Molybdenum

Molybdenum supplementation · Sodium Molybdate · Molybdenum Glycinate

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Parenteral nutrition supplementation¹ Acquired molybdenum deficiency² Hyperuricemia risk³ Bone markers, Mo-biofortified lettuce⁴	Infant supplementation² Intake above upper limit²

Molybdenum is an essential trace mineral that acts as a cofactor for four enzymes handling sulfur-containing amino acids and purines, including sulfite oxidase and xanthine oxidase². Molybdenum is a cofactor for sulfite oxidase and xanthine oxidase. Supplementation has been recommended to prevent deficiency in infants and adults on long-term total parenteral nutrition (TPN)¹. The National Institutes of Health fact sheet states that it is not a standard treatment for any disease and that no known group is likely to have inadequate intake².

Evidence for the main uses is limited and mostly observational.² A meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies linked higher molybdenum exposure to lower hyperuricemia prevalence³, whereas the fact sheet describes gout-like symptoms and raised uric acid at very high dietary intakes in an Armenian region². In a trial of adults and seniors, molybdenum-biofortified lettuce lowered a bone resorption marker while a molybdenum tablet did not⁴. In a 2025 in vitro study of a first-trimester placental cell line, sodium molybdate was well tolerated across the concentrations tested; no human trial has tested supplementation in pregnancy. Products listing molybdenum are catalogued as sodium molybdate, glycinate, chloride, or amino acid chelate, with no comparison of bioavailability across forms; see Form comparison².

Molybdenum cofactor deficiency, a rare genetic disorder, is not a supplement-responsive state; its causal treatment is synthetic fosdenopterin. The upper intake level rests on animal reproductive and fetal toxicity, and the fact sheet states that breast milk, formula, and food are the only molybdenum sources for infants².

Last updated October 15, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

48 sources, 31 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