Interaction of Essential and Toxic Elements

Course Description

COURSE CONTENT

• Types of mineral elements in diet and their fate in human organism;
• Nutriture/ essentiality and toxicity of mineral elements and the impact of bioavailability factors;
• Effect of elements on human health and the importance of element interaction;
• Importance of element concentration (dose)-response relationship in the organism;
• Main sources of exposure to toxic metals and metalloids and their and the key adverse effects on health;
• Basic principles of element analysis in assessment of their exposure, intake and health effects;
• Scientific approaches in study of essential and toxic element interaction;
• Calcium: role and interaction with other essential macro- and microelements and toxic elements;
• Iron: role and interaction with essential and toxic microelements;
• Zinc and copper: role and interaction with essential and toxic microelements;
• Selenium: role and interaction with essential and toxic microelements

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• list criteria that determine essentiality and toxicity of mineral element for human health;
• define classifications and list types of mineral elements based on their presence in the human organism and their roles/ effects on human health;
• state and explain the circumstances of the constant presence of mineral elements in human environment and describe basic characteristics of element fate after its uptake in the human body (distribution, accumulation and excretion from the organism);
• list the factors of bioavailability that have impact on nutriture/ essentiality and toxicity of mineral elements on human health;
• explain the importance of the decreased amounts (deficiency) and increased amounts of elements (toxicity) in the organism and list main toxic effects of the elements;
• list basic principles for element analysis in food and biological samples in assessment of their exposure, intake and effects in the organism;
• describe and give examples of interaction of essential elements, essential and toxic elements and role of interaction in procedures for decreasing element body burden at toxic doses during intoxication (by chelation therapy and essential element supplementation);
• use scientific and professional literature and recognize and review relevant data on particular interaction of two or more essential elements and essential and toxic element