Jean-Claude Tressol

Long-term moderate zinc supplementation increases exchangeable zinc pool masses in late-middle-aged men: the Zenith Study

BACKGROUND Zinc supplementation may be beneficial for health. Assessing exchangeable zinc pools may be a useful approach to evaluate zinc status. OBJECTIVE We evaluated the effects of long-term supplementation with 2 moderate doses of zinc on the mass of exchangeable zinc pools. DESIGN Three groups of healthy, late-middle-aged men (n = 16 per group) participated in a stable-isotope zinc kinetic study after 6 mo of daily supplementation with 0 (placebo), 15, or 30 mg Zn. At the end of the supplementation period, each subject received an intravenous injection of 0.89 mg (70)Zn, and the plasma zinc disappearance curve was monitored for the next 10 d. Two approaches were used to determine the characteristics of the exchangeable zinc pools: 1) formal 3-compartmental modeling and 2) a simplified determination of the total mass of the rapidly exchangeable zinc pool (EZP). RESULTS In the placebo group, the exchangeable zinc pool masses for the 3 considered pools were as follows: 2.15, 12.7, and 100.5 mg Zn. The rapidly exchangeable zinc pool mass in the placebo group was 143 mg Zn. Zinc supplementation significantly increased the exchangeable zinc pool masses regardless of the approach used to determine these pools. In addition, these data confirm that exchangeable zinc pool masses correlate positively with total zinc intake and negatively with subject age and do not correlate with plasma zinc concentrations. CONCLUSION Our data show that long-term supplementation with 2 moderate doses of zinc is an efficient way to increase exchangeable zinc pool masses in late-middle-aged men.

Effect of potassium salts in rats adapted to an acidogenic high-sulfur amino acid diet

Low-grade metabolic acidosis, consecutive to excessive catabolism of sulfur amino acids and a high dietary Na:K ratio, is a common feature of Western food habits. This metabolic alteration may exert various adverse physiological effects, especially on bone, muscle and kidneys. To assess the actual effects of various K salts, a model of the Westernised diet has been developed in rats: slight protein excess (20 % casein); cations provided as non-alkalinising salts; high Na:K ratio. This diet resulted in acidic urine (pH 5.5) together with a high rate of divalent cation excretion in urine, especially Mg. Compared with controls, K supplementation as KCl accentuated Ca excretion, whereas potassium bicarbonate or malate reduced Mg and Ca excretion and alkalinised urine pH (up to 8). In parallel, citraturia was strongly increased, together with 2-ketoglutarate excretion, by potassium bicarbonate or malate in the diet. Basal sulfate excretion, in the range of 1 mmol/d, was slightly enhanced in rats fed the potassium malate diet. The present model of low-grade metabolic acidosis indicates that potassium malate may be as effective as KHCO3 to counteract urine acidification, to limit divalent cation excretion and to ensure high citrate concentration in urine.

Dietary Protein Supplementation Increases Peak Bone Mass Acquisition in Energy-Restricted Growing Rats

Peak bone mass is a major determinant of osteoporosis pathogenesis during aging. Respective influences of energy and protein supplies on skeletal growth remains unclear. We investigated the effect of a 5-mo dietary restriction on bone status in young rats randomized into six groups (n = 10 per group). Control animals were fed a diet containing a normal (13%) (C-NP) or a high-protein content (26%) (C-HP). The other groups received a 40% protein energy-restricted diet (PER-NP and PER-HP) or a 40% energy-restricted diet (ER-NP and ER-HP). High-protein intake did not modulate bone acquisition, although a metabolic acidosis was induced and calcium retention impaired. PER and ER diets were associated with a decrease in femoral bone mineral density. The compensation for protein intake in energy-restricted conditions induced a bone sparing effect. Plasma osteocalcin (OC) and urinary deoxypyridinoline (DPD) assays revealed a decreased OC/DPD ratio in restricted rats compared with C animals, which was far more reduced in PER than in ER groups. Circulating IGF-1 levels were lowered by dietary restrictions. In conclusion, both energy and protein deficiencies may contribute to impairment in peak bone mass acquisition, which may affect skeleton strength and potentially render individuals more susceptible to osteoporosis.

Excess Casein in the Diet Is Not the Unique Cause of Low-Grade Metabolic Acidosis: Role of a Deficit in Potassium Citrate in a Rat Model

This study examined the effects of a dietary model of protein excess and K anion salt deficit on the occurrence of metabolic acidosis in rat. Rats were adapted to diets containing either 13 or 26% casein, together with mineral imbalance, through lowering K/increasing sodium/omitting alkalinizing anions. For each protein level, a group of rats was supplemented with K citrate. Dietary K citrate resulted in neutral urinary pH, whatever the protein level. Urea excretion was higher in rats adapted to 26% casein than 13% casein diets, but K citrate enhanced this excretion and suppressed ammonium elimination. No citraturia could be observed in acidotic rats, whereas K citrate greatly stimulated citraturia and 2-ketoglutarate excretion. In conclusion, low-grade metabolic acidosis can occur with a moderate protein level in the diet. K citrate was apparently less effective in rats adapted to the 26% casein level than in those adapted to the 13% casein level with regard to magnesium, citrate and 2-ketoglutarate concentrations in urine.