Magnesium – food and human health

Abstract

In the early 21st century, as has been demonstrated by a number of medical reports, human health is seriously threatened by diseases and symptoms related to an insufficient intake of magnesium, independently of country, age and sex. The main causes are deeply rooted in the currently dominant eating habits, mostly based on cereals, i.e. on low concentration of minerals in grain. As it has been lately documented, edible parts of new, high-yielding varieties of cereals and also some vegetables (an important source of magnesium for people) are much poorer in minerals, including magnesium, than the old, lowyielding ones. Magnesium plays many important biochemical and physiological functions in plants, affecting both yield of their biomass and/or edible parts. Hence, fast growing plants require a high supply of magnesium, mainly via externally applied fertilizers, which will sustain their rate of growth. With the evidence of an insufficient content of magnesium in edible plant parts, food producers have now a new objective. Their aim is to increase the concentration of available magnesium in edible parts of plants, including both cereals and vegetables. The growing concern about low magnesium concentrations in plant products can be significantly mitigated through soil and/or foliar application of magnesium fertilizers. In order to produce magnesium-rich food, it is necessary to build up an effective strategy for magnesium management in arable soils, oriented towards providing adequate plant nutrition for sustaining normal human health. This target should be achieved when farmers apply a wide array of magnesium carriers, including fertilizers.