Connective tissue is not a single organ but a collective term. Tendons, ligaments, fasciae, the dermis beneath the epidermis, the wall layers of the blood vessels and the scaffold in which liver, kidney and lung are embedded — all of that falls under the same heading. What these tissues have in common is that their cells lie far apart and the greater part of the volume consists of what the cells release to the outside.
This released portion is called the extracellular matrix. It contains two fibre types — collagen for tensile strength, elastin for recoil — and between them a water-rich ground substance of proteoglycans and hyaluronic acid. Collagen alone accounts for around a third of the entire body protein and is thus the most abundant protein in the human organism.
In the EU list of authorised health claims, two trace elements appear in connection with this tissue: manganese and copper. The two entries stand separately from each other there and are worded differently — one speaks of formation, the other of maintenance. This page sets out what each wording refers to.
Two minerals, each considered individually — with the claims authorised in the EU under Regulation (EU) No 432/2012.
To the overviewThe paid document goes beyond this page: intake tables for both elements, a section on uptake in the gut, the references for the two entries in the EU register and a glossary of the recurring technical terms. Delivered as a PDF, immediately after payment is received.
One-off access · Digital information product
For digital content a period of fourteen days applies from conclusion of the contract. During this time an informal notification by email is sufficient, without you having to give a reason. The amount is refunded by the same route on which it was received. The full conditions are set out in the withdrawal policy.
Both elements have an entry of their own in the EU register, each with its own wording. They are set out one below the other below so that the difference between the two formulations stays visible.
The total manganese content of an adult is roughly ten to twenty milligrams, spread across bone, liver, kidneys and pancreas. Despite this small amount, the element is part of several enzyme groups. For the matrix of connective tissue the manganese-dependent glycosyltransferases matter: they string together the sugar units from which the long chains of the proteoglycans are built. These chains bind water and give the ground substance its gel-like consistency.
The EU reference value for daily intake is 2 mg. Oats, hazelnuts, wholegrain bread, legumes and black tea are among the foods with higher contents; animal products supply comparatively little.
Pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 432/2012
Of copper the body carries around seventy to a hundred milligrams, the largest share of it in liver, brain and muscle. In connective tissue the element acts at a later station than manganese: the copper-containing lysyl oxidase attacks strands of collagen and elastin that have already formed and cross-links them with one another. Only through these cross-links do loosely adjacent molecules become a tear-resistant fibre that can withstand tension.
The EU reference value is 1 mg per day. Cocoa powder, cashews, sunflower seeds, lentils and offal are among the sources with the highest contents per hundred grams.
Pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 432/2012
Connective tissue is not laid down once and then left alone. It is in slow but continuous exchange: cells break matrix components down and put new ones in their place. How fast that happens differs greatly by tissue type — in a tendon the complete exchange takes years, in the dermis considerably less.
The cell fraction consists primarily of fibroblasts. They produce the precursors of the fibres as well as the components of the ground substance and release both into the intervening space. There collagen assembles into fibrils, while elastin forms a net-like mesh that can stretch and contract again.
The ground substance encloses the fibres. Its proteoglycans consist of a protein core with long sugar chains attached. These chains are negatively charged, thereby attract water and act like a buffer against pressure. In cartilage this water-binding fraction accounts for the greatest part of the weight.
For the sugar chains of the proteoglycans to form, individual sugar units are transferred one after another. The glycosyltransferases responsible for this need a divalent metal ion at their active site, and for several of these enzymes that is manganese. The element is thereby involved in an early step — where matrix components are first assembled.
“Manganese contributes to normal connective tissue formation” — pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 432/2012. The wording thereby refers to the process of formation, not to the state of a finished tissue.
Collagen leaves the cell as a precursor. Only outside the cell are certain side chains chemically altered, so that neighbouring strands can enter into firm bonds with one another. The enzyme that carries out this alteration bears copper ions in its active site. The same holds for elastin, whose network structure rests on the same principle.
“Copper contributes to the maintenance of normal connective tissue” — pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 432/2012. The wording speaks of maintaining an existing state and thereby covers a different moment than the entry for manganese.
In the regulation the two entries stand side by side, but they are deliberately worded differently. One sentence names formation, the other maintenance. Anyone who pulls both statements together into a single one no longer renders either correctly — each claim belongs to exactly one element and to exactly one process.
Nor do the two sentences say anything about what an additional intake achieves in a person who is already adequately supplied. Authorised claims describe a documented function in metabolism; they are not a statement about a benefit in an individual case.
You will find here no dosage recommendation, no product names and no comparison of individual compound forms. Such statements demand an individual assessment that a website cannot provide. Anyone wanting to know what their own status looks like should settle that in a medical practice.
The contents of this website are general in nature and serve informational purposes. They do not take the place of a medical examination, diagnosis or advice from licensed professionals. If you have health complaints or open questions about your own nutritional status, please turn to your physician. Dietary supplements do not take the place of a varied diet and an overall healthy lifestyle. Stated serving amounts must be observed and not exceeded. Keep such products out of the reach of young children.
There is no connection whatsoever between this website and Google LLC, YouTube LLC, Alphabet Inc. or their subsidiaries. Google and YouTube are registered trademarks of Alphabet Inc. The content published here has been neither reviewed nor approved nor endorsed by these companies. Where advertising services from Google are used, that implies no editorial involvement and no endorsement by the provider of those services. The experiences of individuals cannot be transferred to others.
All matters concerning content, orders, withdrawal or stored data go through this form. We normally get back to you within two working days.
It works without the form too: [email protected]