Essential micronutrient metals

Essential micronutrient metals, also known as essential trace elements, are a group of inorganic ions required in minute quantities for the maintenance of human health and physiological function [1, 4]. This group primarily includes iron, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, molybdenum, cobalt, and chromium [8, 9]. These metals serve as critical cofactors for thousands of enzymes, provide structural stability to proteins (such as zinc finger motifs), and participate in vital redox reactions, oxygen transport, and antioxidant defense [3, 10, 20]. Dysregulation of metal homeostasis leads to significant clinical conditions, ranging from deficiency-related diseases like iron-deficiency anemia and immune impairment to toxicity-related disorders such as Wilson's disease and hemochromatosis [7, 13, 14]. In clinical practice, these metals are targeted through direct supplementation to treat deficiencies or via chelation therapy to manage overload [3, 5, 21]. Furthermore, they exhibit complex interactions with various drugs, where medications can deplete metal stores or metals can interfere with drug absorption through chelation in the gastrointestinal tract [6, 16, 22]. Monitoring these metals often involves measuring serum concentrations or specific protein biomarkers like ferritin and ceruloplasmin [10, 12, 24].

Other names

Essential trace elementsTrace mineralsEssential trace metalsMicronutrient minerals

Nutritional supplementation to restore physiological levels; Chelation therapy to remove toxic excess; Competitive inhibition of intestinal absorption