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: Minerals are critical for maintaining overall health. These tiny chemical compounds are responsible for enzymatic activation, maintaining healthy teeth and bones, regulating energy metabolism, enhancing immunity and aiding muscle and brain function. However, mineral deficiency in the form of inadequate or under nourished intake affects millions of people throughout the world, with well-documented adverse health consequences of malnutrition. Conversely, mineral deficiency may also be a risk factor for insulin resistance (IR) and obesity. This review focuses on another, more “less discussed” form of malnutrition, namely mineral deficiency and its contribution to metabolic disorders. At the cellular level, minerals maintain not only molecular communication but also trigger several key biochemical pathways. Disturbances in these processes due to mineral insufficiency may gradually lead to metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance, pre-diabetes and central obesity which might lead to renal failure, cardiac arrest, hepatic carcinoma and various neurodegenerative diseases. Here we discuss the burden of disease promoted by mineral deficiencies and the medical, social and economic consequences. Mineral deficiency-mediated IR and obesity have a considerable negative impact on individual well-being and physical consideration and economic productivity. We discuss possible molecular mechanisms of mineral deficiency that may lead to IR and obesity and suggest strategies to counter these metabolic disorders. To protect mankind from mineral nutrient deficiencies, the key is to take a variety of foods in reasonable quantities, such as organic and pasture-raised eggs, low fat dairy, and grass-fed and finished meats, insecticide and pesticide-free vegetables and fruits.

The demand for medicinal plants and their derived substances is increasing day by day due to their relevance in the context of drug discovery and development. The goal of this investigation is to assess the pharmacological and phytochemical potentials of the grossly underexplored Antidesma montanum Blume (Family: Phyllanthaceae). The methanolic extract of the leave of this plant was fractionated and then followed by initial screening of phytochemical. The investigation of the pharmacological potential, which includes antioxidant, antidiarrheal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-pyretic, and anxiolytic evaluations, was accomplished using an in vitro free radical scavenging assay with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), castor oil-induced diarrheal test, egg albumin test, acetic acid-induced writhing model, brewer’s yeast induced fever test, swing test, open field, and light-dark test, respectively. The investigation o phytochemicals proposes that the methanol extract of A. montanum possesses flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, saponins, amino acids, fixed oils, and sterols. Pharmacological evaluation suggests that A. montanum possesses significant antioxidant, anti-diarrheal, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic effects. The methanol and chloroform fractions exhibited better DPPH radical scavenging activities with an IC50: 103 ± 0.05 and 108.7 ± 0.05 µg/ml, respectively. The methanol and chloroform fractions also showed anti-inflammatory capacities in the egg albumin (IC50 values: 89.10 ± 0.07 and 92.85 ± 0.07 µg/ml, respectively) model. The plant also showed anti-pyretic and anxiolytic activities in a dose-dependent manner. One of the possible sources of phytotherapeutic lead compounds is A. montanum. To extract and analyze the key bioactive components of this essential therapeutic plant, more research is required.