Minerals Metabolism and Trace
elements (chemistry and Functions)
BY
DR J.O.AREOLA
Introduction
The human body is composed of elements
which can be roughly divided into abundant
(macro) elements which include: Magnesium,
calcium, potassium, phosphorus etc and trace
(micro) elements which include: zinc, copper,
iodine, selenium, cobalt, manganese,
chromium and molybdenum. Research has
shown that deficiency of trace elements are
responsible for different types of diseases in
man and domestic animals.
Magnesium (Mg2+)
• Magnesium is one of the most important
cations in living cells. Mg2+ is present in ICF
alone, total body mg is about 25g, 60% (15g)
of this is complexed with calcium bone. One
third (5g) of skeletal mg is exchangeable with
serum mg. This metal is the major ICF cations.
Functions of Magnesium
• Mg is the activator of many enzymes requiring ATP
such as Alkaline phosphatase, hexokinase, fructokinase
etc. Magnesium is involved in carbohydrate,
nucleotide, nucleic acid and amino acid metabolism,
protein synthesis and muscle activation.
• Mg is involved in many biological processes such as
hormone receptor binding, gating of calcium channels,
transmembrane ionflux , cardiac excitability and neuro-
trasmitters release.
• Mg increases body’s ability to utilize other minerals like
calcium, phosphorus, potassium and vitamins C, E & B
compound
Functions and Regulation
• Mg is involved in insulin secretion, binding to
receptors and activity, for these reasons, mg
deficiency has been implicated in type 2 diabetes
Regulation of plasma magnesium
• Kidney is the primary regulator of body mg
balance. Renal mg regulation is essentially a
filtration and re-absorption processes. Normal
intake of mg is about 300-350 mg per day. About
100 – 150mg/day is excreted through urine, this
is equal to the amount absorbed daily. Thus body
mg balance is determine by renal excretion of mg
Hypomagnesemia
• Hypomagnesemia is the condition of mg deficiency,
several diseases can cause hypomagnesemia, it occurs
in hyperthyrodism, chronic alcoholism, Vomiting
diarrhoea, pancreatitis and malabsorption syndrones.
• The normal serum level of mg is1.7-2.4mg/dl
Symptoms include weakness, lethargy, muscle cramps
and confusion.
• Magnesium deficiency and diabetes
• Mg deficiency are involved in development of insulin
resistance, carbohydrate intolerance, accelerated
atherosclerosis,
Toxicity
hypertension, diabetic neuropathy and cardiovascular,
complications. Diabetic patients have low mg levels. It is believed
that glycosuria that occurs in diabetic patients impairs renal
reabsorption of mg from filtrate.
• Toxicity- Magnesium overdose leads to hypermagnesemia, it occurs
in renal failure and due to excess intake of antacids.
• Symptoms include muscle weakness, nausea, depression and
death may occur due to respiratory paralysis.
• Major sources – nuts, legumes, pears, whole grains are good
sources but fish, meat, green leafy vegetables are fair sources.
• RDA-300-350mg/day but higher quantity is required during
pregnancy and lactation.
POTASSIUM
• Human body contains about 250mg of K+.
Most of it is present inside various cells of the
body and the remaining is found in ECF. It is
another major cation of ICF.
Functions: Potassium is required for
• maintenance of plasma volume
• bile salt formation for the activity of Na+/K+-
ATPase
Functions cont.
• glycogen storage in the liver and muscle. About 14mg of
potassium is required to store 1g of glycogen.
• growth of tissues, it plays important role in heart muscular
contraction.
• It plays an important role in nerve & muscle functions
Deficiency & Toxicity
• Normal serum potassium level is 3-5meq/L, nutritional
deficiency of k is rare. However, serum k level is decreased
(hypokalemia) in many conditions and increased beyond
normal level (hyperkalemia) by several diseases.
Hypokalemia occurs in vomiting/diarrhea, prolonged use of
diuretics used for (cardiac failure) and during treatment
with insulin.
Potassium
• Symptoms include muscular weakness, heart enlargement
and paralysis.
• Hyperkalemia occurs in renal failure and severe
dehydration .
symptoms are weakness, numbness, Low heart beats and
cardiac arrest due to collapse of peripheral vasculature.
• Sources of K are oil seeds, eggs, meat, vegetables and
fruits. RDA is 2.3g/day.
Chloride (Cl-)
• Human body contains about 120 – 150mg of chloride. it is
present in the major body fluids, soft tissues and
erythrocytes. It is the major extracellular anion in mostcells
Chloride
Functions of CL-
• It is required for the secretion of HCL in gastric
juice. Ceribro spinal fluid (CSF) has the
highest concentration of chloride in man.
• It is involved in maintenance of electrical
neutrality of erythrocytes (Chloride shift) and
other cells.
• It is also used to maintain plasma volume.
Deficiency & Toxicity
• Nutritional deficiency is rare. Normal serum CL- level is 95-
105m Eq/L. serum chloride level is found decreased
(hypochloramia) and increased (ypercloramia) in some
diseases.
• The excretion of chloride is through urine, and it is parallel
to Na+. daily excretion of Cl_ is about 5 – 8g/day.
• Hypochloremia occurs in prolonged vomitting , diarrhea,
pyloric obstruction, cholera, Aids, meningites.
• Symptoms are muscular spasm.
Source – pulses, milk, meat and eggs. Salted foods are
excellent sources. Daily requirement (Adults) 1.5 –
3.5gm/day.
Phosphorus (P)
• Human body contain about 500 – 700g of
Phosphorus in the body, P is present as
inorganic phosphate complexed with calcium
and mg in the bone and teeth. Organic
phosphate is associated with phospholipid of
cell membranes, nucleic acid and as
intracellular anion in cells.
Functions of Phosphorus
• Functions of phosphate ions
• It is an important constituent of blood buffer.
• It is a constituent of high energy compounds like ATP, GTP
etc.
• It is involved in modification and activation of several
enzymes and cellular proteins.
• It is required for the synthesis of nucleoside co-enzymes,
such as NAD+ and NADP +
• Formation of phosphate esters such as glucose 6-po4
• It is required for the synthesis of DNA & RNA
• It is a constituent of secondary messengers like cAMP,
cGMP etc
Deficiency and Absorption of PO4
• Deficiency
• The deficiency of P04 occurs due to impaired
absorptions and / or excessive loss through the kidney.
Factors affecting absorption of phosphate
• Calcitriol increases the absorption of P04 in the
intestine by sodium and glucose dependent
mechanism.
• High calcium diet decreases the absorption of P04 by
forming insoluble calcium P04 salt.
• Antacids interferes with phosphate absorption if taken
in excess.
Serum level of phosphate
• SL of P04 is 3-4mg/dl in normal adults and 5-6
mg/dl in children.
• Hemolysis should be prevented when blood is
taken for phosphate estimation. Usually, the
daily requirement is about 200-300mg/day
• Sources:- milk is a good source, it contains
about 100gm/dL of milk. Cereals, nuts, eggs &
meats are moderate sources.
TRACE ELEMENTS
• Zinc
• Human body contains about 2-3gm of zinc, of
this, 60% is present in skeletal muscle and 30% in
bones. The remaining is present in body fluids.
Among the different organs of the body, prostate
alone contains 86mg/100g and choroids of eye
are rich in zinc.
• Functions: Zinc is required for the activity of
several enzymes involved in various metabolic
pathways e.g Protein, amino acids, nucleic acids
and bones.
Functions of zinc
• Zinc is involved in stabilization of hormone insulin
• It maintains the structure of chromatin and
ribosomes.
• Zinc is essential for immune system.
• It is required for normal reproduction.
• It is required for muscle and bone formation.
• It is required for basic cellular functions like DNA
replication, transcription, cell division and cell
activation.
Sources of zinc
• Deficiency of zinc is rare in man
• Sources- Sea foods like oysters and herrings
are excellent sources, meat, liver and eggs are
good sources, cereal, pulses, nuts, Vegetables
and milk are fair sources.
• RDA – 15mg/day, during pregnancy and
lactation, 25mg/day.
Copper (Cu)
• Copper – Human body contains about 100-150mg of copper, of this
40% is in the muscle, 15% in the liver and 10% in the brain. The
leftover is present in the body fluids. Absorption of copper takes
place in the small intestine.
Functions
• Copper is required for the activity of enzymes involved in
respiratory chain, cross linking of collagen and elastin, blood cell
formation, melanin formation, super oxides removal, neuro
transmitters and neuro –speptides formation . In most of the cases
copper is part of enzymes molecules.
• Some cupro-enzymes are cytochrome oxidase, superoxide
dismutase, ceruloplasm, tyrosinase, dopamine beta-oxidase. It
increases iron absoption and HDL level, hence protects the heart.
Copper
• Copper toxicity __Excess copper intake may lead
to hemolysis, hemoglobinnuria, protenuria and
renal failure.
• Deficiency- It is rare in adults human but preterm
infants may have copper deficiency. Symptoms
include anemia, bone demineralization, fragility
of large blood vessels and pigmentation of skin.
• Source: Cereal, milk, eggs, meat, vegetables &
fruits
• RDA – 2.0mg/day
Iodine
Human body contains about 15 – 20 mg/day, 80% is in the thyroid gand.
• Functions
• It is required for the formation of thyroid harmones
• They are essential for growth & development
Iodine deficiency disorder – (IDD)
• The most common IDD is goiter ( swollen of thyroid gland on the neck)
• Decreased Intelligent Quotient (IQ) in children
• Other IDD are hypo-tyroidism, mental disturbances and iodine induced
hyper-tyroidism.
• Iodine deficient people are more susceptible to radiation effects.
Iodine
Goitrogenic factors
• ID occurs when foods containing goitrogenic substance are consumed.
Goitrogenic factors are present in cabbage, cauliflower and raddish. They
interfere with iodine uptake by thyroid gland which causes a condition
identical to iodine deficiency.
Therapentic use
• Table salt supplemented with iodine prevents goitre and other conditions
caused by iodine deficiency.
• Iodine salts are consumed to prevent accumulation of radioactive iodine in
thyroid gland in case of nuclear blasts and accidents.
Sources
• Sea foods like sea fish and shell fish, cereals, milk, meat, egg, vegetable,
root vegetables and fruits.
• RDA-150 microgram/day or 0.15mg/day
