Topic: Minerals & Their Classification

Objectives
At the end of the this presentation you will come to know about;
• Minerals
• Classification
• Functions
• Absorption
• Importance
• Conclusion
 Introduction To Minerals
• Minerals are inorganic elements required by body for a variety of
different functions.
• Minerals are involved in formation of bones & teeth.
• They serve as cofactors as enzyme-catalyzed reactions.
• Minerals form only about 7% of the human body weight.
• They are essential constituents of body fluids and tissues.
• Minerals are of two types, major & trace.
• There are 21 minerals identified as important to normal health.
 Classification of minerals

 Minerals are classified as major minerals (macro nutrients) and trace

minerals (micro nutrients).
 Major minerals are found in amounts of 5 grams or more in body.
 Major minerals are calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, Sulphur, sodium,
potassium and chloride.
 Trace minerals are found in much smaller amounts of less than 5 grams.
 Trace minerals include iron, zinc, copper, fluoride, iodine, cobalt,
manganese, selenium, chromium.
 Minerals
Macro minerals Micro minerals
(>5mg/day)* (<5 mg/day)*

• Calcium • Copper
• Phosphorous • Manganese
• Magnesium • Zinc
• Potassium • Selenium
• Sulphur • Fluoride
• Sodium • Iron
• Chlorine • Cobalt
 Calcium (Ca)
• Skeleton is made up of 99% of calcium.
• The body needs calcium to develop and maintain healthy bones & teeth.
• Calcium plays role in intracellular signaling to enable integration and metabolic
processes.
Functions
 Ca takes part in development of bone & teeth.
 Controls nerve excitability.
 Serves as co-factor and activator of certain enzymes.
 Required for contraction of muscles including heart muscles.
 Ca is required by certain hormones for their actions e.g. adrenaline to increase
glycogenolysis.
Sources
o Milk, cheese, bread and some green vegetables such as, broccoli, cabbage.
Deficiency
o Disorder renal failure causes due to Ca deficiency, and hypocalcemia (Ca
deficiency disease) is followed by vitamin-D deficiency.
Absorption of Ca
o Ca is absorbed in inorganic form.
o It is mostly absorbed in proximal parts of small intestine by active transport
mechanism.
o In distal small intestine, Ca is absorbed by passive or facilitated diffusion.
o Calcium absorption increases with intake of Ca, vitamin D, parathormone, and
bile salts.
 Phosphorous (P)
• phosphorous is present in body as organic & inorganic phosphates (Pi), phosphate esters and
phospholipids.
• RBCs contain more phosphorous than plasma.
• about 80% of phosphorous takes part in formation of bones & teeth along with Ca.
• About 10% is found in proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates.
Functions
• Phosphorous takes part in formation of bones & teeth.
• Along with nitrogenous bases, it forms high energy phosphate compounds e.g. ATP, GTP &
UTP.
• It forms phosphodiester bonds between two strands of DNA.
• As phospholipids, it makes cell membranes.
• Helps in maintaining blood pH.
Sources
o Phosphorous is abundant in red meat, dairy products, fish, poultry, bread, rice and
oats, and usually in calcium containing foods.
Deficiency
o phosphorous deficiency is rare, but it can cause loss of appetite, anemia, muscle
weakness, bone pain, stiff joints, deformed bones etc.
Absorption
o Phosphorous is absorbed in inorganic form.
o Vitamin-D increases Pi absorption.
 Sulphur (S)
• Sulphur is a major mineral that is part of proteins in our body.
• Sulphur is the part of methionine and cysteine, which are S-containing amino acids
needed in making proteins.
• For example keratin (protein) contains Sulphur which is the structural component of
hair & nails.
Functions
 Sulphur is the main constituent of thiamine, biotin, lipoic acid, coenzyme A,
glutathione, chondroitin sulphate, taurine and heparin.
 It conjugates several toxic compounds in the body such as indoxyl, skatoxyl,
phenols etc.

continue……
Sources
o Best sources of Sulphur include lean meats, poultry, fish, garlic, egg yolk, milk,
legumes.
Deficiency
o Sulphur deficiency can cause arthritis, brittle nails & hair, depression, memory loss,
gastrointestinal issues, rashes and slow wound healing.
Absorption
o Sulphur is ingested as organic sulphate as in proteins or as inorganic sulphate.
o Inorganic sulphate is absorbed form intestine, while Sulphur containing amino
acids are absorbed by active transport.
 Iron (Fe)
• Iron is one of the most abundant trace elements.
• About 75% of iron is present in plasma (blood) and remaining is found in liver, bone
marrow & muscles.
• Heme is the most predominant iron-containing substance.
• It is the constituent of proteins and enzymes e.g. hemoproteins, myoglobin and
cytochromes.
Functions
 Iron is a component of several functional molecules.
 It is required for synthesizes of hemoglobin, myoglobin, cytochromes, catalase and
peroxidase.
 Cytochromes & proteins are required for ETC & oxidative phosphorylation.
 Iron helps in transport, storage and utilization of oxygen.
Sources
o Sources of iron include liver, milk, apple, meat, egg yolk, dates & cereals.
Deficiency
o defiency causes tiredness, shortness of breath, paleness, painful ulcer in mouth, dry nails.
Absorption
o Only 10% of ingested iron is absorbed.
o Absorption takes place at mid-jejunum.
o In order to be absorbed iron has to be converted into Fe++ (ferrous) form.
o In ferrous form iron enters the intestinal mucosal cells by an energy-dependent transport
mechanism.
o Form the mucosal cells, iron enters into the plasma.
 Copper (Cu)
• Copper is the third most abundant mineral after iron and zinc.
• It is the component of enzymes and needed to produce RBCs & WBCs.
• Body needs copper to utilize iron effectively.
• It takes part in growth, brain development, immune system, strong bones.
Functions
 Copper helps iron in its absorption, transport and performing its functions.
 Cu increases efficacy of iron therapy in treatment of nutritional anemia in infants.
 It is required for iron utilization for the normal formation of RBCs.
 Ca helps in development & functions of nervous system, bone & connective tissues.
Sources
o Oysters, sesame seeds, sweet potatoes, avocados, liver, dry fruits, shellfish, nuts and
yeast.
Deficiency
o Cu deficiency can leads to fatigue, weakness, frequent sickness, weak & brittle bones,
walking difficulties, cold sensitivity, pale skin, premature hair growth and vision loss.
Absorption
o Metallothionein is a protein that facilitates copper absorption.
o Cu is absorbed from upper small intestine.
o Absorbed copper is transported to the liver bound to albumin & exported to peripheral
tissues mainly as ceruloplasmin.
 Iodine (I)
• iodine is essential component of thyroid hormone, thyroxine,
triiodothyronine.
• Total body iodine is about 20-30 mg.
• About 80% of iodine is present in thyroid in the form of iodide ions, thyroid
hormone and thyroglubins.
• Muscles, salivary glands & ovaries also contain some amount of iodine.
Function
 Most important function of iodine is the synthesizes of thyroid hormones,
triiodothyronine [T3] and tetraiodothyronine [T4], which influence large
number of metabolic functions.
Sources
o Rich sources of iodine are sea food, eggs, dairy products, vegetables & iodized
salts.
Deficiency
o Iodine deficiency results in goiter (swollen thyroid gland), hypothyroidism and
cretinism.
Absorption
o Iodine is absorbed form upper small intestine.
o Iodine is transported in plasma by loosely binding plasma proteins.
o Iodine absorption also occurs through skin & lungs.
 Biomedical importance of minerals
Minerals are important for body to stay healthy. They are more important
to nutrition than vitamins. Because body use minerals for to perform different
jobs such as, keeping bones, muscles, joints, brain, heart working properly.
All bodily functions & processes depend upon presence of minerals. They are
also important for synthesizes of enzymes and hormones.
 Conclusion
Minerals are very important for health & healthy life. They are responsible for
synthesize of RBCs & WBCs, formation of bones & teeth, brain development,
thyroid formation, contraction of heart muscles. Minerals also acts as cofactors,
and help in nerve conduction etc. body requires amount of each mineral, people
have different requirement according to their age, sex, physiological state (e.g.
pregnancy) and sometimes their state of health.
Thank You So Much
for Attention!