Source: FDA, National Drug Code (US) Revision Year: 2023
Zinc is an essential trace element. Zinc functions as a cofactor of various enzymes including DNA polymerases, RNA polymerases, alcohol dehydrogenase, and alkaline phosphatases. Zinc is a coordinator of protein structural folding, such as folding of “Zinc finger” motif that interacts with a variety of proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. In addition, zinc is a catalyst of essential biochemical reactions, including activation of substrates of carbonic anhydrase in erythrocyte. Also, zinc is a signaling mediator modulating multiple signaling pathways.
Zinc sulfate exposure-response relationships and the time course of pharmacodynamic responses are unknown.
Over 85% of total body zinc is found in skeletal muscle and bone. Other organs containing zinc are the liver, kidney, skin, brain, and heart. In blood, zinc is mainly localized within erythrocytes. Approximately 80% of serum zinc is bound to albumin and the remainder to alpha2-macroglobulin and amino acids.
In adults, zinc is primarily excreted via the gastrointestinal tract and eliminated in the feces.
A smaller amount of zinc is excreted via the kidneys in the urine. Urinary zinc excretion rates in very low birth weight preterm infants are relatively high in the neonatal period, and they decline to a level on a body weight basis that is similar to that of normal adults by two months of age. Additionally, endogenous zinc loss occurs from hair, skin desquamation and sweat.
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