Abstract
This experiment was conducted to study the effects of dietary zinc and ethanol on the mineral contents of serum and changes of the liver tissue. Eighty male rats of Sprague-Dawley strain with average weight of 80$\pm$5g were divided into five groups according to zinc levels(5ppm and 100ppm), ethanol and isocaloric sucrose feedings. The rats were sacrificed after 4 and 7 weeks of feeding periods. The results are summarized as follows. 1. There was a decrease of weight gain in the ZD group compared with the C group and also decreased in the CE and ZDE groups fed the ethanol solution. The feed intake was decreased in the ZD and ZDE groups, and the feed efficiency was also greatly reduced in the ZDE group. 2. The liver weight of the ZD and ZDE groups was increased, however, the weight of testis was decreased in the same groups. And the weight of spleen was decreased in the ZD group. 3. The AST and ALT activities of serum were significantly increased in the ZDE group. 4. The content of serum zinc was influenced by the dietary zinc level, and the amount was significantly decreased in the ZD group. But the content of serum copper was remarkably increased in the ZD grou. The calcium and magnesium contents of serum were decreased in the ZD and ZDE groups. 5. The morphological changes of the liver tissue were not different among the C, CE and PF groups, but the abllooning denaturation of the liver cell together with the infiltration of the local inflammation cell was found in ZD and ZDE groups.
