ABSTRACT
Interactions between zinc and drugs are important from two points of view. First, zinc deficiency in rats is associated with slower drug metabolism by the liver. The immediate outcome is a longer half-life of drugs such as anesthetics. The successful outcome of surgery conducted under general anesthetic may therefore depend on the individual's zinc status. Second, many drugs chelate zinc. In some instances this may be desirable, but more often than not this is an unwanted side effect, example, for diuretics and anticancer drugs. The examples given are of the commoner drugs known to affect zinc metabolism. A biphasic effect would appear to be operative in which both zinc deficiency and zinc excess inhibit microsomal mixed-function oxidases involved in drug metabolism. This is a potentially significant area of research into the metabolic functions of zinc which deserves further research. The anticancer drugs, methotrexate and 6-mercaptopurine, have been reported to decrease appetite and cause dermal lesions preventable with supplemental zinc.
