Impact of dams diet on the levels of magnesium and zinc in the incisors of offspring rats

Diet affects the concentration of nutrients in the body, including bones and teeth. Zinc and mag-nesium play many important roles in the organism. The aim of the study was to assess the levels of zinc and magnesium in the incisors of the offspring rats whose dams were fed with different diets through-out gestation and lactation period. After the in vivo phase, when dams were fed with different diets, the offspring rats were sacrificed and their incisors collected. Magnesium and zinc levels were assessed us-ing atomic absorption spectrometry. The concentration of the latter element did not differ significantly between the offspring rats whose dams were either on the standard diet or on one of three special diets. Higher levels of magnesium were found in the teeth of the male offspring rats (sacrificed either on the 28th or 70th postnatal day) and in the teeth of the female ones (sacrificed on the 70th postnatal day) whose dams had been fed with the high-fat diet compared to t he rats whose dams were on the standard diet. It can be presumed that the dams’ diet affects the level of nutrients in the offspring rats’ teeth. The cause of this phenomenon needs to be clarified.