ArticleJRSM open2017
Zinc lozenges and the common cold: a meta-analysis comparing zinc acetate and zinc gluconate, and the role of zinc dosage.
Article in JRSM open, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 126 citations in OpenAlex.
- Zinc for prevention and treatment of the common cold.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Agronomic biofortification of food crops: An emerging opportunity for global food and nutritional security.Frontiers in plant science · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Nutritional perspectives for the prevention and mitigation of COVID-19.Nutrition reviews · 2021Pooled it
- ColdZyme® reduces viral load and upper respiratory tract infection duration and protects airway epithelia from infection with human rhinoviruses.The Journal of physiology · 2025Trial
- Effect of High-Dose Zinc and Ascorbic Acid Supplementation vs Usual Care on Symptom Length and Reduction Among Ambulatory Patients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection: The COVID A to Z Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2021Trial
- Zinc acetate lozenges for the treatment of the common cold: a randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Duration of the common cold and similar continuous outcomes should be analyzed on the relative scale: a case study of two zinc lozenge trials.BMC medical research methodology · 2017Trial
- Rigorous methodological approaches to address knowledge gaps in exercise, nutrition, immunity, and infection risk research.Physiological reports · 2025Review
- The "Magnificent Seven" in Oral and Systemic Health against COVID-19.Endocrine, metabolic & immune disorders drug targets · 2025Review
- Nutrition and Golf Performance: A Systematic Scoping Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Article
- Cellular zinc metabolism and zinc signaling: from biological functions to diseases and therapeutic targets.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2024Review
- Explorations on the antiviral potential of zinc and magnesium salts against chikungunya virus: implications for therapeutics.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Article
- Shortcomings in the Cochrane review on zinc for the common cold (2024).Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Considerations for the Consumption of Vitamin and Mineral Supplements in Athlete Populations.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Review
- Antioxidant and Immune-Related Implications of Minerals in COVID-19: A Possibility for Disease Prevention and Management.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Efficacy and tolerability of zinc acetate for treatment of chronic refractory cough: pilot randomised futility trial.ERJ open research · 2023Article
- Role of micronutrients in the modulation of immune system and platelet activating factor in patients with COVID-19; a narrative review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Review
- COVID-19: Reducing the risk via diet and lifestyle.Journal of integrative medicine · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo compare the efficacy of zinc acetate lozenges with zinc gluconate lozenges in common cold treatment and to examine the dose-dependency of the effect.
designMeta-analysis.
settingPlacebo-controlled zinc lozenge trials, in which the zinc dose was > 75 mg/day. The pooled effect of zinc lozenges on common cold duration was calculated by using inverse-variance random-effects method.
participantsSeven randomised trials with 575 participants with naturally acquired common colds.
main outcome measureDuration of the common cold.
resultsThe mean common cold duration was 33% (95% CI 21% to 45%) shorter for the zinc groups of the seven included trials. Three trials that used lozenges composed of zinc acetate found that colds were shortened by 40% and four trials that used zinc gluconate by 28%. The difference between the two salts was not significant: 12 percentage points (95% CI: -12 to + 36). Five trials used zinc doses of 80-92 mg/day, common cold duration was reduced by 33%, and two trials used zinc doses of 192-207 mg/day and found an effect of 35%. The difference between the high-dose and low-dose zinc trials was not significant: 2 percentage points (95% CI: -29 to + 32).
conclusionsProperly composed zinc gluconate lozenges may be as effective as zinc acetate lozenges. There is no evidence that zinc doses over 100 mg/day might lead to greater efficacy in the treatment of the common cold. Common cold patients may be encouraged to try zinc lozenges for treating their colds. The optimal lozenge composition and dosage scheme need to be investigated further.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.