Abstract
Background and Purpose: Zinc deficiency is associated with multiple clinical complications, including taste disturbance, anorexia, growth retardation, skin changes, and hypogonadism. We investigated the zinc-deficiency-induced morphologic changes in the vallate taste buds of weanling and young adult male Wistar rats. Methods: A total of 24 weanling and 30 young adult rats were used. Each age group was further divided into a control group fed a zinc-adequate (50 ppm) diet, a zinc-deficient (<1 ppm) diet group, and a zinc-adequate pair-fed group who were fed the same amount of food as that taken by the zinc-deficient group. Weanling rats were fed for 4 weeks and young adult rats were fed for 6 weeks. The morphometry and morphologic changes of vallate taste buds were analyzed using light and transmission electron microscopy. Results: Light microscopy revealed no significant difference in papilla size and morphology among the various groups. In both weanling and young adult rats in the zinc-deficient diet and pair-fed groups, the number of taste buds per papilla (per animal) and the average profile area of the taste bud were significantly smaller than those of the corresponding controls (p
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 326-335 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of the Formosan Medical Association = Taiwan yi zhi |
| Volume | 100 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Publication status | Published - 2001 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Electron microscopy
- Taste buds
- Zinc deficiency
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)