Copper

Copper Gluconate · Copper Bisglycinate · Cupric Oxide

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Copper deficiency anemia¹ Zinc-induced copper deficiency² Copper deficiency after bariatric surgery³ Celiac disease malabsorption⁴	Wilson's disease⁴ Increased Alzheimer's disease risk⁴ Infants under 12 months⁴

Copper is an essential mineral that serves as a cofactor for enzymes in energy production, iron metabolism, connective tissue synthesis, and neurotransmitter synthesis⁴. Supplementation is used to correct deficiency, which presents as anemia, neutropenia, and myeloneuropathy, and with far thinner support for cardiovascular and cognitive health. The typical patient has taken high-dose zinc⁴, has had bariatric surgery, or has celiac disease⁴.

Hematologic manifestations of deficiency are reversible with copper replacement, while neurologic manifestations are only partly reversible¹. For cardiovascular disease, the NIH fact sheet finds the evidence insufficient for conclusions⁴, and a 12-month trial in mild Alzheimer's disease found no cognitive difference⁴. A 2026 case report linked severe myeloneuropathy to chronic zinc-containing denture adhesive use, with recovery after copper gluconate and adhesive withdrawal; no trial has tested this. More than 14,000 products list copper, as gluconate, bisglycinate, cupric oxide, or other forms, and no studies compare their bioavailability; see Form comparison⁴.

Wilson's disease is the key exclusion because defective copper clearance drives liver and neurologic damage⁴. A dialysis case report advised monitoring both copper and zinc status during zinc therapy².

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

70 sources, 58 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources