9 1996 by Humana Press Inc. All rights of any nature whatsoever reserved. 01634984/96/5201-0037 $09.25 Determination of Copper and Zinc Levels in Human Hair Influence of Sex, Age, and Hair Pigmentation ANTONELLA BERTAZZO,1 CARLO COSTA,1 MON1CA BIASIOLO,1 GRAZIELLA ALLEGRI,*'I GIROLAMO CIRRINCIONE, 2 AND GIUSEPPE PRESTI 2 lDipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Universit& Via Marzolo 5, 1-35131 Padova, Italy, and qstituto Farmacochimico, Universit& Palermo, Italy Received November 25, 1994; Accepted February 6, 1995 ABSTRACT The Cu and Zn levels of both 607 men (1-85 y old) and 649 women (1-92 y old) were determined by atomic absorption spec- trometry. Sex does not influence Cu (14.89 + 0.89 gg/g and 15.26 +_ 0.79 gg/g hair for males and females, respectively) and Zn contents (200.97 +_9.68 gg/g for men and 209.81 + 9.49 gg/g hair for women). Age influences Cu and Zn concentrations, but only significantly in females: Cu levels decrease over 60 y of age; whereas Zn levels increase significantly from age groups 2-5 to 20-40 years. Hair color influences Cu concentrations in both males and females. In males, white hair containes less Cu than black hair; in females, white hair's Cu levels are significantly lower than those of dark blond, red, light brown, and brown hair. There are no significant differences in Zn con- centrations with respect to different hair colors, in either males or females. Index entries: Human hair; zinc; copper; sex; age; hair pig- mentation. INTRODUCTION In recent years there has been growing interest in quantitative deter- mination of trace elements in human hair. The metal content of hair *Author to whom all correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed. Biological Trace Element Research 37 Vol. 52, i996