Zinc absorption and leukocyte zinc in alcoholic and nonalcoholic cirrhosis

To determine if malabsorption of zinc contributes to the zinc deficiency found in cirrhosis, the absorption of an oral dose of ZnCl2, labeled with 65Zn and a nonabsorbed marker 51CrCl3, was determined from the ratio of these isotopes in a stool specimen. Average 65Zn absorption in 25 alcoholic cirrhotics, 37 +/- 17% (SD), was low compared to 55 +/- 16% in 31 healthy volunteer controls (P less than 0.01). In contrast, mean 65Zn absorption, 47 +/- 11%, in 11 nonalcoholic cirrhotics was not significantly different from the average result in healthy controls. Low 65Zn absorption was accompanied by low leukocyte zinc in a subgroup of alcoholic cirrhotics with ascites and/or ascites and encephalopathy, but not in the subgroup in which these clinical features were absent. Thus, low zinc absorption contributes to zinc deficiency in decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis. The failure to find similar abnormalities in nonalcoholic cirrhosis suggests that the long-standing consumption of alcoholic beverages contributes to the malabsorption of zinc.