adult normal value and deficiency percentage of serum zinc in both sexes iraqi healthy population, using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (aas)

The essential trace elements were very significant for the life of humans, and the imbalance in blood serum lead to so serious diseases. in this study, zinc (zn) has been measured in the serum of  2005 samples (1305 male and 700 female) apparently healthy iraqi persons aged 20-70 years using a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (faas). the mean concentration of zn was (0.96 – 1.12 mg ml^-1) in males and slightly lower (0.8 – 1.02 mg ml^-1) in females. the concentration of zinc was slightly increased by age, especially in the groups of 31-40 years, and slightly reduced in the group of 51-61 years. the concentration of zinc in all groups of the study seems to be stable. the study showed that there is a deficiency in zn value (zn concentration below 0.5 mg ml^-1) in the male and females healthy populations by 22.9% and 18.85%, respectively.