Zinc

Zinc Gluconate · Zinc Citrate · Zinc Sulfate

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Zinc deficiency¹ Common cold duration² Age-related macular degeneration³ Acute childhood diarrhea¹ Glycemic control⁴ Premenstrual syndrome⁵	Excess zinc intake⁶ Intranasal zinc products⁷ Pregnancy or nursing⁸

Zinc is an essential mineral required for hundreds of enzymes and for immune function, protein and DNA synthesis, and wound healing¹. Supplementation corrects inadequate status and is also used for common cold duration, acute childhood diarrhea, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and blood glucose control.¹ Patients at greatest risk of low status include those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), people following vegetarian or vegan diets, and people with alcohol use disorder^{1, 9}.

A 2024 Cochrane review found little or no effect on preventing colds but a possible shorter duration of established colds. A Cochrane review found moderate-certainty evidence that antioxidant vitamin and mineral formulations containing zinc slow progression to late AMD. A 2025 network meta-analysis of nutraceuticals for depression found zinc added to an antidepressant outperformed the antidepressant alone, with no zinc-only comparison¹⁰. Products listing zinc number in the tens of thousands, supplied as sulfate, acetate, gluconate, or citrate; see Form comparison¹.

Long-term high intake blocks copper absorption, and the resulting copper deficiency causes anemia, neutropenia, and neurologic injury that can be mistaken for other disorders. Per the NIH fact sheet, quinolone and tetracycline antibiotics and penicillamine interact with zinc, and administration is timed apart rather than avoided¹.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

86 sources, 67 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources