Effect of the inflammatory response on trace element and vitamin status

Trace elements and vitamins are required in milligram amounts per day to maintain normal health. If insuf® cient or excessive amounts are present, illness can result. Improvements in atomic absorption spectroscopy for trace metals in the 1970s and high-pressure liquid chromatography methods for vitamins in the 1990s 1 now allow us to detect physiological and pathophysiological variations in blood concentrations of these substances in the absence of clinical evidence of de® ciency or toxicity. Several epidemiological studies have highlighted the association of a reduction in circulating concentrations of antioxidant vitamins and trace elements with an increased risk of