinking water.
After 58 days feeding with food containing Al and / or EtOH containing water, the A1 effects on serum and femur P and Ca were found to be slight except for a significant decrease of serum P concentration in the Al+EtOH group. In this group, femur weight was less and femur A1 concentration was more compared with the A1 group. The effects on Fe and Cu were little.
We observed a significant decrease of serum Zn concentration with 4000ppm A1 diet in both the Al-treated groups. The fact that serum ALPase activity, a Zn enzyme, increased in disregard of a significant decrease of serum Zn concentration suggested the enzyme release from injures tissues.
It is noticiable that a significant decrease of serum zn concentration was observed when dietary Zn was suficient. It is reported that the dietary intake of Zn is under the recommended allowance for many people. Since A1 compounds are widely used as drugs, food additives and a conditioned latent Zn deficiency is rather common in human diseases, the effects of A1 on the Zn metabolism are to be investigated further.