Monday May 30, 2016 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study again confirms that ingestion of zinc oxide can be harmful for our health.  Zinc oxide in the form of nanoparticles is commonly used as a supplemental nutrient in foods, dietary supplements and as a UV barrier in sunscreen products.

The study shows that short term exposure (seven to 96 hours) to zinc oxide nanoparticles at different concentrations causes adverse physiological response and long term exposure (six to 30 days) led to structural changes in the liver of zebrafish.

For the study, zebrafish was exposed to zinc oxide nanoparticles at different concentrations (from .05 to 50 mg/l) for 4, 24 and 96 hours to test the possible acute toxicity of the nanoparticles.  Zebrafish was also exposed to nanoparticles for up to 30 days to evaluate its effect on the structure of the liver.

It was observed that biomarkers such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), and catalase (CAT) in the liver of zebrafish changed after exposure to zinc oxide nanoparticles indicating that exposure to zinc oxide increases oxidative stress.  It was also found that exposure to zinc oxide causes detrimental structural changes in the liver of zebrafish.  (David Liu)

Liu L, Zhao QF, Jin KX, Zhu SQ, Wang XF, Lü JY.  [Toxic Effect of Nano-ZnO in Liver of Zebrafish].  Huan Jing Ke Xue. 2015 Oct;36(10):3884-91.

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