COMPARISON OF THERAPEUTIC EFFICACY OF TOPICAL CORTICOSTEROID AND ORAL ZINC SULFATE-TOPICAL CORTICOSTEROID COMBINATION IN THE TREATMENT OF VITILIGO AT KMCH, KATIHAR, BIHAR

Background : Vitiligo is the most prevalent pigmentary disorder which occurs worldwide, with an incidence rate between 0.1-4 percent. It is anticipated that the discovery of biological pathways of vitiligo pathogenesis with provide novel therapeutic and prophylactic targets for future approaches to the treatment and prevention of vitiligo. The purposes of this study were evaluating the efficacy of supplemental zinc on the treatment of vitiligo. Methods : This randomized clinical trial was conducted for a period of one year. Thiry five patients among 86 participatnts were eligible to entrance to the study. The patients in two equal randomized groups took topical corticosteroid and comination of oral zinc sulfate-topical corticosteroid. Results : The of responses in the corticosteroid group and the zinc sulfat-corticosteroid combination group were 21.43% and 24.7% respectively. Conclusion : Although, the response to corticosteroid plus zinc sulfate was more than corticosteroid, there was no statistically significant difference between them. It appeared that more robust long-term randomized controlled trials on more patients, may be with higher doses of zinc sulfate, are needed to fully establish the efficacy of oral zinc in management of vitiligo.

Efficacy of l-glutamic acid, N,N-diacetic acid to improve the dietary trace mineral bioavailability in broilers

Trace minerals are commonly supplemented in the diets of farmed animals in levels exceeding biological requirements, resulting in extensive fecal excretion and environmental losses. Chelation of trace metal supplements with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) can mitigate the effects of dietary antagonists by preserving the solubility of trace minerals. Lack of EDTA biodegradability, however, is of environmental concern. l-Glutamic acid, N,N-diacetic acid (GLDA) is a readily biodegradable chelating agent that could be used as a suitable alternative to EDTA. The latter was tested in sequential dose–response experiments in broiler chickens. Study 1 compared the effect of EDTA and GLDA in broilers on supplemental zinc availability at three levels of added zinc (5, 10, and 20 ppm) fed alone or in combination with molar amounts of GLDA or EDTA equivalent to chelate the added zinc, including negative (no supplemental zinc) and positive (80 ppm added zinc) control treatments. Study 2 quantified the effect of GLDA on the availability of native trace mineral feed content in a basal diet containing no supplemental minerals and supplemented with three levels of GLDA (54, 108, and 216 ppm). In study 1, serum and tibia Zn clearly responded to the increasing doses of dietary zinc with a significant response to the presence of EDTA and GLDA (P < 0.05). These results are also indicative of the equivalent nutritional properties between GLDA and EDTA. In study 2, zinc levels in serum and tibia were also increased with the addition of GLDA to a basal diet lacking supplemental trace minerals, where serum zinc levels were 60% higher at the 216 ppm inclusion level. Similar to the reported effects of EDTA, these studies demonstrate that dietary GLDA may have enhanced zinc solubility in the gastrointestinal tract and subsequently enhanced availability for absorption, resulting in improved nutritional zinc status in zinc-deficient diets. As such, GLDA can be an effective nutritional tool to reduce supplemental zinc levels in broiler diets, thereby maintaining health and performance while reducing the environmental footprint of food-producing animals.

PSII-19 Effect of zinc and chromium supplementation on performance and carcass characteristics in feedlot steers

One hundred and sixty-five crossbred steers were used in this experiment to investigate the influence of supplemental zinc (Zn) and chromium (Cr) on performance and carcass characteristics of feedlot steers fed steam-flaked corn-based finishing diet. Steers were blocked by initial BW (518.9 ± 8.4 kg) within cattle source (2 sources) and housed in pens containing 6–7 steers per pen. Pens within blocks were randomly assigned to treatments in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement, with factors being: 30 or 90 mg of Zn/kg DM and 0.0 or 0.25 mg Cr/kg DM. Treatments consisted of: 1) 30 mg Zn/kg DM; 2) 90 mg Zn/kg DM; 3) 30 mg Zn + 0.25 mg Cr/kg DM; and 4) 90 mg Zn/kg + 0.25 mg Cr/kg DM. Zinc was supplemented as ZnSO4 and Cr supplemented as Cr propionate. Steers were individually weighted on 2 consecutive days prior to initiating dietary treatment and on 2 consecutive days at the end of the experiment. Dietary treatment were initiated 64 days prior to slaughter (total days on feed = 240). All cattle were transported to a commercial abattoir on the same day and slaughtered. Steers receiving supplemental Cr had greater final BW (P < 0.02) and ADG (P < 0.03) when compared to non-Cr supplemented steers. Additionally, hot carcass weight (P < 0.005) and marbling score (P < 0.03) were greater (P < 0.005) for steers receiving 30 mg Zn/kg DM + 0.25 mg Cr/kg DM when compared with all other treatments. Dry matter intake, morbidity and mortality, and all the other carcass measurements were similar across treatments. These data indicate that under the conditions of this experiment, Zn and Cr supplementation may influence feedlot cattle growth and carcass characteristics.

Effect of Zinc Source and Exogenous Enzymes Supplementation on Zinc Status in Dogs Fed High Phytate Diets

Zinc is an essential element, a cofactor of many enzymes, and performs catalytic, structural and regulatory functions. Once in the gastrointestinal tract, zinc can interact with food constituents. Phytic acid, the major phosphorus storage in plants, limits zinc availability from animal feeds due to the formation of insoluble complexes with phytates. This study tested the effect of supplemental zinc source (zinc sulfate and a chelate zinc proteinate) and the addition of exogenous enzymes from a solid-state fermentation product of Aspergillus niger to a high phytate diet. The study was designed according to three Latin Squares 4 × 4 with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments, with four periods, four diets, and 12 young adult Beagles. Periods lasted 5 weeks each. Diets were supplemented with 75 mg/kg of zinc sulfate (IZ) or zinc proteinate (OZ), and without or with 200 mg/kg of exogenous enzymes (IZ+, OZ+). Results showed that zinc proteinate increased the bioavailability of phosphorus, yet the zinc biomarkers remained unaffected by the zinc source, with the exception of lymphocyte subsets that benefit from zinc proteinate. The use of exogenous enzymes did not affect zinc availability nor nutrient and energy digestibility.