Limited evidenceVitamins & minerals

Magnesium Malate

A perfectly reasonable, well-absorbed organic magnesium salt sold on a story — that malic acid feeds the Krebs cycle and therefore fights fatigue and fibromyalgia pain — which no blinded trial has actually supported. If you like it, take it; do not pay a premium for the energy claim.

What the science says

Magnesium is bioavailable from malate, but no better than from other organic salts Limited evidence
EFSA's 2018 opinion on magnesium citrate malate concluded magnesium is released and absorbed from the compound and is a suitable dietary source. Rat isotope work comparing ten magnesium salts found organic salts modestly better absorbed than inorganic ones overall, with no standout for malate; no human head-to-head trial has shown malate beating citrate or glycinate.
The fibromyalgia evidence is weaker than it is usually presented Limited evidence
The often-cited 1995 trial gave 24 fibromyalgia patients a malic acid 200 mg + magnesium 50 mg tablet, 3 twice daily, for 4 weeks double-blind: no clear treatment effect versus placebo. Pain reductions appeared only in the subsequent 6-month open-label phase at up to 6 tablets twice daily — unblinded, uncontrolled, and never replicated in the three decades since.
The "malate gives you energy" mechanism is speculation Limited evidence
Malate is a citric-acid-cycle intermediate, but supplemental malate has not been shown to raise ATP production or reduce fatigue in humans at supplement doses. Any real benefit you feel from magnesium malate is most plausibly the magnesium itself correcting a low intake.

Dosage & safety

Studied dose200-400 mg elemental magnesium per day. Elemental content varies a lot by compound: di-magnesium malate is roughly 11-15% magnesium by weight, so a 1,250 mg dose gives about 150-190 mg elemental. Studied fibromyalgia doses were 300-600 mg malic acid with 75-150 mg magnesium daily, and only in open-label conditions.

SafetySame profile as magnesium generally: loose stools and abdominal discomfort at higher doses, though malate is often better tolerated than citrate or oxide. Caution in chronic kidney disease. Separate from tetracyclines, quinolones, bisphosphonates and levothyroxine by 2 hours. No doping restrictions.

Scientific references

Treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome with Super Malic: a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, crossover pilot study
Russell IJ, Michalek JE, Flechas JD, Abraham GE — The Journal of Rheumatology, 1995
Magnesium citrate malate as a source of magnesium added for nutritional purposes to food supplements
EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) — EFSA Journal, 2018
Study of magnesium bioavailability from ten organic and inorganic Mg salts in Mg-depleted rats using a stable isotope approach
Coudray C, Rambeau M, Feillet-Coudray C, et al — Magnesium Research, 2005

Where to buy

NOW Foods, Magnesium Malate, 1,000 mg, 180 Tablets

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