Moderately High Dose Zinc Gluconate or Zinc Glycinate: Effects on Plasma Zinc and Erythrocyte Superoxide Dismutase Activities in Young Adult Women

Some zinc (Zn) research studies have used either Zngluconate or Zn glycinate, but the two forms have not been compared much. Therefore, a moderately high dose of the two forms (60 mg Zn/day) were compared in a 6-week intervention in young adult women. Plasma Zn, the traditional assessment of Zn status, was increased in all subjects given Znglycinate (N=10), while no significant change was seen overall for Zn gluconate or placebo (N=10 each). Erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activity, a marker for Zn-induced copper deficiency, was unchanged in all three groups. Thus, for the conditions of this study, Zn glycinate effectively changed Zn status better than Zn gluconate, but neither impacted copper status.