Influence of Zinc on Innate Immune System in Kids

The experiment was conducted to determine the effect of adequate zinc level supplementation (inorganic versus organic form) on the innate immune response of kids. The count of white blood cells, leukocyte differential count, phagocytic activity, and phagocytic index (as markers of the immune functions) were determined. Phagocyticic activity was not significantly higher in the inorganic-zinc-treated group in comparison to the control (64.7±8.91 vs 61.2 ± 9.15 %). The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by goat’s blood neutrophils was detected by luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence (CL). CL was performed to determine integral CL, peak CL, and peak-time after addition of calcium ionophore A23187 (Cal-I), opsonised zymosan (OZP), and phorbol12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). A significant ROS increase reflected in peak CL (P≤0.05) was found in the lactate–Zn-treated group when Ca-I was used as activator. In the same group there was a significant integral CL increase (P≤0.05) when we used Ca-I as activator. Others parameters showed no significant changes.