Minerals: Sources, Functions & Deficiency diseases

MACROELEMENTS 

(Required more than 100 mg/ day)

Mineral	Daily requirements	Source	Functions	Deficiency
Calcium	1200 mg	Milk, dairy foods, cereals (Ragi), meat, vegetables, fruits (Sitaphals)	Component of bones and teeth. Helps in blood clotting Muscle contraction Conduction of nerve impulses etc. Acts as cofactor of Myosin ATPase.	Defective bones and teeth Tetany and rickets Loss of muscle coordination
Phosphorous	1200 mg	Milk, dairy foods, Cereals, eggs, fish, meat etc.	Formation of bones and teeth Component of nucleic acids, energy molecules and coenzymes	Do
Sodium	5- 10 gm	Table salt, vegetables	Maintenance of ionic and water balance, muscle contraction; conduction of nerve impulses; component of digestive juices. Present in bile salts Main cation of ECF	Improper muscle contraction; nervous depression; loss of Na+ in urine, dehydration
Potassium	1 gm	Vegetables, molasses, banana, date etc	Osmotic balance; muscle contraction; nerve impulse conduction	Nervous disorder; poor muscle control leading to paralysis
Magnesium	400 mg	Green leafy vegetables, soyabean etc	Cofactor for enzymes e.g. of hexokinase	Heart and vascular irregularities; dilated blood vessels, loss of muscle coordination.
Chlorine	5- 10 gm	Common salt	Main anion of ECF Acid- base balance	Vomiting and hypochloremic alkalosis

MICROELEMENTS 

(Required in small amount)

Mineral	Daily requirements	Source	Functions	Deficiency
Iron	18 mg	Liver, eggs, molasses, cereals, pulses, leafy vegetables, apple, guava etc.	Formation of Hb so help in O2 transport Component of cytochromes of ETS. Cofactor of catalase enzyme.	Anaemia; skin problems
Iodine	0.14 mg	Sea foods, leafy vegetables, water, iodized salt etc.	Normal functioning of thyroid; component of thyroxin so controls BMR	Goiter, Cretinism, Myxoedema
Zinc	12- 20 mg	Beet, cheese	Cofactor of carbonic anhydrase so helps in CO2 transport Vitamin A metabolism	Reduced respiration
Manganese	5 mg	Liver, kidney, peanuts	Normal reproductive functions, cofactor for enzymes	Reproductive failure; menstrual irregularities.
Copper	2- 2.5 mg	Liver, spleen, kidneys, peanuts, beet etc	Cofactor for enzymes e.g. oxidases and tyrosinase. Component of haemocyanin.	Anaemia
Molybdenum	Traces	Cereals, pods, some vegetables	Cofactor for nitrogenase enzyme	Whiptail disease in cauliflower
Fluorine	Traces	Water, sea fish, cheese	Maintains enamel and prevents dental caries.	Dental caries.
Sulphur			Component of many proteins, enzymes and coenzymes
Cobalt	Traces	Milk, cheese, meat	Component of vit.B12	Pernicious anemia
Chromium	Traces	Yeast, sea food, meat, some vegetables	Catabolic metabolism	Irregularities of catabolism and ATP product
Selenium	Traces	Meat, cereals, sea food.	Cofactor of many enzymes; assists vitamin E.	Muscular pain, weakness of cardiac muscles.

Posted in: Biochemistry and Molecular biology