Written by London swaminathan

swami_48@yahoo.com

Date: 5 February  2019

GMT Time uploaded in London –17-27

Post No. 6036
Pictures shown here are taken from various sources including google, Wikipedia, Facebook friends and newspapers. This is a non- commercial blog. ((posted by swamiindology.blogspot.com AND tamilandvedas.com))

Zinc, the metallic element, has two important roles in human bodies.

If you are low in zinc you develop high blood pressure
If you are low in zinc, you’ll have low sperm count.

Recently The American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology, has published a research report which confirmed the link between high blood pressure and zinc. I give below some interesting information about zinc in bullet points:-

Ananda Prasad is a well- known name in the field of zinc research. The importance of zinc for certain enzymes was recognised in the last fifty years. Ananda Prasad who carried out zinc deficiency audits on animals, later confronted with the same symptoms of stunted growth and retarded sexual development in humans. Prasad became the leading world authority on human zinc deficiency, finding many cases in Egypt where the soil is lacking in this nutrient. He showed that supplementing the diet with zinc sulfate could effect a cure .

It is an essential element for humans and animals . Zinc concentrations are greatest in eyes, prostate, liver and muscles. Surplus zinc is stored in bones and spleen but it is not released from these to make up for a dietary lack.

Semen is particularly rich in zinc, and there is evidence that lack of zinc is responsible for the low sperm counts in men. ((posted by swamiindology.blogspot.com AND tamilandvedas.com))

Plants rich in zinc are wheat, sweet corn, and lettuce. Fruits have less zinc. Red meats provide zinc for non- vegetarians. Vegans can have it from sun flower seeds and pumpkin seeds.

Chemical properties
Symbol – Zn
Atomic number 30 
Boiling point 907 degree C
Melting point 420 degree C

Zinc is a bluish white metal. There are five zinc isotopes


Economic element
The main zinc mining areas are Canada , USA, Australia Russia and Peru.
The dominant ore is zinc blende, also known as sphalerite.
More than 50%of zinc metal goes into galvanising steel which is used for car bodies , fencing, motorway guarding rails, suspension bridges, heat exchangers and roofing tracks. The metal is used in alloys and batteries. The main zinc alloy is brass. Brass is used in different ways. Oxide of zinc is used in rubber industry, pigments etc.

Medical use
Zinc sulfate is used as emetic.
Zinc chloride as anti- septic 
Zinc oxide as an astringent
Zinc stearate as ointment
Calamine which is a mixture of zinc and iron oxides, as lotion
Zinc oxide is used as sun blocker to prevent skin cancer 

Who discovered it?
German chemist Andreas Maggraff has been credited with the discovery, actually he identified it as an element.

Strabo, Pliny the elder, Marco Polo and others have mentioned the use of zinc compounds. That meansmen have been using it for over 200o years. In Rajasthan in India, more than a million tonnes of zinc were produced between 12th and 16th centuries. ((posted by swamiindology.blogspot.com AND tamilandvedas.com))

Essential for human beings:-
There are more than 200 kinds of zinc containing enzymes and transcription factors which help us to maintain good health. They regulate growth, development, longevity and fertility.
The average man takes around 10 milligrams and woman 8 milligrams of zinc every day. Pregnant women lactate 850 cubic centimetres of breast milk every day containing the 2 milligrams of zinc that her baby needs.
In countries where the soil has less zinc, supplements are added in food In cereals and grains there is phytic acid which converts zinc into zinc phytate and the body cannot use it . So, in countries like Mexico Indonesia and Peru food items are fortified with zinc. In western countries zinc supplements are available over the counter. But any medicine should be taken only after consulting the medical personnel.

Mandatory in Paris  Rolled zinc sheets have been used in roofing. In Paris it was made mandatory in 1860s when the city underwent a transformation, which resulted in the attractive city roofscape that became famous and inspired many paintings.
Even in Roman Pompeii, destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted in CE 79,a zinc capped fountain has been discovered, showing that zinc has been a weather proof material of long standing.

American discovery
Fruits and nut bearing trees in the western states of America were afflicted by disease in the 19th century. Curiously some trees responded to the application of a copper solution while others did not. Later it was discovered that the trees responded to the zinc and not copper. The zinc came from the galvanised buckets in which the copper solution was prepared.