Table 1.

Role of selected minerals in innate and adaptive immunity

Mineral	Role in innate immunity	Role in adaptive immunity	References
Folate	Supports innate immunity Increases production of NK cells	Improves cell-mediated immunity Increases expression of antigen-presenting cells Increases antibody-mediated immune response Increases antibody production Assists T-helper cell–mediated immune response	Haryanto et al (2015)27; McClung & Peterson (2010)28; Saeed et al (2016)29
Iron	Regulates production of cytokines Improves phagocytosis	Increases T-cell proliferationImproves cytotoxic T-cell function	Haryanto et al (2015)27; Weiss (2002)30; Xu et al (2016)31
Zinc	Protects cells from oxidants Helps maintain skin and mucosal cell membrane integrity	Promotes release of cytokines to mediate adaptive immunity Assists T-helper 1 cells Activates T cells	Saeed et al (2016)29; Wintergerst et al (2006)32; Maares & Haase (2016)33
Copper	Aids neutrophil phagocytosis Increases IL-2 production	Increases T-cell proliferation Increases antibody production Improves cellular immunity by activating cytokines and chemokines	McClung & Peterson (2010)28; Maggini et al (2007)34
Selenium	Helps selenium-dependent enzymes (sialoproteins) to resist oxidant production Supports function of NK cells and leukocytes (macrophages, neutrophils, monocytes)	Increases antibody production Promotes T-cell proliferation and differentiation	Diwakar et al (2016)26; Haryanto et al (2015)27; Avery & Hoffmann (2018)35; Ivory et al (2017)36