Epidermal growth factor is a potent stimulator of the growth of epithelial and mesenchymal cells. In this study the effect of epidermal growth factor on the cells of developing mice intestine and on the serum zinc concentrations were assessed. Higher serum zinc concentrations (840.21 +/- 187.82 mg/dl) were found in the mice given epidermal growth factor (n: 10) as compared to the values obtained in the controls (347.55 +/- 108.88 mg/dl), (n: 12) (p less than 0.05).