Cobalt Essay Exam

What are rich dietary sources of this element?

• Key part of cobalamin/vitamin B12

  • “Primary biological reservoir of cobalt as an ultra trace element”

How do you acquire this element in your diet?

• For human diets they are primarily acquired through consuming animal products, such as meat, fish, eggs, and dairy–grasing animals intake it through plants and soils

• Also added to some foods (ex. Fortified cereal) and can be taken as a supplement

Compare the element’s abundance in the environment to its optimal concentration in human cells.

• Comprises around 0.003% of the earth’s crust, with an average content of 25-30 ppm

• In the human body, a study found that for a man weighing 70 kg, the total amount of cobalt in the body is 0.0011 grams

• The recommended daily amount for adults (at least for B12) is 2.4 micrograms

How is the element assimilated/transported into your tissues and cells?

• As vitamin B12; bound to protein in food and needs to be released (by saliva) then it experiences a few hand offs

  • Binds to haptocorrin in the saliva + stomach due to the activity of HCL and gastric protease in the stomach

  • Digestive enzymes in the duodenum (first part of the small intestine) release B12 from the haptocorrin, which then combine with intrinsic factor, a “transport and delivery binding protein secreted by the stomach’s parietal cells”

  • The complex is then absorbed in the distal ileum (the last part of the small intestine)

What is the element’s biological function in your body?

• Necessary component of vitamin B12, fundamental coenzyme of cell mitosis; important for forming amino acids

• Plays a role in creating neurotransmitters

• Deficiency in vitamin b12 and by extension coal may cause anaemia, hypofunction of thyroid, and with those pregnant may increase the risk of developmental abnormalities and failure in infants

• Essential to red blood cell formation, cell metabolism, nerve function, and DNA production

Is the element toxic to you or the natural environment in general if present at too high a level?

• Organic cobalt has low toxicity due to its low oral bioavailability, but inorganic salts containing the element are considered more toxic

Is the element bound to proteins or other biopolymers and if so how is it bound?

• Cobalt is inserted into the core of the vitamin B12 molecule by a metal inserting enzyme

• “In coenzyme-B12, cobalt is bound to a tetraazamacrocyclic ligand”

If the element serves as a cofactor in enzyme-catalyzed reactions describe its catalytic role.

• As an element in vitamin B12, it is a Cofactor for two important enzymes, methylmalonyl-CoA mutase and methionine synthase

If the element is not permanently bound to an organic molecule is it bound transiently and how?

What type of pathology would happen to you if there were a nutritional deficiency of the element, and what would your symptoms be?

• Kinda rare but can happen to vegans and vegetarians

• Deficiency would lead to anemia, fatigue, muscle weakness, intestinal problems, nerve damage, mood disturbances, decreased ability to think, lightheaddedness, poor appetite, numbness in the hands and feet, etc.