Every medical student in the last fifty years has been tested at least once on the basics of nutrient deficiency. At the risk of being overly pedantic:
Nutrient | Cellular mechanism | Deficiency |
Biotin | Fatty Acid Synthesis | Alopecia, dermatosis, dry skin |
Chromium | Improves glucose tolerance | Hyperglycemia |
Copper | Enzyme cofactor, hematopoiesis, bone formation | Refractory iron repletion, hypochromic anemia |
Folate | Homocysteine, purine, and pyrimidine metabolism, maturation of RBC’s | Hypercholesterolemia, anemia, hyperpigmentation |
Omega-6 fatty acids | Prostaglandin synthesis, membrane integrity | Poor wound healing, increased infection rate, dermatosis |
Selenium | Glutathione precursor, component of thyroid hormone iodinase | Cardiomyopathy (Keshan disease) |
Zinc | Enzyme cofactor, wound healing | Glossitis, dermatosis |

Brown, scaly dermatosis from zinc deficiency (photo courtesy skinandallergynews.com)
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