Reduction of blood pressure with oral magnesium supplementation in women with mild to moderate
hypertension.
Witteman JC, Grobbee DE, Derkx FH, Bouillon R, de Bruijn AM, Hofman A
Am J Clin Nutr 1994 Jul 60:1 129-35

Abstract
In a double-blind controlled trial, 91 middle-aged and elderly women with mild to moderate hypertension who were not on
antihypertensive medication were randomly assigned to treatment with magnesium aspartate-HCl (20 mmol Mg/d) or placebo for 6
mo. Magnesium aspartate-HCl in the given dose was well-tolerated and was not associated with an increased frequency of diarrhea
compared with placebo. At the end of the study, systolic blood pressure had fallen by 2.7 mm Hg (95% CI -1.2, 6.7; P = 0.18) and
diastolic blood pressure by 3.4 mm Hg (1.3, 5.6; P = 0.003) more in the magnesium group than in the placebo group. Blood pressure
response was not associated with baseline magnesium status, as measured by dietary magnesium intake and urinary magnesium
excretion. Urinary magnesium excretion in the magnesium group increased by 50% during the intervention period. No changes were
seen in other biochemical indexes, including serum concentrations of total and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol. The findings
suggest that oral supplementation with magnesium aspartate-HCl may lower blood pressure in subjects with mild to moderate
hypertension.