Vanadium in human body

Vanadium was first discovered in the early 1800s and named for a Swedish goddess, Vanadis.

Vanadium stimulates fell growth and differentiation. It appears to be involved in lipid and catecholamine metabolism, cholesterol production, thyroid function, growth, reproduction, calcium metabolism, red blood cell production and bone and tooth formation.

In blood cells, the plasma and other body fluids, vanadium may be present as vanadate or it may be converted to vanadyl. In plasma, vanadyl binds to albumin and iron-containing proteins such as transferring and ferritin.

Vanadium deficiencies for human are not known; however, deficiencies of this element in birds and animals result in growth retardation, deficient lipid metabolism, impairment of reproduction function, and bone growth retardation.

A few food items including black pepper, parsley, dill seed, canned apple juice, fish sticks, and mushroom contain relatively high concentrations. Other excellent sources are unsaturated vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, corn, soy and live.

Vanadium in human body