..... "Take ZINC!" So go some ads for lozenges and other cold remedies. ..Is there any good reasoning behind this? ..Well, it seems to cut the duration of viral diseases in half. ..(But don't take too much - constipation!) ..Why zinc? ..It was discovered nearly 40 yrs ago by an animal caretaker in a research center that surgical wounds in rats seemed to be healing much faster in the animals kept in old galvanized cages than in the nice new stainless steel cages. ..Now in post-operative people, zinc sulfate is given to speed the healing process. ..New evidence seems to indicate that zinc also helps repair viral infection damage.

..... BUT - I'll ask again! - WHY ZINC? ..Zn is the cofactor of the enzyme glutamic dehydrogenase, which is the portal of all inorganic ammoniums into the biochemical pathways to becoming amine. ..When Zn is used to convert alpha-keto-glutaric acid to glutamic acid (an amino acid), that new amine group can be transferred to other alpha-keto-acids to form other amino acids (using the enzyme transaminase). ..Thus ZN is necessary for the synthesis of amino acids, which are the building blocks for the proteins used in repairing cells. Got it?

I want to ESCAPE! or go back to the Virology Home Page!