Effect of Dietary Magnesium Deficiency on the Bones and Teeth of Rats

¹ Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Animals fed a magnesium-deficient diet for 19 days showed a decrease in the rate of growth. The epiphyseal cartilages of the posterior head of the tibia were characterized by a widened hypertrophied zone and a narrower proliferating zone. The diaphysial trabeculae and the incisal dentin stained deep red with periodic acid-Schiff and exhibited an abundance of Alcian-blue-positive material, which also stained a very intense violet with toluidine blue. These staining reactions would indicate that there was an interference in calcification of cartilage, bone, and dentin. It is believed that the absence of magnesium, by reducing enzyme activity, produced these morphological and histochemical changes.