Table 2.

The intake of zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) with diet in particular experimental groups ^1,2.

Group	Experiment Duration
	3 Months	10 Months	17 Months	24 Months
Zn Intake (mg/kg b.w./24 h)
Control	16.596 ± 0.097	6.931 ± 0.201 **	6.345 ± 0.064 **	7.149 ± 0.069 **
AE	16.710 ± 0.265	7.037 ± 0.063 **	6.191 ± 0.117 **	7.138 ± 0.126 **
Cd1	16.282 ± 0.336	7.001 ± 0.015 **	6.361 ± 0.027 **	7.290 ± 0.143 **
Cd1 + AE	16.656 ± 0.039	7.060 ± 0.159 **	6.231 ± 0.036 **	7.408 ± 0.219 **
Cd5	16.175 ± 0.213	7.043 ± 0.076 **	6.176 ± 0.041 **	7.612 ± 0.259 **
Cd5 + AE	16.415 ± 0.144	7.191 ± 0.054 **	6.227 ± 0.019 **	7.557 ± 0.241 **
Cu Intake (mg/kg b.w./24 h)
Control	2.678 ± 0.038	1.155 ± 0.033 **	1.026 ± 0.006 **	1.194 ± 0.004 **
AE	2.626 ± 0.042	1.186 ± 0.012 **	1.032 ± 0.019 **	1.190 ± 0.021 **
Cd1	2.638 ± 0.021	1.159 ± 0.003 **	1.032 ± 0.001 **	1.215 ± 0.024 **
Cd1 + AE	2.702 ± 0.032	1.177 ± 0.026 **	1.004 ± 0.019 **	1.235 ± 0.036 **
Cd5	2.616 ± 0.011	1.174 ± 0.013 **	1.026 ± 0.006 **	1.269 ± 0.043 **
Cd5 + AE	2.614 ± 0.008	1.198 ± 0.009 **	1.019 ± 0.008 **	1.260 ± 0.040 **

¹ The intake of Zn and Cu was calculated based on these bioelements’ concentrations in the Labofeed diets declared by the manufacturer. The Labofeed H diet (administered throughout the first 3 months of the study) contained 210 mg Zn/kg and 33 mg Cu/kg, whereas the Labofeed B diet (used thereafter), contained 150 mg Zn/kg and 25 mg Cu/kg. ² Data represent mean ± SE intake of Zn and Cu for 32, 24, 16, and eight rats during 3, 10, 17, and 24 months of the experiment, respectively. ** p < 0.01 (ANOVA, Duncan’s multiple range test) compared to the intake during the first 3 months.