SOURCES:
Found in manufacturing, food, packaging, solder, bronzing, dyeing textiles, plastics, PVC pipes, fungicides, toothpaste, perfume, soap, food additives, electronic, cigarette aerosol, and dyes. Naturally present and rocks and nearby air, water, and soil. Seafood is the primary route of human exposure to tin compounds. Tin is found in both organic and inorganic forms. Inorganic tin is generally regarded as safe by the FDA as a food additive for human consumption.
Nutrient interactions:
Tin disturbs copper, zinc, and iron metabolism.
Physiological effects:
Very limited G.I. absorption of inorganic tin orally, with 90% excrete in feces, and therefore non-toxic. When absorbed, it deposits in the liver and kidneys. Organic tin is better, absorbed and concentrates in blood, liver, muscles, brain, and heart.
Clinical significance:
Headaches, visual defects, depression, skin and eye irritation – rarely hepatotoxicity and neurotoxicity. Organic tin compounds have been identified as environmental obesogens and urinary levels are associated with diabetes.
Tin
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