Malabsorption of zinc in rats with acetic acid-induced enteritis and colitis

Acute intestinal inflammation was established in rats by intraluminal administration of acetic acid into loops of distal ileum, proximal jejunum or ascending colon. The study included two control groups of intact (untreated) rats and sham-operated (saline-treated) rats for each intestinal segment. A third group of rats received acetic acid. Histological evaluation demonstrated that acetic acid treatment induced a mild inflammatory response. Two days after treatment, zinc absorption was measured using ligated 10-cm loops of each segment in which 65Zn was injected intraluminally. 65Zn absorption by the ileum, jejunum and colon was markedly reduced in those rats in which inflammation was induced by acetic acid. The liver showed the highest uptake of radioisotope, but the relative tissue distribution generally followed the amount of absorption. The surgical procedure itself seemed to reduce zinc absorption. No changes in [3H]leucine absorption were observed between sham-operated and acetic acid-treated controls. There was no significant serosal-->luminal secretion of intramuscularly injected 65Zn in any of the studied segments. Therefore, based upon the data obtained, we conclude that acetic acid-induced intestinal inflammation reduces absorption of zinc by the small and large intestine, and that a surgical procedure (laparotomy) also reduces zinc absorption. The mechanism of this inflammation is such that malabsorption shows some specificity.