Original article
English
Lutfi S Gariani 1 , Kaled. Elnageh 2, Nuria Elnageh 2, Mohamad Moafa 1, Ali Hawase 2, Ahmed Zaied 1.
1-Research laboratory, Tripoli Medical Centre 2-Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine Al-Fateh University Tripoli, Libya
JMJ 2010, Vol.10, No.2:133-135
Abstract
Copper and zinc are essential trace elements; they are cofactors for activation of many enzymes, their deficiency increases susceptibility to pathogens and causes impairment of growth and development during childhood. Diarrhoea is a very frequent illness in young children especially in developing countries, it has been reported that during acute and persistent diarrhoea, large amounts of trace elements including Cu and Zn are lost through the stools. In this preliminary assessment Cu and Zn serum levels were studied for the first time among Libyan children, in this study 50 serum samples of healthy children were collected at the laboratory of Al-Jala paediatric Hospital, Tripoli, Libya. The samples were analyzed using the Hitachi-Z2800 AAS apparatus, the mean value of serum copper concentration was 132.6 ± 46, while serum zinc concentration was 134.12 ± 19.6 μg/dl; the determined serum level values for both copper and zinc in the present study are in similar correlation with the values reported for other societies.
Keywords: Copper, Zinc, Libyan children, (AAS) Atomic Absorption Spectrometry.
Link/DOI: http://www.jmj.org.ly/images/stories/summer2010/133.pdf