http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S089990079680058XZinc status and serum testosterone levels of healthy adults Ananda S. Prasad, MD, PHDCorresponding author contact information, a, b, c,
Chris S. Mantzoros, MDa, b, c,
Frances W.J. Beck, PHDa, b, c,
Joseph W. Hess, MDa, b, c,
George J. Brewer, MDa, b, c
Dietary zinc restriction in normal young men was associated with a significant decrease in serum testosterone concentrations after 20 weeks of zinc restriction (baseline versus post-zinc restriction mean ± SD, 39.9 ± 7.1 versus 10.6 ± 3.6 nmol/L, respectively; p = 0.005). Zinc supplementation of marginally zinc-deficient normal elderly men for six months resulted in an increase ins erum testosterone from 8.3 ± 6.3 to 16.0 ± 4.4 nmol/p (p = 0.02). We conclude that zinc may play an important role in modulating serum testosterone levels in normal men.