Magnesium gluconate

Replaces deficient circulating levels of magnesium.

By competing with calcium for membrane binding sites and by stimulating calcium sequestration by sarcoplasmic reticulum, magnesium helps in the maintenance of a low resting intracellular free calcium ion concentration, which is essential in various cellular functions. The electrical properties of membranes and their permeability characteristics are also affected by magnesium.

Magnesium is essential to many enzymatic reactions in the body, serving as a cofactor in protein synthesis and in carbohydrate metabolism.

Magnesium contributes to the structural development of bone and is also essential in the synthesis of DNA, RNA, and the antioxidant glutathione. Magnesium also plays an important role in the active transport of calcium and potassium ions across cell membranes, a process which is important to nerve impulse conduction, muscle contraction, and normal heart rhythm.

In addition to the above, magnesium is an essential mineral required for the regulation of body temperature, nucleic acid and protein synthesis, and in preserving nerve and muscle cell electrical potentials. Magnesium supplementation during pregnancy may help to reduce fetal growth restriction and pre-eclampsia, as well to increase birth weight.