User:SocksonPants/Trace metal

= Trace metal = Original page material goes here.

Humans
Roughly 5 grams of iron are present in the human body and is the most abundant trace metal. It is absorbed in the intestine as heme or non-heme iron depending on the food source. Heme iron is derived from the digestion of hemoproteins in meat. Non-heme iron is mainly derived from plants and exist as iron(II) or iron(III) ions.

Iron is essential for more than 500 hemeproteins, the likes of which include hemoglobin and myoglobin, and account for 80% of iron usage. The other 20% is present in ferritin, hemosiderin, iron-sulfur (Fe/S) proteins, such as ferrochelatase, and more.

Humans
A relatively non-toxic metal to humans and the second most abundant, the body has 2-3 grams of zinc. It can enter the body through inhalation, skin absorption, and ingestion, with the latter of the bunch being the most common. The mucosal cells of the digestive tract contain metallothionein proteins that store the zinc ions.

Nearly 90% of zinc is found in the bones, muscles, and vesicles in the brain. Zinc is a cofactor in hundreds of enzyme reactions and a major component of zinc finger proteins.

Humans
The third most abundant trace metal in the human body.

It is found in cytochrome c oxidase, a protein necessary for the electron transport chain in mitochondria.