Essential metals are more readily assimilated into the body of a warm blooded animal when administered in the form of metal chelates containing at least two ligands wherein the ligands are protein hydrolysates selected from the group consisting of tripeptides, dipeptides and naturally occurring amino acids. For greater effectiveness the metal chelates may be formulated into a composition comprising and acid-base buffer which will buffer the composition to a relatively constant pH between about 7 and 11.
