Effect of dietary tin on zinc, copper and iron utilization by rats

Abstract

Male, weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a diet containing 206 μg tin (as stannous chloride)/g feed for 21 days. The rats fed the test diet lost significantly more zinc in their faeces and retained significantly lower levels of zinc in their tibias and kidneys than rats fed the control diet (which contained 1 μg tin/g). The rats fed the tin-supplemented diet retained significantly higher levels of tin in their kidneys and tibias and significantly lower levels of copper in their kidneys than the control animals.