Comparison of Thymulin Activity with Other Measures of Marginal Zinc Deficiency

Activity of the immunoregulatory peptide thymulin reflects differences in zinc status. This study compared thymulin activity with four other zinc status measures in rats fed zinc at either 5 or 25 ppm. Rats fed the lower zinc showed the following results compared with rats with adequate zinc intake: serum thymulin activity 61% lower, serum zinc 31% lower, serum extracellular superoxide dismutase 18% lower, serum 5′-nucleotidase activity 26% lower, and liver metallothionein 28% lower. Thus, thymulin activities showed more sensitivity to restricted zinc intake than did four other parameters.