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Evaluation of Long-Term Toxicity of Oral Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Zinc Sulfate in Mice

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Abstract

The toxicological effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (nano-ZnOs) are related to their dissolution and interference with zinc ion homeostasis. High-soluble zinc sources may produce more severe and acute toxicity; however, the evaluation of potential toxicity of long-term exposure to nano-ZnOs and high-soluble sources of zinc remains obscure. This study aimed at evaluating effects of nano-ZnOs and zinc sulfate on development, serum and hematological parameters, and mineral concentrations in selected tissues and intestinal microbiota in mice via gastrointestinal administration for 7 weeks. Results indicated that 250 mg/kg nano-ZnOs reduced the body weight from weeks 8 to 11, increased serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase activity, and increased the zinc concentrations of the serum, liver, and kidney while did not affect the relative organ weight, intestinal microbiota, and other mineral concentrations (Fe, Cu, and Mn) in the kidney, liver, and thigh muscle. Oral administration with 250 mg/kg zinc sulfate seemed to show more severe and acute toxicity since mice in zinc sulfate group exhibited reduced body weight from weeks 5 to 11, decreased relative pancreas weight, and increased serum glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase activity and intestinal enteric group.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Hangzhou King Techina Technology Co., Ltd and by the Open Fund Project in Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Nutrition and Animal Health (Grant No. 2015js02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China

    Chao Wang, Kang Cheng, Le Zhou, Jintian He, Xiaochuan Zheng, Lili Zhang, Xiang Zhong & Tian Wang

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  1. Chao Wang
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Correspondence to Tian Wang.

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Experiments were approved and conducted under the supervision of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Nanjing Agriculture University, China.

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Wang, C., Cheng, K., Zhou, L. et al. Evaluation of Long-Term Toxicity of Oral Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Zinc Sulfate in Mice. Biol Trace Elem Res 178, 276–282 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-017-0934-1

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