Biography
Biography: Ananda S Prasad
Abstract
Essentiality of zinc for humans and its defi ciency was recognized in 1963. During the past 50 years, it has become apparentrnthat defi ciency of zinc in humans is prevalent. Nutritional defi ciency of zinc may aff ect nearly 2 billion subjects in therndeveloping world. Consumption of cereal proteins high in phytate decreases the availability of zinc for absorption. Conditionedrndefi ciency of zinc is also very common. Growth retardation, hypogonadism in males, rough skin, impaired immunity, neurosensoryrndisorder and cognitive impairment are some of the clinical manifestations of zinc defi ciency. Zinc is involved in manyrnbiochemical functions. Over 300 enzymes require zinc for their activation and nearly 2000 transcription factors require zinc forrngene expression. Zinc is essential for cell mediated immunity. Zinc is a second messenger of immune cells and intracellular zincrnin these cells participate in signaling events. Zinc is also an eff ective antioxidant and anti-infl ammatory agent. In therapeuticrndosages, zinc has been used for the treatment of acute diarrhea in infants and children, common cold, Wilson’s disease, sicklerncell disease and for prevention of blindness in patients with age related macular degeneration