Effect of intragastric pH on the absorption of oral zinc acetate and zinc oxide in young healthy volunteers.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Zinc and Zinc Oxide.

The objectives of this 2-way 4-phase crossover study were to evaluate the effect of high (> or = 5) and low (< or = 3) intragastric pH on the absorption of zinc from the acetate and oxide salt in young healthy volunteers.

Why It Was Studied

Zinc is an important nutrient and is necessary to maintain a multitude of physiologic processes.

Although there are several zinc salts available, they are not equal in solubility, which is thought to be a key factor in zinc absorption.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 10 subjects taking part.

The age groups tagged for this paper are teenagers and adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized and crossover study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Zinc and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Each person switched between Zinc and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

In all phases, a Heidelberg capsule pH detector-transmitter was used to continuously monitor intragastric pH.

Intragastric pH < or = 3 was maintained in the low pH phases.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Absorption, Acetates, Acetic Acid, Analysis of Variance, Circadian Rhythm, Gastric Mucosa and Hydrogen-Ion Concentration.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and crossover study of Zinc and Zinc Oxide in 10 subjects.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Its findings take up roughly 6 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 1996 (JPEN. Journal of parenteral and enteral nutrition), a journal based in United States.

More context: the related Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc library page, all human trials.