The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of low and high levels of zinc and copper supplements, and the effects of zinc/ copper ratios on growth, lipid profiles, and trace mineral status of young male rats. The study was conducted in two phases to afford data collection to evaluate the objectives. Dietary variables used in Experiment 1 (low level supplementation) included four levels of zinc (0, 5, 10, and 20 ppm), and four levels of copper (0, 0.56, 1 .68, and 5.04 ppm}. Dietary variables used in Experiment 2 (high level supplementation) included four levels of zinc (0, 50, 100, and 200 ppm), and four levels of copper (0, 5.6, 16.8, and 50.4 ppm). Criteria used for evaluating animal responses to various test diets included weight gain, hemoglobin level, copper, iron and zinc deposition in the liver, and serum levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol. The effects of zinc/copper ratios on the parameters were evaluated by comparing data from Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 treatments with the same zinc/copper ratios but different levels of zinc and copper
