Essentiality and Deficiency

 In the glycol tic cycle, (which is the process in which one glucose molecule is broken down to form two molecules of pyruvic acid) there are seven key enzymes (a substance, produced by all living things, which helps a chemical change happen or happen more quickly, without being changed itself) that require divalent magnesium. Magnesium-containing enzymes are also involved in the citric acid cycle and in beta oxidation of fatty acids. Deficiency may occur as a complication of various disease states such as malabsorption syndromes (refers to a number of disorders in which the intestine can't adequately absorb certain nutrients into the bloodstream), renal dysfunction (Kidney failure), and endocrine disorders. Magnesium deficiency in humans causes neuromuscular irritability, frank tetany, and even convulsions. Magnesium deficiency induces an inflammatory syndrome, and is a risk factor for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and ischemic heart diseases. Supplementation of magnesium, either by intravenous or oral administration, is beneficial.