Table 2.
Clinical trials analyzing the anti-inflammatory effects of certain minerals
| Mineral | Study design | Dose/duration | Population | Main finding | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chromium | RCT | 200 μg/day or placebo for 8 weeks |
Patients with PCOS Experimental group (n = 30) Placebo group (n = 30) |
↓ Plasma CRP and MDA | [100] |
| Chromium | RCT | 200 μg/day or placebo for 8 weeks |
20 patients with PCOS who were candidate for in vitro fertilization Experimental group (n = 20) Placebo group (n = 20) |
↓ Blood CRP ↓ Gene expression of IL-1 in PBMCs NS effects on gene expression of IL-8, TNF-α, TGF-β, and VEGF of in PBMCs |
[101] |
| Chromium | RCT | 400 μg/day or placebo for 3 months |
Patients with NAFLD Experimental group (n = 23) Placebo group (n = 23) |
↓ Serum TNF-α, CRP, and IL-6, and fetuin-A NS effects on blood IL-17 |
[102] |
| Chromium | RCT | 400 μg/day (chromium picolinate); 400 μg/day (chromium dinicocysteinate; or placebo for 3 months |
Patients with T2DM Chromium picolinate (n = 12) Chromium dinicocysteinate (n = 18) Placebo (n = 13) |
↓ Plasma TNF-α (chromium dinicocysteinate vs. placebo) | [103] |
| Chromium | RCT | 1000 μg/day or placebo for 16 weeks |
Patients with metabolic syndrome Experimental group (n = 33) Placebo group (n = 30) |
NS effects on blood CRP | [104] |
| Chromium | RCT | 400 μg/day (chromium picolinate); 400 μg/day (chromium dinicocysteinate; or placebo for 3 months |
Patients with T2DM Chromium picolinate (n = 25) Chromium dinicocysteinate (n = 24) Placebo (n = 25) |
↓ Serum TNF-α (chromium dinicocysteinate vs. baseline) | [105] |
| Chromium + magnesium + zinc | RCT | 300 mg/day magnesium plus 600 μg/day chromium plus 36 mg/day zinc or placebo for 24 weeks |
Adults with metabolic syndrome Experimental group (n = 16) Placebo group (n = 16) |
↓ Plasma CRP | [106] |
| Copper | RCT | 2 mg/day or placebo for 8 weeks |
Adults with moderately high cholesterol Experimental group (n = 35) Placebo group (n = 35) |
NS effects on serum CRP and homocysteine | [107] |
| Iron | RCT | 50 g/day meat; 20 g/day of fortified rice cereal (1.10 mg of iron); or 20 g/day of local rice cereal (0.04 mg of iron) for 1 year |
6-month-old infants Meat group (n = 137) Fortified cereal group (n = 140) Local cereal group (n = 133) |
↑ Plasma CRP and AGP-A | [108] |
| Iron | RCT | 50 mg for 4 day/week or identical placebo for 38 weeks |
Children with iron deficiency Experimental group (n = 22) Placebo group (n = 27) |
NS effects on gut inflammation (measured by fecal calprotectin concentration) | [109] |
| Iron | RCT | 6 mg/kg/day iron plus placebo; or 6 mg/kg/day plus 18 mg/day vitamin E for 8 weeks |
Iron-deficient infants and toddlers Iron plus placebo (n = 22) Iron plus vitamin E (n = 14) |
NS effects on gut inflammation (measured by fecal calprotectin concentration) and blood levels of TNF-α and IL-4 | [110] |
| Magnesium | RCT | 500 mg/day or placebo for 4 weeks |
Healthy overweight volunteers Experimental group (n = 7) Placebo group (n = 7) |
NS effects on plasma CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, and E-selectin ↓ Gene expression of C1q, C1QTNF9, and PPBP |
[111] |
| Magnesium | RCT | 250 mg/day or placebo for 8 weeks |
Middle-aged overweight women Experimental group (n = 35) Placebo group (n = 34) |
NS effects on serum CRP, IL-6, and fibrinogen | [112] |
| Magnesium | RCT | 320 mg/day or placebo for 7 weeks |
Adults with poor sleep quality Experimental group (n = 46) Placebo group (n = 49) |
↓ Blood CRP in participants with baseline values > 3.0 mg/L | [113] |
| Magnesium | RCT | 300 mg/day or placebo for 6 months |
COPD patients Experimental group (n = 25) Placebo group (n = 24) |
↓ Plasma CRP NS effects on serum TNF-α |
[114] |
| Magnesium | RCT | 30 ml of MgCl(2) 5% solution (equivalent to 382 mg of magnesium) per day or placebo for 3 months |
Subjects with prediabetes and hypomagnesemia Experimental group (n = 13) Placebo group (n = 13) |
NS effects on CRP, IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-10 levels | [115] |
| Magnesium | RCT | 30 mL of MgCl2 5% solution (equivalent to 382 mg of magnesium) per day or placebo for 3 months |
Subjects with new diagnosis of prediabetes and hypomagnesemia Experimental group (n = 29) Placebo group (n = 28) |
↓ Blood CRP | [116] |
| Magnesium and zinc | RCT | 250 mg of magnesium oxide plus 220 mg of zinc sulfate or placebo twice a day for 12 weeks |
Subjects with PCOS Experimental group (n = 30) Placebo group (n = 30) |
↓ Plasma CRP and protein carbonyl ↓ Gene expression of IL-1 and TNF-α |
[117] |
| Na and K | RCT | Supplemental Na (3.0 g/day); supplemental K (2.8 g/day) or placebo for 4 weeks | Pre-hypertensive patients (n = 36) | ↓ Blood IL-8 (K supplementation) | [118] |
| Selenium | RCT | 200 µg/day or placebo for 12 weeks |
Patients with diabetic nephropathy Experimental group (n = 30) Placebo group (n = 30) |
NS effects on plasma CRP, TGF-β, AGEs, protein carbonyl, and MDA | [119] |
| Selenium | RCT | 200 µg/day or placebo for 12 weeks |
Patients with CHF Experimental group (n = 26) Placebo group (n = 27) |
NS effects on serum CRP | [120] |
| Selenium | RCT | 200 µg/day or placebo for 12 weeks |
Hemodialysis patients Experimental group (n = 40) Placebo group (n = 40) |
↓ Blood MDA and IL-6 NS effects on homocysteine, ferritin, and transferrin |
[121] |
| Selenium | RCT | 200 µg/day or placebo for 6 weeks |
Pregnant women with GDM Experimental group (n = 35) Placebo group (n = 35) |
↓ Blood CRP and MDA | [122] |
| Selenium | RCT | 200 μg/day or placebo for 8 weeks |
Women with PCOS Experimental group (n = 32) Placebo group (n = 32) |
↓ Serum CRP and MDA | [123] |
| Selenium | RCT | 200 μg/day or placebo for 4 weeks |
17 patients undergoing CABG surgery Experimental group (n = 17) Placebo group (n = 16) |
↓ Plasma CRP and MDA | [124] |
| Selenium | RCT | 200 μg/day or placebo for 8 weeks |
Patients with T2DM and CHD Experimental group (n = 30) Placebo group (n = 30) |
↓ Blood CRP | [125] |
| Selenium | RCT | 200 μg or placebo twice daily for 14 days |
Patients undergoing HSCT Experimental group (n = 37) Placebo group (n = 37) |
NS effects on serum TNF-α, IL-1, and IL-6 | [126] |
| Zinc | RCT | 30 mg/day or placebo for 12 weeks |
Women with premenstrual syndrome Experimental group (n = 30) Placebo group (n = 30) |
NS effects on serum CRP | [127] |
| Zinc | RCT | 45 mg/day or placebo for 6 months |
Healthy elderly subjects Experimental group (n = 20) Placebo group (n = 20) |
↓ Blood CRP, IL-6, MCP-1, VCAM-1, MDA, and secretory phospholipase A2 ↓ TNF-α, IL-1β, VCAM-1, and NF-kB activity in THP-1 cells and human aortic endothelial cells ↑ Anti-inflammatory proteins A20 and PPAR-α in THP-1 cells and human aortic endothelial cells |
[128] |
| Zinc | RCT | 15 mg/day or placebo for 12 weeks |
Women with migraine Experimental group (n = 30) Placebo group (n = 30) |
NS effects on plasma CRP | [129] |
| Zinc | RCT | 25 mg/day or placebo for 3 months |
18 adult SCD patients Experimental group (n = 18) Placebo group (n = 18) |
↓TNF-α and IL-1β mRNAs in MNCs ↓ NF-kB binding in MNCs ↑ IL-2 and IL-2Ralpha mRNAs in phytohemagglutinin-p-stimulated MNCs |
[130] |
| Zinc | RCT | 25 mg/day or placebo for 12 weeks |
Patients with major depression Experimental group (n = 20) Placebo group (n = 17) |
NS effects on serum IL-6 and TNF-α | [131] |
| Zinc | RCT | 30 mg/day or placebo for 8 weeks |
Women with obesity Experimental group (n = 20) Placebo group (n = 20) |
↓ Blood CRP and IL-6 NS effects on serum leptin and adiponectin levels |
[132] |
| Zinc | RCT | 30 mg/day or placebo for 15 weeks |
Subjects with obesity Experimental group (n = 18) Placebo group (n = 22) |
↓ Plasma CRP | [133] |
| Zinc | RCT | 50 mg/day or placebo for 8 weeks |
24 women with PCOS Experimental group (n = 24) Placebo group (n = 24) |
NS effects on serum CRP | [134] |
| Zinc | RCT | 20 mg/day or placebo for 8 weeks |
Prepubescent children with metabolic syndrome Experimental group (n = 30) Placebo group (n = 30) |
↓ Blood CRP | [135] |
RCT randomized controlled trial, NS no significant, PCOS polycystic ovary syndrome, COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, SCD sickle-cell disease, CHF congestive heart failure, GDM gestational diabetes mellitus, CABG coronary artery bypass grafting surgery, T2DM type 2 diabetes mellitus, CHD coronary heart disease, NAFLD non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, HSCT hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, CRP C-reactive protein, IL-6 interleukin 6, TNF-α tumor necrosis factor alpha, IL-8 interleukin 8, IL-10 interleukin 10, IL-1 interleukin 1, IL-1β interleukin-1β, IL-2 interleukin 2, IL-4 interleukin 4, MDA malondialdehyde, PBMCs peripheral blood mononuclear cells, TGF-β transforming growth factor beta, VEGF vascular endothelial growth factor, IL-17 interleukin 17, AGP-A alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, C1QTNF9 tumor necrosis factor related protein 9, PPBP pro-platelet basic protein, TGF-β transforming growth factor β, AGEs advanced glycation endproducts, MCP-1 monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, VCAM-1 vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, NF-kB transcription nuclear factor kappa B, PPAR-α peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha, MNCs mononuclear cells