Comparison of magnesium status using X-ray dispersion analysis following magnesium oxide and magnesium citrate treatment of healthy subjects.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Magnesium Oxide.

The researchers investigated the impact of supplemental oral magnesium citrate versus magnesium oxide on intracellular magnesium levels ([Mg2+]i) and platelet function in healthy subjects with no apparent heart disease.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 20 women taking part.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind and crossover study.

The women were allocated by chance, so the Magnesium Oxide group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Neither the women nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Magnesium Oxide, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

In the crossover set-up each of the women took both Magnesium Oxide and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

What Was Measured

The researchers investigated the impact of supplemental oral magnesium citrate versus magnesium oxide on intracellular magnesium levels ([Mg2+]i) and platelet function in healthy subjects with no apparent heart disease.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Cholesterol, LDL, Citric Acid, Lipid Metabolism, Magnesium, Magnesium Oxide, Organometallic Compounds and Platelet Aggregation.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and crossover study of Magnesium Oxide in 20 women.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 2012 (Magnesium research), a journal based in England.

More context: all human trials.