Zinc Picolinate
Zinc bound to two molecules of picolinic acid. Also sold as Picolinic Acid Zinc. No authority has published an intake figure for zinc picolinate itself. The figures further down are zinc’s, and this page says what they count.
Stacky is an organisational tool, not a medical device. It does not provide medical advice, and nothing on this page says what zinc picolinate does. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing what you take.
The number on the bottle and the number in the limit
Intake references for a mineral are set on the element. When EFSA writes 250 mg for magnesium, it means 250 milligrams of magnesium, the metal itself.
A supplement label can mean either of two things by a milligram. Some brands declare the zinc delivered. Others declare the mass of the whole compound, zinc plus whatever it is bound to. The zinc is only a fraction of that weight, and the fraction is different for every salt.
| Form | Zinc by weight |
|---|---|
| Zinc bisglycinate | about 31% |
| Zinc picolinate | about 21% |
Calculated from each compound’s anhydrous formula (Zn(C₆H₄NO₂)₂ for zinc picolinate) using standard atomic weights. Real product is usually a little lower, because these salts are often sold hydrated. This is our arithmetic, not a regulator’s figure.
A label that declares the element writes it like this. The figure is zinc, and it is the number the references below are about.
Zinc (as zinc picolinate) ..................... 15 mg
A label that names only the compound writes it like this. That figure is the whole salt, and the zinc in it is about 21% of it.
Zinc picolinate ................................ 70 mg
Stacky does not convert between the two. We do not know which salt, which hydrate or which convention your brand used, and a guess would turn a figure you can check into one you cannot.
Published intake references for zinc, the element
These figures are zinc’s. They are here because zinc picolinate is a source of zinc, not because any authority set them for zinc picolinate. Where the EU and the US disagree, both are shown; nothing is averaged, converted or reconciled. A tolerable upper intake level is the only kind of figure that sets a ceiling; a recommended or adequate intake is context, not a limit.
On the EU ceiling and this form. Both the EU and the US upper limits for zinc are set on zinc from all sources and carry no form note.
Indexed studies
Stacky has 5 papers indexed against zinc picolinate, and none of them is published here. A study reaches this page only if its own title names zinc picolinate and does not name a disease or clinical condition. The papers are still in the app. How this list is built →
About this page
What this page does not contain: a figure of its own for zinc picolinate, a recommended dose, a grade, a conversion of any product’s amount, or any statement that it treats, prevents or improves a condition. How these pages are built →
Figures are read from the authorities’ published tables and can go out of date when those tables are revised. If one here is wrong, tell us at support@stacky-app.com and we will check it against the source.