Nutrition, boron

Goldbach, H. and A. Amberger. 1986. Influence of boron nutrition on cell wall polysaccharides in cell cultures of Daucus carota L. Jour. Plant Physiol. 123 263-269. 

Gupta, U.C. and J.A. Cutcliffe. 1985. Boron nutrition of carrots and table beets grown in a boron deficient soil. Comm. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 16 509-516. 

Penland, J.G. 1998. The importance of boron nutrition for brain and psychological function. Biol. Trace Elem. Res. 66 299-317. 

Nielsen, Forrest H. Is Boron Nutritionally Relevant Nutrition Reviews (April... 

Table I. Diagnostic Criteria for Boron Nutrition of Field and Vegetable Crops Based upon Hot Water Extraction of Soil Boron (10)...

Without known nutritional function but toxic in excess Aluminum, arsenic, antimony, boron, bromine, cadmium, cesium, germanium, lead, mercury, silver, strontium... 

Hunt, C.D. 1994. The biochemical effects of physiologic amounts of dietary boron in animal nutrition models. Environ. Health Perspec. 102(Suppl. 7) 35-43. 

Different works show that the nutritional status of certain nutrients, such as boron (B), calcium (Ca), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and iron (Fe) can trigger changes in phenolic metabolism. Of these nutrients, B is attributed with a clear and significant effect on the metabolism of these secondary compounds. As we shall discuss below, the relationship between B metabolism and phenolics is complex and depends largely on the sensitivity of the plant to B deficiency or toxicity. 

Biological Functions Although boron is required by plants, there is little solid evidence to date that it is required for the nutrition of livestock or humans. Boron deficiency may alter the levels of vitamins or sugars in... 

TRACE ELEMENT (Mlcronutrient). An element essential to plant and animal nutrition in trace concentration, i.e., minute fractions of 1% (1000 ppm or less). Plants requite iron, copper, boron, zinc, manganese, potassium, molybdenum, sodium, and chlorine. Animals require iron, copper, manganese, cobalt, selenium, and potassium. Such elements are also called micronutrients. Do not confuse with tracer. 

Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board, Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 2000 (www.nap.edu). 

B. About 20 elements are called minerals. They also play a role in human nutrition. The minerals known to be essential for good health are calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper, iodine, cobalt, fluorine, and zinc. Traces of sihcon, boron, arsenic, strontium, aluminum, bromine, molybdenum, selenium, and nickel may also be required. These elements are eaten in the form of their compounds, but it does not matter much which compounds. 

H. E. Goldbach, P. H. Brown, B. Rerkasem, M. Thellier, M. A. Wunmer, R. W. Bell eds, Boron in Plant and Animal Nutrition , Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 2002. 

Boron s role in plant nutrition is an essential one, but the specific role that it plays is still in question. The most persistent hypothesis is that B facilitates the transport of sugars through membranes (Gauch and Dugger, 1954). 

For some trace elements, continued suboptimal dietary intake— in the presence of physiological, nutritional, or other metabolic stress— may eventually have a detrimental effect. Then additional dietary supplementation may have a health restorative effect. Such effects are most clearly demonstrated in experimental animals. Examples include the effects of boron in the presence of vitamin D depletion, or the need for increased vanadium when there is either an experimentally induced deficient or excess supply of dietary iodine. ... 

Boron (B) may be the next element to be recognized as essential in human nutrition. The evidence is largely circumstantial because there is no clear biological function for boron in humans. 

Problems with contamination and losses of volatile boron compounds during sample preparation have limited the reliable documentation of boron concentrations in human tissue and body fluids. A complex technique involving a porous graphite column—inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrophotometry (ICP-AES)— and an ICP time of flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) has been developed for investigations of boron neutron capture in cancer therapy. Adaptation of this method to nutritional studies of boron should be possible. 

USE Used with boric acid in the manuf of dry electrolytic condensers for radio applications in making artificial resins and plasticizers in pharmacy as excipient and diluent for solids and liqs in analytical chemistry for boron determinations in the manuf of mannitol hexanitrate. Used in the food industry as anticaking and free f]ow agent flavoring agent, Lubricant and release agent, stabilizer and thickener and nutritive sweetener,... 

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