# Is there any reason why Aluminium has no biological role? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-why-aluminium-has-no-biological-role/741100 "2015-12-22T15:34:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-why-aluminium-has-no-biological-role/741100/1 "2015-12-22T15:34:01Z")
A question prompted from reading the [“Technology on a planet with only the 25 essential elements for life”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=778419) thread. One of the arguments presented there was that Aluminium, albeit not one of life’s building blocks, it is essential to create the geological conditions necessary for life. So keeping in mind how ubiquitous Aluminium is, is there any known reason why it doesn’t play any role in biology? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-why-aluminium-has-no-biological-role/741100/2 "2015-12-22T15:57:32Z")
I think aluminum, while very common in rocks, isn’t very soluble in seawater. Since life started up, and developed all its basic chemistry, in seawater, there never was much aluminum around to use. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-why-aluminium-has-no-biological-role/741100/3 "2015-12-22T19:10:01Z")
It does. It separates the British from the Americans. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-why-aluminium-has-no-biological-role/741100/4 "2015-12-22T19:28:15Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > It does. It separates the British from the Americans. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-why-aluminium-has-no-biological-role/741100/5 "2015-12-23T00:20:58Z")
Aluminum hydroxide in some forms is very soluble in water, and is even used as a drug. > **[Aluminum hydroxide Uses, Side Effects & Warnings - Drugs.com](https://www.drugs.com/mtm/aluminum-hydroxide.html)** > > Physician reviewed aluminum hydroxide patient information - includes aluminum hydroxide description, dosage and directions. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-why-aluminium-has-no-biological-role/741100/6 "2015-12-23T00:35:29Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Aluminum hydroxide in some forms is very soluble in water, and is even used as a drug. > [http://www.drugs.com/mtm/aluminum-hydroxide.html](http://www.drugs.com/mtm/aluminum-hydroxide.html) Also, without [Aluminum Chlorohydrate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_chlorohydrate), the world would be covered in a lot more sweat than it is. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-why-aluminium-has-no-biological-role/741100/7 "2015-12-23T00:58:39Z")
There’s some relevation information focused on toxicity here, although no obvious answer jumps out. > **[Aluminum Toxicity: Practice Essentials, Pathophysiology, Etiology](https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/165315-overview)** > > Aluminum is a trivalent cation found in its ionic form in most kinds of animal and plant tissues and in natural waters everywhere. It is the third most prevalent element and the most abundant metal in the earth's crust, representing approximately 8%... > [@](#): > > Dietary aluminum is ubiquitous but in such small quantities that it is not a significant source of concern in persons with normal elimination capacity… > > No known physiologic need exists for aluminum; however, because of its atomic size and electric charge (0.051 nm and 3+, respectively), it is sometimes a competitive inhibitor of several essential elements with similar characteristics, such as magnesium (0.066 nm, 2+), calcium (0.099 nm, 2+), and iron (0.064 nm, 3+). At physiological pH, aluminum forms a barely soluble Al(OH)3 that can be easily dissolved by minor changes in the acidity of the media. > > Approximately 95% of an aluminum load becomes bound to transferrin and albumin intravascularly and is then eliminated renally. In healthy subjects, only 0.3% of orally administered aluminum is absorbed via the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and the kidneys effectively eliminate aluminum from the human body. And there’s this old 1980 paper on the precise topic, that’s unfortunately behind a Springer paywall. If anyone has access, I’d kind of like to read this, it has really sparked my interest now. > **[Is aluminum an essential element for life? - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7413189/)** > > Aluminum is proposed to be an essential element for life based on the idea that the chemical composition of living organisms must reflect to some extent the composition of the environment in which they evolved. > **[Is aluminum an essential element for life? - Discover Life](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00928408)** > > Aluminum is proposed to be an essential element for life based on the idea that the chemical composition of living organisms must reflect to some extent the composition of the environment in which they evolved. > [@](#): > > Is aluminum an essential element for life? > Vlado Valković ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-why-aluminium-has-no-biological-role/741100/8 "2015-12-23T02:19:33Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Also, without [Aluminum Chlorohydrate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_chlorohydrate), the world would be covered in a lot more sweat than it is. And have lower blood pressure. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-why-aluminium-has-no-biological-role/741100/9 "2015-12-23T15:00:49Z")
I suppose **Quercos** explanation is as good as any other then. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-why-aluminium-has-no-biological-role/741100/10 "2015-12-23T16:12:17Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > I suppose **Quercos** explanation is as good as any other then. No, I don’t think it’s satisfactory. There is at least as much Al available as other essential trace elements, probably more. I don’t think we have a clear answer at all.