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Magnesium Deficiency in Type 2 Diabetes

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Magnesium in Human Health and Disease

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

Abstract

Magnesium is a ubiquitous element in nature and forms an estimated 2.1 % of the earth’s crust. Like calcium, it is an alkali earth metal. Magnesium plays an important role in a wide range of fundamental biological reactions. Magnesium is the second most abundant intracellular cation and the fourth most abundant cation in the body. The normal adult contains about 22–24 g of magnesium [1]. About 60 % of the magnesium is present in the bones, of which 30 % is exchangeable and functions as reservoir to stabilize serum concentration. About 20 % is in skeletal muscles and 19 % in other soft tissues. Skeletal muscle and liver contain between 7 and 9 mmol/kg wet tissue; between 20 % and 30 % of this is relatively exchangeable. Magnesium is principally an intracellular cation, with less than 1 % in the extracellular fluids. Most intracellular magnesium exists in bound form and only 0.25–1 nmol is present as free Mg2+. Free magnesium constitutes only 1–5 % of total cellular magnesium. In normal adults, approximately 20 % of serum magnesium is protein-bound, 65 % is ionized, and the rest is complexed with various anions such as phosphate and citrate [1]. Of the protein-bound fraction, 60–70 % is associated with albumin, and the rest is bound to globulins [2]. Free ionized magnesium is the physiologically active form of the element. The intracellular levels of the free magnesium serve to regulate intermediate metabolism through activation of rate-limiting enzymes such as hexokinase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, enolase, or creatine phosphokinase [3]. In enzymatic reactions magnesium interacts either by binding to the substrate or directly to the enzyme. All of the enzymatic reactions that hydrolyze and transfer enzymatic groups, involving those associated with the reactions involving adenosine triphosphate (ATP), show an absolute requirement for magnesium [4]. There is great volume of research that suggests an association between reduced magnesium intake and insulin resistance, central to type 2 diabetes. It is the purpose of this chapter to associate reduced magnesium intake to type 2 diabetes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Directorate of Maize Research, Pusa Campus, New Delhi, Delhi, 110012, India

    Dharam Paul Chaudhary Ph.D.

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  1. Dharam Paul Chaudhary Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Dharam Paul Chaudhary Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Arizona Health Science Center, Mel and Enid Zuckerman, University of Arizona, 1295 N. Martin, Tucson, 85724-5155, Arizona, USA

    Ronald Ross Watson

  2. Dept. Nutrition & Dietetics, King's College, Stamford St. 150, London, SE1 9NH, United Kingdom

    Victor R. Preedy

  3. Division of Health Promotion Sciences, Mel and Enid Zuckerman, University of Arizona, 1295 N. Martin Avenue, Tucson, 85724, Arizona, USA

    Sherma Zibadi

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Chaudhary, D.P. (2013). Magnesium Deficiency in Type 2 Diabetes. In: Watson, R., Preedy, V., Zibadi, S. (eds) Magnesium in Human Health and Disease. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-044-1_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-044-1_7

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