Why is bromine important

Bromine — an element with atomic number 35 and the chemical symbol Br — is the 28th chemical element essential for tissue development in humans and all other animals, says a team of researchers led by Prof Billy Hudson of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

An illustrative bromine sample. Image credit: Alchemist-hp, Pse-mendelejew. Twenty seven, among the 92 naturally-occurring chemical elements, were considered to be essential for human life — until now. There is a 28th — bromine , according to Prof Hudson and his colleagues. Bromine supplementation may improve the health of patients on dialysis or total parenteral nutrition TPN , for example. The answer lies in the enzyme peroxidasin. Ionic bromide is an important co-factor for this enzyme, which enables peroxidasin to form the sulfilimine bond and thus build collagen-IV.

This fundamental discovery has important implications for human disease. For example , Bromine supplementation may improve the health of patients on dialysis and of people which are on a total parenteral nutrition diet.

What are your thoughts on bromine being essential to human life? Do not hesitate to share this article, to give your opinion and to start the conversation. Bromine vapors are very toxic with inhalation. Humans can absorb organic bromines through the skin, with food and during breathing.

Organic bromines are widely used as sprays to kill insects and other unwanted pests. But they are not only poisonous to the animals that they are used against, but also to larger animals. In many cases they are poisonous to humans, too. The most important health effects that can be caused by bromine-containing organic contaminants are malfunctioning of the nervous system and disturbances in genetic materials.

But organic bromines can also cause damage to organs such as liver, kidneys, lungs and milt and they can cause stomach and gastrointestinal malfunctioning. Some forms of organic bromines, such as ethylene bromine, can even cause cancer. Inorganic bromines are found in nature, but whereas they occur naturally humans have added too much through the years. Through food and drinking water humans absorb high doses of inorganic bromines. These bromines can damage the nervous system and the thyroid gland.

Organic bromines are often applied as disinfecting and protecting agents, due to their damaging effects on microorganisms. When they are applied in greenhouses and on farmland they can easily rinse off to surface water, which has very negative health effects on daphnia, fishes, lobsters and algae.

Organic bromines are also damaging to mammals, especially when they accumulate in the bodies of their preys. The most important effects on animals are nerve damage and next to that DNA damage, which can also enhance the chances of development of cancer. The uptake of organic bromine takes place through food, through breathing and through the skin.