As. Rahman et al., IRON, ZINC, AND COPPER LEVELS IN DIFFERENT TISSUES OF CLINICALLY VITAMIN-A-DEFICIENT RATS, Biological trace element research, 49(1), 1995, pp. 75-84
To clarify the effect of vitamin A deficiency on iron, zinc, and coppe
r status in different tissues, three groups of rats were fed two types
of synthetic diets for 52 d. Group one, which was fed a vitamin A-def
icient diet, showed severe signs of vitamin A deficiency. Groups two (
fed restricted amount, pair-fed with group one), and three (fed diet a
d libitum) were fed a control diet. After said period of feeding, iron
, zinc, and copper were measured in different tissues. Significant cha
nges observed when the groups were compared are summarized below: 1. I
ron and copper in testes were increased significantly, whereas zinc wa
s strikingly decreased in group one when compared with the other group
s; 2. Copper (in lung and kidney) and iron (in the spleen) were increa
sed significantly in group one compared with the other groups; 3. In t
he liver, iron, zinc, and copper were significantly different between
group one and group two; 4. In muscle, iron was significantly higher i
n group one than group two; 5. In tibia and blood, iron levels (but no
t zinc and copper) in groups one and two were significantly higher tha
n group three. These results suggest that vitamin A deficiency affects
iron, zinc, and copper status in rats.