Define Role in Glucose, Lipid and Nucleic Acid Metabolism?
Chromium leads to a decrease in blood glucose concentration in people with elevated glucose levels and an increase in those with low blood glucose levels. It shows no effect in the subjects with normal blood glucose levels.
Owing to its role in improving glucose tolerance, many studies having been conducted to see the effect of chromium supplementation in patients with impaired glucose tolerance, and Type 2 diabetes, however, results of different studies have been varied. From the results of various studies, it appears that supplementation level of 200 mcg/day as chromium chloride (CrCl3) did not have any beneficial effect: Positive effects were observed in studies using 400 mcg Crlday as CrCl3. Almost all the studies employing more bioavailable Cr picolinate have reported favourable effects with greater effect reported at 1000 mcg/day than at 200 mcg/day. Also human studies include subjects of diverse genetic and nutritional backgrounds living in environments of varying degrees of stress, all of which may affect chromium metabolism.
Similarly, improved insulin function is also associated with improved lipid profile. Although number of beneficial effects of chromium on lipid profiles have been reported, these responses are not consistent from study to study. Overall, chromium appears to reduce levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in blood and increase level of HDL cholesterol.
Another proposed role for chromium is in relation to nucleic acid metabolism. It is postulated that Cr3+ is involved in maintaining the structural integrity of nuclear strands and in the regulation of gene expression. It must be evident from the discussions above that chromium is important for glucose, fat, protein and especially nucleic acid metabolism. Thus, its low or excessive intake over a period of time may result in the development of metabolic changes in several nutrients. Let us read further to know as to what happens when chromium intake is above or below our requirements.