Amino acid chelates having a ligand to divalent metal mole ratio of at least 2:1 and having a molecular weight of not more than 1500 and preferably not more than 1000 and also having a stability constant of between about 10 and 10 are formulated for delivery to one or more specific tissue sites within a mammal. The ligand utilized in formulating the amino acid chelate is a naturally occuring amino acid or a dipeptide, tripeptide or quadrapeptide thereof. The selection of an appropriate ligand with which to form the chelate provides a product that, when entering the bloodstream of the mammal, either by mean of oral ingestion or injection, has a propensity to migrate to one or more targeted tissue sites within the mammal.