Abstract

RONDON, Lusliany Josefina; RAYSSIGUIER, Yves; NOWACKI, Wojciech  and  MAZUR, Andrzej. Methods of assessment of magnesium status in humans. Acta bioquím. clín. latinoam. [online]. 2014, vol.48, n.3, pp.319-328. ISSN 0325-2957.

Epidemiological studies suggest that dietary magnesium in the Western countries does not meet the recommended intake, supporting a risk of latent magnesium deficiency with Western diet behavior. Assessment of magnesium status remains a major challenge for the clinical laboratory, since, magnesium storage is mostly found in bone and soft tissues. The conciliation between an easy obtained sample, rapid and robust laboratory test, and the parameter representative for intracellular magnesium is extremely difficult to reach. In a current systematic review study, the usefulness of magnesium status biomarkers in healthy subjects has been evaluated. It is proposed that plasma and erythrocyte magnesium, and urinary magnesium excretion which respond to dietary manipulation appear to be useful biomarkers in the general population. However, it is emphasized that well-designed studies of sufficient size with varying doses and duration of magnesium supplementation are still required. The development of specific and sensible biomarkers, making it possible to obtain cell magnesium levels as well as body magnesium pool evaluation, relevant to study individuals, small and large populations, remains a major challenge for the assessment of magnesium status. A progress in genetics and genomics opens new interesting perspectives in the search of these biomarkers.

Keywords : Magnesium; Biomarkers; Biochemical methods.

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