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Anal. Real Acad. Nac. Farm., 2004, 70: 961-999

Revisión

Vanadium - An element both essential and toxic
to plants, animals and humans?

MANFRED ANKE
Académico Correspondiente de la Real Academia Nacional de

Farmacia

ABSTRACT

Vanadium was discovered in 1802/1803 by the Spanish mineralogist A. M. del
Río in Mexico. Vanadium are present in the earth’s crust at an average concentra-
tion of 110 mg/kg. Vanadium is concentrated mainly in mafic rocks (basalt 200-250
mg/kg) and shales (100-130 mg/kg), lowest concentrations were found in limesto-
nes and dolomites (10-45 mg/kg). The average vanadium content of soils world-
wide have been calculated to vary from 18 (peat) and 115 mg/kg (Rotliegende
weathering soils). Burning of fossil fuels caused about 110000 t V/a to enter the
atmosphere globally. With help of indicator plants (wheat, rye, red clover) the local
plant bioavailable vanadium offer is to investigate.

All foodstuffs, rich in starch and sugar and of animals are poor in vanadium (5-
40 µg V/kg dry matter, dm); mushrooms and leafy vegetable contain higher levels
of vanadium (100 to > 1000 µg V/kg dm). Beer and wine (30 to 45 µg/l deliver much
vanadium. In Germany and Mexico women with mixed diet take in 10 to 20 µg V/
day and men 20 to > 35 µg V/day. The high intake results from the higher beer
consumption of men. Vegetarians take in significantly more vanadium. The vana-
dium concentration of organs and milk is not homeostatically regulated. Most
tissues of the fauna reflect the vanadium status.

Faecal excretion of the nutritional vanadium intake amounts to 96% in men
and non lactating women and to 79 in lactating women. On an average, adults of
both sexes and with either form of diet eliminate 4% of the vanadium intake
renally. Lactating women secret 17% of the vanadium intake into the milk.

Vanadium is essential for several species of green algae, fungi and nitrogen-
fixing microorganisms. The inactive apoenzymes of bromoperoxidase, iodoperoxi-
dase and chloroperoxidase can be reconstituted by vanadium to active haloenzy-
mes. The normative vanadium requirement for animals is with < 10 µg/kg feed dry
matter or < 10 µg V/day of man small. Intrauterine vanadium depleted goats de-

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