Relationship between gastric levels and antiulcerogenic activity of zinc.

The relationship between the absorption of an organic zinc salt, zinc acexamate, and its antiulcerogenic activity in a model of cold-restraint stress was studied. Serum and gastric levels of zinc, as well as its antiulcerogenic effect, were determined after oral or intravenous administration of zinc acexamate. Cytochemical and X-ray microanalysis techniques were also applied. In the rats subjected to cold-restraint stress, gastric levels of zinc correlated with the antiulcerogenic effect observed after administration of zinc acexamate. However, it was not possible to establish a relationship between serum levels and the pharmacologic effect of zinc. Our results in animals subjected to regular diet indicate that the antiulcerogenic effect exhibited by zinc compounds could be associated with the presence of zinc at different levels of gastric tissue.