|
Micronutrient | EAR for adults (not pregnant or lactating) | General health effects of deficiency | Effects of deficiency related to genome instability | UL for Adults | Effects of excess related to genome instability | References |
|
Vitamin |
|
Vitamin A | 500–625 RAE | Blindness, impaired immunity, and dermal alterations | Increased sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents | 3000 RAE | Congenital malformations while in pregnancy. Cancer risk increase for smokers | [48–50] |
Vitamin B7 (biotin) | 30 g* | Dermal alterations, immune dysfunction, neurological symptoms, and congenital malformations during pregnancy | Chromatin structural alterations | NA (safe up to 20,000 g) | Congenital malformations. Increase in DNA damage | [51–54] |
Vitamin B9 | 320 DFE | Anemia and other hematological alterations, pregnancy complication (e.g., neural tube defect) | Uracil misincorporation in DNA; DNA strand breaks | 1000 DFE | Increased cancer risk (promotion effect) | [43, 51, 55, 56] |
Vitamin B12 | 2 g | From lack of energy to irreversible severe damage to nervous system | DNA strand breaks | 1000 g | Unknown | [43, 51] |
Vitamin C | 60–75 mg (95–110 if smoker) | Dermatological alterations associated to collagen synthesis and immune impairment | DNA strand breaks | 2000 mg | DNA damage related to oxidative stress | [43, 49, 55] |
Vitamin E | 12 mg | Increase in chronic disease risk | DNA strand breaks | 1000 mg | DNA damage related to oxidative stress | [43, 49, 57, 58] |
|
Mineral |
|
Copper | 700 g | Anemia and other blood dysfunctions, impaired growth, and neurological alterations | Oxidative DNA damage increase | 10000 g (under review) | DNA damage associated to oxidative stress, particularly to liver | [59, 60] |
Iron | 6–8.1 mg | Anemia and other blood dysfunctions, impaired growth, and neurological alterations | DNA damage increase | 45 mg | DNA damage associated to oxidative stress, particularly to liver | [21, 43, 60] |
Magnesium | 255–350 mg | Rare because Mg deficiency is unusual | DNA repair deficiency | NA | Unknown | [61, 62] |
Selenium | 45 g | Decreased activity of glutathione peroxidase leading to increased risk of degenerative diseases and impairment in immunity | DNA strand breaks | 400 g | Tumor incidence seems to be reduced in high doses supplementation | [49, 63] |
Zinc | 6.8–9.4 mg | Dermal alterations, growth retardation, immune dysfunction, neurological symptoms, night blindness, and adverse outcomes during pregnancy | DNA strand breaks | 40 mg | DNA damage increase | [43, 60, 64] |
|