Magnesium Oxide Delivers More Magnesium with Fewer Pills
Magnesium Oxide Delivers More Magnesium with Fewer Pills
It&#;s true that magnesium oxide is less soluble than several other forms of supplemental magnesium.
However, magnesium oxide is at least as effective (if not better) at restoring and maintaining a healthy level of magnesium in your cells and bones.
How is this possible? I&#;ll explain!
But before I do, we need to understand how magnesium is absorbed.
In all its natural forms, magnesium is bound to another chemical compound, for example: carbonate; gluconate; citrate; lactate; aspartate; or oxide. The combinations of magnesium and one of these compounds are called magnesium salts.
When you consume any magnesium salt, the magnesium must be freed from its partner compound during digestion and made soluble (ionized). Once it is made soluble, your body can absorb the magnesium.
For this to happen effectively, stomach acid has to be present. So it&#;s also helpful to remember that:
It&#;s best to take your supplements with a meal because your stomach responds to your consumption of food by secreting stomach acid.
- Medications that prevent stomach acid production impair your ability to digest and absorb minerals &#; and virtually all other nutrients.
Why Magnesium Oxide Provides More Elemental Magnesium
It&#;s true that magnesium oxide is not as easy to render soluble as some other magnesium salts. It&#;s therefore not absorbed as rapidly as other forms of magnesium, e.g. magnesium citrate, gluconate, lactate, aspartate.
But although magnesium oxide has a lower rate of absorption it contains a MUCH greater amount of actual magnesium to begin with. More than what is provided by other magnesium salts.
Therefore, even with the lower rate of absorption, magnesium oxide still delivers more magnesium per tablet. So more magnesium gets into your bloodstream to deliver all its many benefits to your bones and body!
This is illustrated in the table Comparison of Magnesium Salts below: 1-2
Comparison of Magnesium Salts MG Salt % Elemental MG % Elemental MG Absorbed Mg&#;s of Elemental MG Absorbed per 100 mg of MG SaltOxide
60%
23%*
13.8
Carbonate
28%
~20% **
~5.2
Chloride
26%
20%
5.2
L-lactate
12%
42%
5
Citrate
11%
30%
3.3
Aspartate
8%
42%
3.3
Glycinate
14%
23%
3.2
Gluconate
6%
19%
1.14
*On the web, you&#;ll see many sites claiming that only 4% of the magnesium in magnesium oxide is absorbed. This claim is based upon a small study by Firoz et al. (), which is discussed fully below. The actual data in this study shows something very different. The stated percentage of elemental magnesium absorbed from magnesium oxide in the above table &#; 23% &#; is the statistic provided in a review and meta-analysis of numerous studies by Ranade et al., (), cited below.
**Magnesium carbonate is nearly insoluble, but in the presence of stomach acid (HCl), magnesium carbonate is converted into magnesium chloride, which allows 20% of elemental magnesium to be absorbed.
As you can see, magnesium oxide contains the most elemental magnesium of 60%. And 23% of this can be absorbed.
Magnesium citrate, for example, contains only 11% elemental magnesium. And only 30% of this is absorbed.
So the percentage of elemental magnesium to begin with is just as important as the rate of absorption.
What Does This Mean For You, In Practical Terms?
You can get comparable or better health benefits with magnesium oxide. And you&#;ll also require fewer capsules, which will save you time and money.
The research most often cited to disparage magnesium oxide is a small study by Firoz et al. of 16 volunteers. The aim of this study was to test the claim that organic (chelated) magnesium salts (e.g., aspartate, lactate) are more easily absorbed than non-organic salts (e.g., oxide, chloride).3
The 16 volunteers were given four commercially-available magnesium salts: 2 organic (aspartate, lactate) and 2 non-organic (oxide, chloride), after which the amount of magnesium in their urine was checked. More magnesium excreted in the urine is thought to indicate that more magnesium has been absorbed; less magnesium excreted is thought to indicate that less magnesium has been absorbed. This rationale is based on the principle that the body works hard to maintain a steady state of magnesium balance, and in a steady state of magnesium balance, any extra magnesium absorbed will be excreted in the urine.
In this study, those taking magnesium oxide excreted less magnesium on average. So magnesium oxide was said to have a low fractional absorption rate of 4%. However, there are 2 important points not shared in this study:
Half of the volunteers in this study excreted more or very comparable amounts of magnesium when taking magnesium oxide
as they did when taking the other magnesium salts. Take a look for yourself at the table below &#;
Urinary Magnesium, mg/day
. The data in the following table is taken directly from Firoz M, et al&#;s article in
Magnesium Research
.
Averaging out the data produces a result that does not reflect what actually happened in the participants. Yet, what was reported is repeatedly cited on the internet. This is why I always read the full paper of any study I am going to rely upon for information.
2. Most importantly, the key practical discovery made in this study was: &#;Magnesium excretion increased with all magnesium supplements.&#; What this means is that all the magnesium salts tested, including magnesium oxide, delivered more magnesium than was needed to meet the body&#;s magnesium balance requirement.
Urinary Magnesium, mg/day Study participant MG oxide MG chloride MG aspartate MG lactate Control 1* Control 2*A
100
156
95
114
77
70
B
95
43
78
65
68
43
C
101
89
103
137
75
32
D
66
120
137
161
100
103
E
78
166
101
119
134
65
F
63
144
88
48
56
67
G
84
78
76
67
74
61
H
142
182
214
198
128
129
I
78
39
55
62
102
60
J
114
112
110
76
53
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86
K
77
106
177
116
80
32
L
114
94
137
117
109
92
M
66
87
51
81
104
115
N
82
82
82
163
76
85
O
162
133
85
106
75
75
p
34
120
58
87
28
57
*Controls did not receive any supplemental magnesium.
Magnesium Oxide is Effectively Absorbed
Despite what you may have read on various websites, the peer-reviewed research on PubMed shows that magnesium oxide is effectively absorbed:
In a study involving 18 men, 24 hours after consumption of magnesium oxide supplements, magnesium levels in the urine increased about two times the normal amount. And, after 48 hours, magnesium levels had increased to roughly four times normal. The conclusion drawn by the researchers: these results clearly show that &#;magnesium oxide is effectively absorbed and elevates the biologically-active levels of magnesium in the bloodstream.&#; 4
It&#;s important to note here that magnesium oxide did not increase urinary excretion of magnesium within a couple of hours. This is an important point which I&#;ll explain below in &#;Higher bioavailability does not translate to more effective delivery to tissues.&#;
All forms of magnesium salts used in animal studies have been found to effectively restore magnesium levels in magnesium-depleted animals.
In one such study in , rats were first given a magnesium-depleted diet and then provided with the same diet supplemented with 10 different magnesium salts: magnesium oxide, chloride, sulfate, carbonate, acetate, picolate, citrate, gluconate, lactate or aspartate. The results showed that while magnesium absorption values varied from 50% to 67%, all the magnesium salts used were equally efficient in restoring magnesium levels.5
The researchers also noted that &#;the quantity of magnesium in the digestive tract is the major factor controlling the amount of magnesium absorbed.&#; And as you now know, magnesium oxide contains a far greater amount of elemental magnesium than any of the other magnesium salts .5
A more recent animal study confirmed and strengthened these findings. In this one, for 5 weeks, rats were fed one of eight test diets supplemented with phytic acid (5 g/kg diet) and magnesium (155 mg elemental Mg/kg diet) from the following magnesium salts: magnesium oxide; magnesium sulfate; magnesium chloride; magnesium citrate; magnesium gluconate; magnesium orotate; and magnesium malate or EDTA magnesium salt.
The addition of phytic acid to the animals&#; diet is important because phytic acid binds strongly to minerals and forms an insoluble complex. This means less of the minerals consumed can be absorbed. Despite the addition of phytic acid to the animals&#; diet, all the magnesium salts tested were found to be comparably bioavailable: &#;The results indicate that any differences in the magnesium bioavailability of the compounds were small and physiologically irrelevant.&#; 6
Higher Bioavailability Does Not Necessarily Translate to More Effective Delivery to Tissues
When a magnesium supplement is highly bioavailable, it will be rapidly absorbed from the small intestine into the bloodstream, and magnesium blood levels will quickly rise. This sounds good, but when blood magnesium levels exceed a critical threshold, the excess is rapidly excreted by the kidneys. The end result is a shorter duration of magnesium availability to tissues. Magnesium salts with the greatest water solubility, bioavailability and rate of absorption are also more rapidly excreted in urine.
The lower parts of the small intestine are the primary sites of magnesium absorption. However, magnesium is also absorbed throughout the entire intestinal tract. Magnesium does not have special carriers that pull it into the bloodstream. Its absorption is a passive transcellular process.
For this kind of absorption process, the quantity of magnesium that passes through the digestive tract is the major factor controlling the amount of magnesium that is absorbed.
Because magnesium oxide contains more elemental magnesium and is less soluble, it&#;s absorbed into the bloodstream more slowly as it passes through the digestive tract. It will not raise blood levels excessively, and will therefore not be rapidly excreted. 5,7.8
The Research-Backed Bottom Line on Magnesium Oxide
You can get the same benefits from magnesium oxide with fewer pills. Magnesium oxide is the most effective magnesium supplement &#; and that is why it was selected for use in AlgaeCal Plus.
FAQs
What is the best form of magnesium to take?
Magnesium oxide is at least as effective (if not better) at restoring and maintaining a healthy magnesium level in your cells and bones. Although magnesium oxide has a lower absorption rate, it contains much more elemental magnesium than other magnesium salts.
Should I take magnesium in the morning or at night?
Many people take magnesium at night because it can help them relax and sleep better. However, it does not cause drowsiness if taken during the day.
How do you know if you are magnesium deficient?
Some signs of magnesium deficiency include muscle spasms or cramps, loss of appetite, fatigue, weakness, abnormal heart rhythms, and pins and needles.
Will magnesium oxide help you sleep?
Any form of magnesium can help with sleep, but research shows magnesium glycinate may be most effective for enhancing quality sleep.
References
- Molecular weights: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/ For the other magnesium salts, use the search box in the top right corner of the page.
- Ranade VV, Somberg JC. Bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of magnesium after administration of magnesium salts to humans. Am J Ther. Sep-Oct;8(5):345-57. PMID:
- Firoz M, Graber M. Bioavailability of US commercial magnesium preparations. Magnes Res. Dec;14(4):257-62. PMID:
- Altura BT, Wilimzig C, Trnovec T, et al. Comparative effects of a Mg-enriched diet and different orally administered magnesium oxide preparations on ionized Mg, Mg metabolism and electrolytes in serum of human volunteers. J Am Coll Nutr. Oct;13(5):447-54. PMID:
- Coudray C, Rambeau M, Feillet-Coudray C, et al. Study of magnesium bioavailability from ten organic and inorganic Mg salts in Mg-depleted rats using a stable isotope approach. Magnes Res. Dec;18(4):215-23. PMID:
- Bertinato J, Plouffe LJ, Lavergne C, et al. Bioavailability of magnesium from inorganic and organic compounds is similar in rats fed a high phytic acid diet. Magnes Res. Oct-Dec;27(4):175-85. doi: 10./mrh... PMID:
- Ranade VV, Somberg JC. Bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of magnesium after administration of magnesium salts to humans. Am J Ther. Sep-Oct;8(5):345-57. PMID:
- Musso CG. Magnesium metabolism in health and disease. Int Urol Nephrol. ;41(2):357-62. doi: 10./s-009--7. Epub Mar 10. PMID:
EcoMag seeks $1.5b opportunity in global market for high- ...
Since , specialty chemical producer EcoMag Limited has been extracting magnesium salts from the waste streams of Pilbara sea-salt mining operations and turning it into high-purity magnesium compounds for a multitude of uses, including foods and supplements.
Now, the company, which joined the CRC in December , is drawing on the expertise of leading chemical engineers at UNSW Sydney to help it streamline its operations, scale up to commercial-level production, and &#; if all goes well &#; capture lucrative opportunities in the high-value &#;base ingredients&#; space.
The first stage of the project involves using UNSW School of Chemical Engineering&#;s spray dryer to trial scaled-up production of EcoMag&#;s various specialty chemicals/salts via magnesium oxide (MgOs). The MgOs are made from hydrated magnesium carbonate (HMC) that is created in EcoMag&#;s Chatswood facility.
The idea is to ensure consistency of output at scale and to iron out any production issues.
In the second, more speculative stage, the project team will explore novel ways to extend the mesoporous surface area of its organic Mg salts. If they can do this successfully, the resulting particles will be suitable as &#;carrier&#; materials for pharmaceuticals, supplements and certain food products.
EcoMag is looking to Prof Selomulya and her team to produce high-surface-area Mg organics, using a novel spray-drying technique she has developed and used successfully to increase the mesoporous surface area of inorganic salts including silica and graphite materials.
If the process is transferable to magnesium compounds, EcoMag will have all it needs to start manufacturing and supplying high-purity, locally sourced, high-surface-area MgO organics to producers of premium supplements, foods and pharmaceuticals, across Australia and the world.
The returns on that would be huge: potentially, upwards of $1.5 billion a year.
Time line and project team
The two-year, multi-stage project, titled, &#;Towards scaling up the production of functional Mg-based particles via spray-drying for nutraceutical applications&#;, began in December and will run until December .
The research is being led by internationally recognised dairy formulations expert Cordelia Selomulya, a Professor within the university&#;s School of Chemical Engineering. The project team includes postdoctoral researcher Dr Van-Tri Luong, research collaborators Professor Rose Amal and Associate Professor Jason Scott, and EcoMag Chief Technical Officer Dr Tam Tran, the Industry Project Lead.
Part 1: industrial spray-drying to scale up and streamline operations
In the first part of the project, the team is trialling a simpler, faster and more cost-effective way to make high-purity organic magnesium compounds at scale: spray-drying.
&#;Essentially, EcoMag wants to produce hydrated magnesium salts at high purity &#; more than 99 per cent,&#; says Prof. Selomulya. &#;They&#;re building a new [manufacturing] plant in NSW and have another in [Dampier], WA.
&#;They&#;re looking to adopt this technique as their manufacturing method because it can be done at a much, much larger scale, and because they don&#;t have to go through the process of separating and purifying the product afterwards.&#;
Till now, EcoMag has been using what&#;s known as &#;wet chemistry&#; to produce 15-16 different organic magnesium salts (MgOs), says Dr Tran.
The current process involves several steps and several pieces of equipment, each of which is pricey and requires two or more operators, increasing CAPEX and operating costs as well as the risk of contamination, he explains.
Spray-drying has several advantages over this process.
&#;Firstly, it reduces the number of steps it takes to produce the final product, because with spray-drying you don&#;t have to do the separation later on: the spray-dried powder is your product,&#; she explains.
&#;Secondly, unlike the wet chemistry process, the spray-drying process is continuous. As it takes less time, it&#;s much higher productivity.
&#;Thirdly, with a spray dryer, it&#;s easily scaleable: you can go from kilograms to megatonnes.&#;
All of this makes spray-drying far more cost-effective in the long run, she contends &#; even accounting for the high upfront cost of purchasing the equipment.
&#;Of course, buying industrial spray dryers isn&#;t cheap, so the capital costs are high, but in terms of operations, it&#;s cheaper &#; because EcoMag won&#;t have to undergo all these extra steps in the production process, it&#;s much higher productivity,&#; Prof. Selomulya says.
Both parties are sure the spray-drying method will be effective: the UNSW trials are really just to trial the new process for batch consistency, and ensure things run smoothly at scale.
&#;We&#;ve used spray-drying before to produce inorganic salts,&#; Prof. Selomulya assures. &#;EcoMag have done some small-scale preliminary studies using spray-drying with their magnesium compounds, with good results, so they are confident that it will work.
&#;What they need to do now is to try and produce it consistently, to get the properties they want so that when they scale it up, they can have complete confidence in getting what they need from the spray-drying process.&#;
Part 2: Trialling a novel, cost-effective way to expand the mesoporous surface area of Mg salts
The second part of the project entails trialling a safe, cost-effective way to increase the surface area of EcoMag&#;s high-purity organic Mg salts, based on a novel spray-drying technique Prof. Selomulya has perfected using other materials, including silica and graphite.
&#;For me this is the more exciting and interesting part of the project,&#; says Selomulya. &#;Currently, EcoMag just produces magnesium salts. Now, they want to tweak the combination to see if they can produce high-surface-area &#;mesoporous&#; magnesium salts.
&#;That will require us adding some surfactant to the mix so that we can create a template that allows us to make magnesium organic particles with a high surface area.
&#;I&#;ve done something similar using spray-drying with a different type of salt, involving carbon and silica, which we can use as a template to make the vessel porous,&#; she adds.
&#;EcoMag wants to look at using a similar approach using their magnesium salts.
High-surface-area mineral salts have a number of benefits, Prof. Selomulya says &#; notably, that &#;you can functionalise them&#;.
&#;You can load more active ingredients onto them &#; more of, say, a particular drug. So as a product, it&#;s much more valuable.&#;
Higher purity, higher prices
Just how valuable? Dr Tran has done some preliminary sums.
&#;To buy these raw materials &#; such as say, magnesium oxide from mineral [sources], that&#;s about 85-90 per cent pure, you&#;ll pay about US$800 a tonne,&#; he says. &#;By the time you make it to 99 per cent-plus pure magnesium oxide, it&#;s about US$2,000-$3,000 a tonne.
&#;We&#;re making magnesium organics: for these, the minimum price is about US$4,000 and they can fetch up to US$20,000 a tonne.
&#;So we don&#;t need to make a large tonnage of these products &#; maybe 2,000 tonnes a year, because the value of these products is so high.&#;
&#;And remember, we&#;ve gone from a process of three or four steps to just one step: spray-drying. Each piece of equipment takes two people. So, with three or four steps, all requiring equipment and people to run that equipment, you can see how the operating costs and the time taken for the procedures add up.
&#;And each time you use a different piece of equipment, there&#;s also the chance of contamination.
&#;To sell into those high-end food, supplement and drug markets, we have to have an end product that&#;s 99 per cent plus pure. That&#;s a key part of it.&#;
Global markets for high-purity, high-surface-area organic Mg salts and MgO worth billions
The market for high-surface-area Mg salts and MgO is, potentially, huge, says Dr Tran. And the high-purity ingredients used by EcoMag means that the company would be able to sell these products at a premium.
&#;For pharmaceuticals, supplements and food-product ingredients, purity is important &#; there&#;s a very high return,&#; he says. &#;The potential [revenue] is $1.5 billion per year, worldwide.
Prof. Selomulya, too, is excited about the potential.
&#;If we succeed, those high-surface-area, high-purity salts and MgO become a base ingredient for high-value nutraceuticals, supplements and ultimately, pharmaceuticals &#; because that&#;s where the big money is,&#; Prof. Selomulya says.
&#;And that&#;s EcoMag&#;s ultimate goal.&#;
Already, the company has a ready US market for its spray-dried, high-purity, high-surface-area magnesium organic compounds, she notes.
Retail outlets including global giant Amazon have contracts with [EcoMag&#;s] sister company
[Abundant Natural Health] to use their magnesium-based salts as ingredients in topical products.
Better, cheaper Australian foods and supplements
Australian manufacturers of foods and supplements would also stand to gain, says Dr Tran.
&#;We know that [Australian supplements] companies such as Blackmores and Swisse are competing with many other manufacturers, selling magnesium products for $20-$30 for a 100-tablet bottle. And if you look at the labels, you&#;ll see that almost all those cheaper brands are using ingredients imported from China or India. European products have higher purity and higher priced materials but of course, they&#;re highly priced.
&#;So if we had locally made materials, they&#;d be in high demand. We could ensure the source of our Mg products, and their purity: as they&#;re taken from sea water, there&#;s no metal contamination. So we can make very-high-purity base materials from it.
&#;There&#;s potential for us to save Australian manufacturers a lot of money, and give them better-quality ingredients too.&#;
Local production, local revenue, local jobs
EcoMag is confident the project&#;s findings will help it make a strong business case for establishing large-scale local production of high-purity magnesium-based materials at its Dampier demonstration plant.
If that goes well, the company plans to construct two more commercial-scale plants, a second in Western Australia and another in New South Wales to produce a wide range of Mg products.
This would provide a substantial boost to the state&#;s coffers and potentially, year-round employment for numerous Western Australians in the Dampier-Karratha region and in New South Wales.
The potential for scaling up production of high-purity Mg salts is also great. Right now, Australia&#;s is the world&#;s third-largest producer of sea salt and soon a major supply of potash, so WA has a lot of waste bitterns from which to extract magnesium.
&#;Essentially, they&#;re producing this ingredient from a waste product,&#; says Prof. Selomulya. &#;They&#;re sourcing the materials from bittern lakes of sea-salt manufacturing and converting what is essentially mining waste into a high-value product. There are huge quantities of it &#; and at the moment, it&#;s just sitting there in lakes or disposed of to the sea.&#;
&#;There&#;s an endless supply of the raw material. Manufacturing it locally will help the WA economy as well.&#;
Who is EcoMag?
EcoMag Limited is an unlisted Australian public company established in to research, produce and sell a range of specialty chemicals derived from high-purity magnesium extracted from bitterns generated by sea-salt production, using a &#;magnesium precipitation process&#; co-invented by EcoMag Chief Technology Officer, Professor Tam Tran.
Who is Dr Tam Tran?
A UNSW academic from to , Tran left the Sydney campus in to spend a year helping to set up a UNSW campus in Singapore, where he subsequently set up collaboration with some UNSW graduates in South Korea. In , he went to the Republic of Korea, where he stayed for nearly a decade, travelling back and forth to Australia setting up and leading the Energy Material Labs at Chonnam National University. Since returning to Australia he has participated in projects funded by the Australian government and EcoMag to work with UNSW Chemical Engineering researchers (Professor Rose Amal and Associate Professor Jason Scott).
In Korea, he worked with projects funded by the Korean government and Korea Resource Corp recovering magnesium from lithium brines and solar salt bitterns and developing the proprietary EcoMag technology the company uses to make its high-purity HMC and MgOs today.
After nearly a decade, he says, &#;I realised that in Australia we have resources like that, too. So I called a fellow UNSW alumni, Tony Crimmins &#; who&#;s now the CEO of EcoMag &#; and told him, &#;We have this unique technology that enables us to recover the magnesium from waste bitterns&#;.
&#;I was lucky &#;a long time ago at UNSW Engineering, we set up a group working on waste and minerals processing. I was the director of that group and Cordelia was in one of my classes.
&#;I was supposed to retire, but [instead], I thought, Why not bring the technology back to Australia? And so here we are.&#;
&#;It&#;s good to be working with some of my old students &#; and to be back at UNSW, too. I guess the group is back together again!&#;
&#;We&#;re very excited to be working with the CRC &#; and of course I&#;m a big believer in the importance of research and development leading to commercialisation.
&#;I&#;ve worked on both sides &#; academia and industry, as has Cordelia. That&#;s why this is such a good collaboration.&#;
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