Molybdenum deficiency

Molybdenum deficiency refers to the clinical consequences of inadequate intake of molybdenum in the diet.

Because the amount of molybdenum required is very small, and the element is plentiful, molybdenum deficiency has never been observed in healthy people. However, it has been seen once, in 1981, in an exceptional case of a patient receiving long-term parenteral nutrition that lacked molybdenum. This should not be confused with the molybdenum cofactor deficiency, which is a genetic inability to metabolize molybdenum and is universally fatal within the first days of the infant's life.