Aims: 

Zinc is essential for the normal growth and the reproduction (Frassinetti S., 2006). The role of zinc deficiency in gastrointestinal pathology is widely discussed. One of the main causes of stomach ulcer is acute and chronic stressing. We measured zinc content in stomach mucosa cells of rats with stomach lesions, induced by cold stress, during the recovering period.

Methods: 

Male rats (200-250g) of both control and experimental groups (n = 6), kept separately in controlled condition, were fasted for 24 h with water ad libitum. Animal experiments were carried out following the guidelines of the local ethics committee. Gastric lesions were provoked as described in (Biswas K., 2003). Zinc content was measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy. All of the data were expressed as the means ± S.E. The significance was calculated using One-Way ANOVA and "t"test in STATISTICA 5.0.

Results: 

A decrease in zinc content was observed immediately after stress and on 5th day after that (2.3 and 2.1 fold respectively, P < 0.05). In animals treated with Omeprazole (antiulcer drug, 0.8 mg/kg daily), zinc content dropped immediately after cold stress (1.6 times) and on 2^nd and 3^rd day after that (1.6 and 1.8 times respectively, P < 0.05). In unstressed animals Omeprazole injections caused a significant decrease in the parameter. The most pronounced decreases were observed on 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th days of treatment (1.9, 1.8 and 2.4 times respectively, P < 0.05).

Conclusion: 

These results suggest the involvement of zinc in recovering of gastric lesions.