Does zinc deficiency affect intestinal protein content or disaccharidase activity?

Zinc deficiency has been associated with impared carbohydrate absorption in patients with intestinal disease; however, it is not known whether the carbohydrate malabsorption is caused by the zinc abnormality. Because zinc is needed for protein synthesis, we investigated the effect of zinc deficiency on the total and specific activities of the intestinal glycoprotein disaccharidases. We found that zinc deficiency impairs total body growth and causes marked reductions in intestinal mucosal protein content and disaccharidase activity. However, the protein content and disaccharidase activities were reduced to a similar degree, and both were proportional to the final total body weight. We also found zinc deficiency to have no effect on intestinal villus height or crypt depth. We conclude that zinc deficiency inhibits somatic growth but does not disproportionately affect intestinal mucosal protein content, disaccharidase activity, or intestinal architecture.