Measurement of zinc absorption from meals: comparison of extrinsic zinc labeling and independent measurements of dietary zinc absorption.

BACKGROUND: Extrinsic labeling techniques are typically used to measure fractional absorption of zinc (FAZ(extrinsic)) but none have been adequately evaluated.
OBJECTIVE: To compare determination of the quantity of zinc absorbed (TAZ(extrinsic)) using measurements of FAZ(extrinsic) with results of simultaneous determinations of dietary zinc absorbed (TAZ(metabolic)) that are not dependent on labeling ingested food with an extrinsic tracer (modified metabolic balance technique).
DESIGN: (70)Zn was administered orally with all meals for 6 consecutive days to 21 healthy, free-living adult women consuming a constant diet. (68)Zn and (67)Zn were administered intravenously. FAZ(extrinsic) was measured using a dual isotope tracer ratio technique and multiplied by dietary zinc to give TAZ(extrinsic). TAZ(metabolic) was determined by addition of net absorption of zinc and endogenous fecal zinc, the latter determined by an isotope dilution technique.
RESULTS: TAZ(extrinsic) and TAZ(metabolic) were 3.0 +/- 1.1 mg/day and 3.1 +/- 1.1 mg/day respectively, paired t-test p = 0.492. The correlation coefficient for TAZ(extrinsic) and TAZ(metabolic) was 0.91, and for FAZ(extrinsic) and FAZ(metabolic) was 0.95. A Bland Altman analysis indicated a bias of 0.07, and the limits of agreement of -0.86 to 1.01 for TAZ(extrinsic) and TAZ(metabolic).
CONCLUSION: These results from two independent methods provide reasonable validation of our extrinsic labeling technique for a wide range of composite diets.