Magnesium sulfate

Toxicity

LD50 = 1200 mg/kg (rat, subcutaneous). May be harmful if swallowed. May act as an irritant. Adverse reactions include hypotension, ECG changes, diarrhea, urinary retention, CNS depression and respiratory depression.

Description

Magnesium sulfate is an inorganic salt (chemical compound) containing magnesium, sulfur and oxygen, with the formula MgSO4. It is strongly hygroscopic and often encountered as the heptahydrate sulfate mineral epsomite (MgSO4•7H2O), commonly called Epsom salt. And the monohydrate, MgSO4•H2O, is found as the mineral kieserite.

In gardening and other agriculture, magnesium sulfate is used to correct a magnesium or sulfur deficiency in soil.
In food preparation, magnesium sulfate is used as a brewing salt in beer production or used as a coagulant for making tofu.
In chemistry, anhydrous magnesium sulfate is commonly used as a desiccant in organic synthesis due to its affinity for water.
For Marine use, magnesium sulfate heptahydrate is used to maintain the magnesium concentration in marine aquaria which contain large amounts of stony corals.
For medicine use, it is used in pregnant women to control seizures due to certain complications of pregnancy (eg, severe toxemia) and to control high blood pressure, severe brain function problems (encephalopathy), and seizures in children who have sudden, severe inflammation of the kidneys (acute nephritis). Besides, magnesium sulfate is also used as a laxative to relieve occasional constipation.

The Uses of Magnesium sulfate

Magnesium sulfate is used widely in several industries including fertilizer, cement, textile, chemicals, and medicine. In the cement industry, it is used in manufacturing oxysulfate cement. In medicine, it is an analgesic and cathartic. An important application of anhydrous magnesium sulfate in the laboratory involves drying organic solvents required for syntheses and GC analysis.
In the textile industry, magnesium sulfate is used in finishing composition for dressing cotton; for weighting and sizing silk; as a mordant for fixing basic dyestuffs on wool; and in fireproofing fabrics. It also is a component of certain types of electrolytic plating baths; of various photographic solutions; of cosmetic lotions. It is a catalyst carrier; a dietary supplement in cattle feed; a coagulant for rubber and plastic; and is used in making citric acid and several magnesium salts, such as magnesium stearate.

Background

A small colorless crystal used as an anticonvulsant, a cathartic, and an electrolyte replenisher in the treatment of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. It causes direct inhibition of action potentials in myometrial muscle cells. Excitation and contraction are uncoupled, which decreases the frequency and force of contractions. (From AMA Drug Evaluations Annual, 1992, p1083)

Indications

Used for immediate control of life-threatening convulsions in the treatment of severe toxemias (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia) of pregnancy and in the treatment of acute nephritis in children. Also indicated for replacement therapy in magnesium deficiency, especially in acute hypomagnesemia accompanied by signs of tetany similar to those of hypocalcemia. Also used in uterine tetany as a myometriat relaxant.

What are the applications of Application

Magnesium sulfate anhydrous is a useful inorganic reagent for biological research purposes

Pharmacokinetics

Magnesium sulfate is a small colorless crystal used as an anticonvulsant, a cathartic, and an electrolyte replenisher in the treatment of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. It causes direct inhibition of action potentials in myometrial muscle cells. Excitation and contraction are uncoupled, which decreases the frequency and force of contractions. Magnesium sulfate is gaining popularity as an initial treatment in the management of various dysrhythmias, particularly torsades de pointes, and dyrhythmias secondary to TCA overdose or digitalis toxicity.

Metabolism

None