Whole-body retention and fetal uptake of 65Zn in pregnant mice fed a Zn-deficient diet.

Whole-body retention and fetal uptake of 65Zn under a Zn-deficient diet were studied in pregnant mice in the late gestational stage after a single oral administration of 65Zn. Whole-body retentions were much greater in mice given a Zn-deficient diet than in those given a Zn-normal diet. Accordingly, the amount of 65Zn transmitted to the offspring in utero was greater in the Zn-deficient diet group. In another experiment, fetal uptake of 65Zn in dams on gestation day 17 was examined over a period of 24 hr after a single intravenous administration of 65Zn to the Zn-deficient and Zn-normal animals. There was no major difference in fetal uptake between the two groups, indicative that approximately a similar proportion of the 65Zn retained in the maternal body was transmitted to the in utero offspring in both groups.