Molybdenum

What it does

Molybdenum is a trace mineral required in tiny amounts, but it is genuinely essential because it forms part of a handful of important enzymes. These molybdenum-dependent enzymes handle specific chemical clean-up jobs that no other mineral can do, particularly the breakdown of certain amino acids and other compounds into forms the body can safely process and excrete.

One of its key roles is helping to break down sulphur-containing amino acids from protein, and another is processing purines — components of DNA — into uric acid for removal from the body. It also helps the body handle certain naturally occurring toxins and drug by-products. Although these tasks sound narrow, they are essential; the rare inherited inability to use molybdenum properly causes serious illness, which shows how important these enzymes are.

Molybdenum is found in pulses, wholegrains, nuts and leafy vegetables, and because the body needs so little and diets generally supply plenty, deficiency is essentially unknown in healthy people eating normally. The body absorbs it readily and the kidneys excrete any excess, so it does not accumulate to harmful levels from a normal diet.