Copper was first discovered between BC 3000 and 6000. Like zinc, its uses were centered around constructing metal objects, most commonly in the form of the copper alloys, bronze, and brass.

References to copper in ancient medicinal records indicate that many cultures believed copper had antiseptic properties. Around 1817, scientists learned that plants contain low copper concentrations. This was followed several years later by the discovery of copper in animal and human tissues. However, it was only in 1928 that scientists recognized the essentiality of dietary copper. This finding negated previous assumptions that copper was present in plant and human or animal tissues as the result of environmental contamination.

Today copper is known to function as an essential co-factor for numerous enzymes in the body, which makes it an important mineral, even if only required in trace amounts. These enzymes’ functions are diverse and range from connective tissue development via lysyl oxidase, to antioxidant functions by means of superoxide dismutase, to melanin synthesis