What is Vanadium?
Vanadium is a naturally occuring element that is listed on the Periodic Table and is found in trace amounts in a wide variety of foods including seafood, meat, dairy foods, cooking oils, fresh fruit and vegetables. It is not believed to be required for good health but is sold as a food supplement in many places. Vanadium is believed by some to be beneficial in treating some forms of high blood pressure, for reducing the body’s production of cholesterol, and for increasing insulin sensitivity in diabetics. Toxicity has not been seen with intakes below 4500 micrograms per day. (This is much more than you would normally get from food.) However, some evidence suggests taking vanadium supplements might cause stomach cramps and diarrhea, and make your tongue turn a greenish color. Also, one source reports that excessive levels of vanadium has been linked to manic depression. As with all food supplements, use care and take only as directed.
Vanadium is a compound that occurs in nature as a white-to-gray metal, and is often found as crystals. Pure vanadium has no smell. It usually combines with other elements such as oxygen, sodium, sulfur, or chloride. Vanadium and vanadium compounds can be found in the earth’s crust and in rocks, some iron ores, and crude petroleum deposits. Vanadium is mostly combined with other metals to make special metal mixtures called alloys. Vanadium in the form of vanadium oxide is a component in special kinds of steel that is used for automobile parts, springs, and ball bearings. Most of the vanadium used in the United States is used to make steel. Vanadium oxide is a yellow-orange powder, dark-gray flakes, or yellow crystals. Vanadium is also mixed with iron to make important parts for aircraft engines. Small amounts of vanadium are used in making rubber, plastics, ceramics, and other chemicals.
Vanadium is a metallic element with the atomic number 23 and the symbol V. On the periodic table of elements, it is found in Group 5, and in Period 4 between titanium and chromium. It is referred to as a “transition metal.” Vanadium is a soft, ductile element. Described as silvery-white in color, or, when it is a powder, as light-gray with a silvery sheen. Although vanadium’s discovery is often credited to Swedish chemist Nils Gabriel Sefström, but in fact the discoverer was Spanish professor of mineralogy Andrés Del Rio, who in 1801 found the element in Mexico and named it erythronium. Persuaded that it was nothing new, Del Rio dropped his claim, and Sefstrom receives credit. It was German chemist Friedrich Wöhler who proved in 1831 that the discoveries were identical. Vanadium is named for the Norse goddess who also goes by the name Freyja, who is a member of the group of deities called Vanir. She is the goddess of death and love, marriage, and fertility. Always found combined with o
This Public Health Statement is the summary chapter from the Toxicological Profile for vanadium. It is one in a series of Public Health Statements about hazardous substances and their health effects. A shorter version, the ToxFAQs™, is also available. This information is important because this substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed, personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are present. For more information, call the ATSDR Information Center at 1-888-422-8737.
