Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 March 2007
1. The feasibility of intrinsically labelling poultry meat with the stable isotopes 68Zn and 70Zn was investigated.
2. Chickens (I-d-old) were gavaged with solutions of 68Zn and 70Zn several times over a 42 d period.
3. Isotopic analysis of edible tissues has shown that they were significantly enriched with respect to the gavaged isotope and that the extent of isotopic enrichment achieved was sufficient to permit their use in human feeding experiments designed to investigate availability of native Zn from such food models.
4. The absolute efficiency of retention of the stable isotopes from gavage solutions in the edible tissues has been calculated to be 2–3%.of the administered dose; methods have been suggested to enhance this value, based on considerations of utilization of dietary Zn.