What is magnesium?
Magnesium is an element found in the periodic table.
Its chemical symbol is Mg, it has the atomic number 12, and it is classified as an alkaline earth metal. In its pure state, magnesium is shiny and silver-colored on freshly exposed surfaces, but when exposed to air, its surface becomes dull due to the formation of an oxide layer. This element was discovered by the Scottish physicist Joseph Black in the mid-18th century, but it was first isolated years later by the English chemist Humphry Davy.
Magnesium is a very abundant metal in nature. It makes up around 2.3% of the Earth’s crust, and its concentration in ocean water is about 1.27 g/l.
This makes the oceans a vast natural reserve of magnesium.
Due to its high reactivity, magnesium is rarely found in its pure state: its most common mineral is dolomite.
Magnesium silicates of volcanic or metamorphic origin are also widespread, such as serpentine, amphiboles and pyroxenes, talc, and asbestos. Other important sources include carbonate minerals such as magnesite and carnallite.
Magnesium is also a very important mineral in the human body. It is the second most abundant cation in cellular fluids after calcium. Normally, the body contains around 25 grams of magnesium, mostly stored in the skeleton and muscles.
In fact, about 60% is concentrated in the bones, 39% in soft tissues, and only 1% is found in the blood, partly bound to plasma proteins. The intestinal absorption of magnesium occurs only in small amounts.
This is due to the pH in this area, which causes the formation of magnesium hydroxides that struggle to cross the intestinal barrier.
Magnesium is a cofactor of more than 300 enzymes, regulating a wide variety of processes, from protein synthesis to muscle and nerve function, as well as blood sugar and blood pressure control.