Zinc supplementation in pediatric practice

Scientific Knowledge about the essentiality of zinc in human health and diseases is emerging. Children are more prone to infectious diseases like diarrhoea, pneumonia, common cold and sepsis that lead to enormous deaths in the developing world. Zinc is mainly required for the maturation of B and T cells and its deficiency adversely affects the growth and functions of immune cells leading to impaired immune functions and increased susceptibility to infection. This review makes a summary of the effects of zinc supplementation in diarrhoea, common cold focusing more on the future perspective of zinc in sepsis.