Copper gluconate

Copper, an essential mineral, is naturally present in some foods and is available as a dietary supplement. It is a cofactor for several enzymes (known as “cuproenzymes”) involved in energy production, iron metabolism, neuropeptide activation, connective tissue synthesis, and neurotransmitter synthesis [1-3]. One abundant cuproenzyme is ceruloplasmin (CP), which plays a role in iron metabolism and carries more than 95% of the total copper in healthy human plasma [4]. Copper is also involved in many physiologic processes, such as angiogenesis; neurohormone homeostasis; and regulation of gene expression, brain development, pigmentation, and immune system functioning [1]. In addition, defense against oxidative damage depends mainly on the copper-containing superoxide dismutases [5,6]. A wide variety of plant and animal foods contain copper, and the average human diet provides approximately 1,400 mcg/day for men and 1,100 mcg/day for women that is primarily absorbed in the upper small intestine [1,2,7-9]. Almost two-thirds of the body’s copper is located in the skeleton and muscle [1,3]. Only small amounts of copper are typically stored in the body, and the average adult has a total body content of 50–120 mg copper [1,2]. Most copper is excreted in bile, and a small amount is excreted in urine. Total fecal losses of copper of biliary origin and nonabsorbed dietary copper are about 1 mg/day [1,2]. Copper levels in the body are homeostatically maintained by copper absorption from the intestine and copper release by the liver into bile to provide protection from copper deficiency and toxicity [3].