Zinc supplement may be 'ineffective' in treating diarrhoea

Zinc supplements may not be effective at treating diarrhoea, new research has suggested.

A study led by the Lata Medical Research Foundation in India noted that treating the condition with zinc or zinc and copper provides no more positive results than placebo.

Published in the BMC Medicine Journal, Archana Patel from the foundation claimed that children tested in Nagpur, India had not benefitted from taking zinc supplements.

"The expected beneficial effects of zinc supplementation for acute diarrhoea were not observed. Therapeutic zinc or zinc and copper supplementation may not have a universal beneficial impact on the duration of acute diarrhoea in children," she said.

However, Ms Patel admitted that the results may not be accurate and is calling for further studies to be carried out.

"Different diarrhoea etiologies and the impact of interactions of zinc with multi-vitamins shown in previous studies may also explain the difference between our study and others that have shown a positive effect," she stated.

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