| Abstrakt: |
Maternal zinc deprivation from day 18 of gestation and/or throughout lactation was produced in order to study the development of certain brain enzymes in neonatal rats. Gestational-lactational zinc restriction resulted in reductions in pup body, whole brain, and cerebellar weights at birth and throughout the suckling period when compared with pups from dams fed a diet adequate in zinc yet restricted in the amount consumed. The concentration of glutamic dehydrogenase (GDH) was unchanged, and no differences in the concentration of brain zinc were detected. A significant reduction in 2′,3′-cyclic nucleotide 3′-phosphohydrolase (CNP) was found, which implied a delay in myelination. Zinc restriction only in the lactational period resulted in smaller changes. Body, brain, and cerebellar weights in deficient pups were lower during the suckling period when compared with pups from ad libitum-fed dams fed a zinc-adequate diet. These differences were not reversible after 7 weeks of consuming a zinc-adequate diet. However, no differences in brain or cerebellar weights, in the concentration of zinc, or the levels of the cerebellar enzymes superoxide dismutase, GDH, or CNP were found between the deficient pups and pups from dams pair-fed a diet adequate in zinc. The level of serum zinc, however, was one-half of that of the pair-fed group at 21 days of age. |
