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Elemental composition
The average 70kg adult human body contains approximately 6.7 x 1027 atoms and contains at least detectable traces of 60 chemical elements. About 24 or 25 of these elements are thought to play an active positive role in life and health in humans.[1] The relative amounts of each element vary by individual, with the largest contributor due to fat/muscle/bone body composition ratio differences from person to person. The numbers in the table are averages of different numbers reported by different references. The human body is ~65% water, and water is ~11% hydrogen by mass but ~67% hydrogen by atomic percent.
Atomic number 8 Element Mass Oxygen Percent of [2][3][4][5][6][7] 65 Mass [8] (kg) 43 Atomic percent 24 [9] Positive health role in mammals Group
Yes (water, electron acceptor) /No (Reactive Oxygen Species) Yes (organic compounds are hydrocarbon derivatives) Yes (e.g. water) Yes (e.g. DNA and amino acids) Yes (e.g. Calmodulin and Hydroxylapatite in bones) Yes (e.g. DNA and phosphorylation) Yes (e.g. Na+/K+-ATPase)
16
Carbon
18
16
12
14
1 7 20
10 3 1.4
7 1.8 1.0
63 0.58 0.24
1 15 2
15 19
Phosphorus Potassium
1.1 0.25
0.78 0.14
0.14 0.033
15 1
2
0.25 0.15 0.15 0.05 0.006 0.0037 0.14 0.10 0.095 0.019 0.0042 0.0026 0.038 0.037 0.024 0.0070 0.00067 0.0012 Yes (e.g.Cysteine, Methionine, Biotin, Thiamine) Yes (e.g. Na+/K+-ATPase) Yes (e.g. Cl-transporting ATPase) Yes (e.g. binding to ATP and other nucleotides) Yes (e.g. Hemoglobin, Cytochromes) Yes/No (topically hardens teeth; toxic in higher amounts) Yes (e.g. Zinc finger proteins) Yes (probable) No (?) No (?) No (?) No (?) (toxic in higher amounts) Yes (e.g. copper proteins) No(?) (toxic?) No(?) (toxic in higher amounts) No 0.0000012 6.0e-7 7.5e-7 No? (toxic) No(?) Yes (e.g. thyroxine, triiodothyronine) No 0.0000030 4.5e-8 0.0000015 8.9e-8 0.0000015 8.9e-8 0.0000015 Yes (probable) Yes (toxic in higher amounts) Yes (e.g. urease) Yes (not confirmed) Yes (e.g. Mn-SOD) Yes (not confirmed). Toxic in higher amounts Yes (not confirmed). Toxic in high amounts. Useful medically (mood stabilizer). No (toxic) No Yes (e.g. the molybdenum oxotransferases, Xanthine oxidase and Sulfite oxidase) No (?) 3.0e-7 Yes (e.g. vitamin B12) No (toxic) No (toxic) No 3.0e-7 No No 2 14 17 4 13 16 10 6 7 15 1 16 1 17 2 8 17
16 11 17 12 26 9
30 14 37 38 35 82 29 13 48 58 56 50 53 22 5 34 28 24 25 33 3
Zinc Silicon Rubidium Strontium Bromine Lead Copper Aluminium Cadmium Cerium Barium Tin Iodine Titanium Boron Selenium Nickel Chromium Manganese Arsenic Lithium
0.0032 0.002 0.00046 0.00046 0.00029 0.00017 0.0001 0.000087 0.000072 0.000057 0.000031 0.000024 0.000016 0.000013 0.000069 0.000019 0.000014 0.0000024 0.000017 0.000026 0.0000031
0.0023 0.0010 0.00068 0.00032 0.00026 0.00012 0.000072 0.000060 0.000050 0.000040 0.000022 0.000020 0.000020 0.000020 0.000018 0.000015 0.000015 0.000014 0.000012 0.000007 0.000007
12 14 1 2 17 14 11 13 12
80 55 42
12 1 6
32 27 51 47 41 40 57
Germanium Cobalt Antimony Silver Niobium Zirconium Lanthanum 0.0000021 0.000011 0.000001 0.00016 0.0006 0.000137
14 9 15 11 5 4
3
0.000012 7e-7 7e-7 6e-7 5e-7 5e-7 4e-7 0.000014 2e-7 2e-7 2e-7 0.000026 1.1e-7 1e-7 1.3e-7 1e-7 5.0e-8 2.0e-8 5e-9 1e-17 3.6e-8 3e-14 4.5e-8 1e-17% 3.0e-9 1.2e-8 3.0e-7 No No No No No (toxic) No No No No Yes (not confirmed) No (toxic) No (toxic) No No No (toxic) No (toxic) 6 2 2 16 13 3 15 13 13 11 3 5 5
52 31 39 83 81 49 79 21 73 23 90 92 62 74 4 88
Tellurium Gallium Yttrium Bismuth Thallium Indium Gold Scandium Tantalum Vanadium Thorium Uranium Samarium Tungsten Beryllium Radium
*Iron = ~3 g in men, ~2.3 g in women The elements needed for life are relatively common in the Earth's crust, and conversely most of the common elements are necessary for life. An exception is aluminium, which is the third most common element in the Earth's crust (after oxygen and silicon), but seems to serve no function in living cells. Rather, it is harmful in large amounts.[citation needed] Transferrins can bind aluminium.[10] Periodic table highlighting dietary elements[1]
H Li Be B Al Ti V Cr Mn Fe Ru Os Hs Co Ni Cu Zn Ga In Tl C Si Ge Sn Pb Fl Tm N P As Sb Bi O S Se Te Po F Cl Br I At He Ne Ar Kr Xe Rn
Na Mg K Ca Sc Y *
Rb Sr
Zr Nb Mo Tc Hf Ta W Re Bh
Rh Pd Ag Cd Ir Pt Au Hg
Cs Ba La
Fr Ra Ac ** Rf Db Sg *
Mt Ds Rg Cn Uut Gd Tb Dy Ho Er
Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu U Np
** Th Pa
Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md
Quantity elements
Function suggested from active handling in mammals, but no specific identified biochemical function
Water: Obviously the amount of water is highly dependent on the level of hydration. DNA: A human cell also contains mitochondrial DNA. Sperm cells contain less mitochondrial DNA than other cells. A mammalian red blood cell contains no nucleus and thus no DNA.
References
[1] Ultratrace minerals. Authors: Nielsen, Forrest H. USDA, ARS Source: Modern nutrition in health and disease / editors, Maurice E. Shils ... et al.. Baltimore : Williams & Wilkins, c1999., p. 283-303. Issue Date: 1999 URI: (http:/ / hdl. handle. net/ 10113/ 46493) [2] Thomas J. Glover, comp., Pocket Ref, 3rd ed. (Littleton: Sequoia, 2003), p. 324 (), which in [3] turn cites Geigy Scientific Tables, Ciba-Geigy Limited, Basel, Switzerland, 1984. [5] Distribution of elements in the human body (by weight) (http:/ / www. daviddarling. info/ encyclopedia/ E/ elbio. html) Retrieved on 2007-12-06 [7] ) [8] J. Emsley, The Element, 3rd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. [9] Neilsen, cited (http:/ / hdl. handle. net/ 10113/ 46493) [11] Douglas Fox, "The speed of life" (http:/ / www. newscientist. com/ article/ mg18024195. 500-the-speed-of-life. html), New Scientist, No 2419, 1 November 2003.
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