Define about the micro minerals, Biology

Assignment Help:

Define about the Micro Minerals?

Micro minerals are those minerals, which comprise less than 0.01% of the total body weight and are required in concentrations of one part per million or less. Initially, these minerals were also referred to as 'trace minerals' or 'trace elements' as their concentration in tissues were not easily quantified by early analytical methods. A trace element/mineral, as you may be aware, can be defined as a chemical element present in minute quantities; especially one used by organisms and held essential to their physiology. A micro mineral or a micro nutrient, on the other hand, is an organic compound essential in minute amounts for the growth and health of an animal.

Like macro minerals, micro minerals must also be present in the body in optimal range for normal functioning. Whenever, the concentration is too low or too high, the body functions are impaired. The functions and routes of metabolism for some micro elements are well established both in animals and humans while for others, the data are available only from animal studies. They normally function as a cation (ion with a positive charge) complexed with organic ligands or chelators. Proteins are the most important chelators. Besides these, porphyrin (the ring structure present in haemoglobin) and corrins (the ring structure in vitamin BI2) are other important chelators. As components of enzymes and proteins, these minerals frequently participate in redox reactions (reactions which involve the transfer of electrons) with the metal often functioning as the electron carrier. However, minerals such as zinc and manganese along with macro elements calcium and magnesium perform non-redox functions in proteins and enzymes. Since many of the micro minerals share common mechanism for absorption, they compete with each other for absorption in the small intestine. Thus, excess of one micro element can aggravate the deficiency of another. Iron and zinc are the best known examples.


Related Discussions:- Define about the micro minerals

Which compounds does not contain an amine, Which of the following compounds...

Which of the following compounds does NOT contain an amine? Select one: a. Glutamine b. Acetate ion c. Urea d. Guanidinium ion e. Creatine

Evolutionary Biology-Genetic Drift, Imagine a population evolving by geneti...

Imagine a population evolving by genetic drift in which the frequency of allele K is 0.65. What is the probability that at some point in the future allele K will drift to a frequen

Explain mitosis a synonym of reproduction, Q Why in few cases is mitosis a ...

Q Why in few cases is mitosis a synonym of reproduction? In some living beings asexual reproduction occurs by many means binary division, budding, grafting, schizogony, etc. In

Animal nutrition, What are fluid and deposit feeding in holozoic animals

What are fluid and deposit feeding in holozoic animals

Guiding and overseeing actions of consciousness, Q. Guiding and overseeing ...

Q. Guiding and overseeing actions of Consciousness? Guiding and overseeing actions: Consciousness connects brain and body states with external occurrences. In order to functio

Basic planes of cleavage, Basic Planes of Cleavage The basic planes a...

Basic Planes of Cleavage The basic planes along which the egg and its daughter blastomeres are divided during early cleavage are: A. Meridional Plane - the cleavag

How do antibody-based tests detect how hiv infection work, Q. How do antibo...

Q. How do antibody-based tests detect how HIV infection works? Subsequent to the infection by the HIV the immune system begins the production of antibodies (primary immune resp

Define criteria for assessment of vitamin b12 status, Define Criteria for A...

Define Criteria for Assessment of Vitamin B 12 Status? Low serum or plasma levels of vitamin B 12 should be the first indication of poor  status and this could be confirmed

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd