Copper Gluconate vs. Copper Amino Acid Chelate
Among 3,989 on-market copper products with an identifiable primary form, 35.2% use Copper Gluconate (1,405 products) and 33.8% use Copper Amino Acid Chelate (1,347).
| Copper Gluconate | Copper Amino Acid Chelate | |
|---|---|---|
| Quality tier | Tier 2 | Tier 1 |
| Copper by weight | 14.0% | 30.0% |
| Share of market | 35.2% | 33.8% |
| On-market products | 1,405 | 1,347 |
| Median declared dose | 1,000 elemental mcg middle half: 500–2,000 | 1,000 elemental mcg middle half: 500–2,000 |
| Most common brands | DC, Wonder Laboratories, Biotics Research Corporation | Douglas Laboratories, NOW, Bluebonnet |
Doses are declared per serving in elemental mcg. “By weight” is the share of the ingredient that is the nutrient itself (e.g. elemental magnesium in a magnesium salt).
Why Copper Gluconate is tier 2
Water-soluble, generally regarded as acceptably absorbed, but no dedicated head-to-head human bioavailability RCT was located.
Source: none located (no human head-to-head Cu gluconate absorption study found)
Why Copper Amino Acid Chelate is tier 1
Copper glycinate was the form used in a human RCT (DiSilvestro 2012) that raised erythrocyte SOD1 and plasma ceruloplasmin.
Source: DiSilvestro RA et al. 2012, Metabolism 61(9):1242-6, PMID 22444781
Tiers summarize published comparative bioavailability or outcome evidence for each form (see methodology).
This page describes the market; it is not a recommendation to take either form. Talk to a clinician about what's right for you.
Other copper comparisons
- Copper Gluconate vs. Cupric Oxide
- Copper Gluconate vs. Copper Citrate
- Copper Gluconate vs. Copper Sulfate
- Copper Amino Acid Chelate vs. Cupric Oxide
- Copper Amino Acid Chelate vs. Copper Citrate
- Copper Amino Acid Chelate vs. Copper Sulfate
- Cupric Oxide vs. Copper Citrate
- Cupric Oxide vs. Copper Sulfate
- Copper Citrate vs. Copper Sulfate