Mertz W
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1981 Aug 14;294(1071):9-18. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1981.0086.
E. J. Underwood's discovery of the essentially of cobalt for ruminant animals is the classic example of the vast benefits to agricultural production of research into the nutritional significance of trace elements. The extension of this discovery, culminating in the identification of vitamin B12, resulted in similar benefits for human health, notably the conquest of pernicious anaemia. Since then, additional essential trace elements have been discovered. Deficiency or imbalance, whether occurring naturally or from human activities, has been shown to present significant problems for the health of man and animals. Essentiality has been proved for a rapidly growing range of 'new' trace elements, whose biochemical mechanisms of action and implications for human health are unknown. In spite of an increasing knowledge of significant changes in the exposure of man and animals to trace elements from diet and environment, the concern of nutrition policy planners for inorganic micro-nutrients remains overshadowed by that for the bulk components of the diet. The application of existing knowledge of trace element nutrition to problems of human and animal health will depend on a clear understanding of events that link molecular, biochemical mechanisms to the clinical manifestation of deficiencies.
E. J. 安德伍德发现钴对反刍动物至关重要，这是微量元素营养意义研究给农业生产带来巨大益处的经典例子。这一发现的进一步拓展，最终促成了维生素B12的鉴定，也给人类健康带来了类似益处，尤其是攻克了恶性贫血。从那时起，又发现了其他必需微量元素。已表明，无论是自然发生还是由人类活动导致的微量元素缺乏或失衡，都会给人类和动物的健康带来重大问题。对于越来越多的“新”微量元素，其生化作用机制及对人类健康的影响尚不清楚，但已证明它们是必需的。尽管人们越来越了解人类和动物从饮食及环境中接触微量元素的显著变化，但营养政策规划者对无机微量营养素的关注仍被对饮食中大量成分的关注所掩盖。将微量元素营养的现有知识应用于人类和动物健康问题，将取决于对将分子、生化机制与缺乏症临床表现联系起来的事件的清晰理解。
